In September 2022, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) proposed to designate perfluorooctanoic acid (“PFOA”) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (“PFOS”), including their salts and structural isomers, as hazardous substances under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (“CERCLA”), also known as “Superfund.” EPA received over sixty-thousand comments on its proposal during the 60-day public comment period. When it originally posted the proposed rulemaking, EPA anticipated finalizing the rule by August 2023. EPA has since indicated in its Spring 2023 Unified Agenda that it now anticipates a final rule in February 2024.
Notably, EPA also indicated in its Unified Agenda that it anticipates issuing a notice of proposed rulemaking (“NPRM”) for the listing of PFOA, PFOS, PFBS, and GenX as Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (“RCRA”) Hazardous Constituents in August 2023.