On March 3, 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) released its 2020 Toxics Release Inventory (“TRI”) National Analysis report. EPA’s report analyzes the most recent Toxic Release Inventory (“TRI”) data and conducts comparative analysis with TRI data reported from previous years. EPA’s analysis is the first to feature data on the 172 per- and polyfluorinated substances (PFAS) added to TRI by the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
In its press release for the report, EPA stated that it plans to propose a rulemaking in the summer of 2022 that would, among other changes, remove the eligibility of the TRI de minimis reporting exemption for PFAS. Per EPA, the “de minimis exemption allows facilities that report to TRI to disregard certain minimal concentrations of chemicals in mixtures or trade name products.” Further, EPA states that “[i]f finalized, this proposal would also make unavailable the de minimis exemption with regard to providing supplier notifications to downstream TRI facilities for PFAS and persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic chemicals.”
More information on TRI requirements can be found at section 313 of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (“EPCRA”) and 40 CFR Part 370 (Hazardous Chemical Reporting: Community Right to Know).