Long-term changes to Toxics Release Inventory (“TRI”) reporting requirements under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (“EPCRA”) will require thousands of facilities to submit reports on per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (“PFAS”) for the first time in 2025. More than 196 PFAS chemicals are listed on the TRI list for the 2024 reporting year, and exemptions for PFAS contained at low concentrations in mixtures and articles no longer apply.
The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 added certain PFAS to the TRI list, which requires facilities that manufacture, process, or otherwise use listed chemicals in quantities above a designated threshold to submit annual reports to the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”). In October 2023, EPA designated PFAS as chemicals of special concern under EPCRA. In doing so, EPA eliminated abbreviated “Form A” reporting for PFAS. EPA also now requires facilities to count all listed PFAS toward the reporting threshold, including PFAS contained in articles and mixtures at very low concentrations (less than 1%) that previously did not need to be counted. Now, once a listed PFAS exceeds the 100 pound threshold, EPA requires a full report including information on releases into the environment.
EPA expects the total number of facilities submitting TRI reports for PFAS to increase from 50 to as many as 2,015 as a result of these changes. The 196 PFAS that are included on the TRI list are available through the EPA website here. EPA has proposed another 16 individual PFAS and 15 PFAS categories to be listed for 2025.
TRI PFAS reporting requirements apply to facilities that:
- Fall within covered industry sectors identified in applicable North American Industry Classification System (“NAICS”) codes. Covered sectors include manufacturing, mining, electric utilities, waste treatment, storage and disposal, solvent recovery services chemical distributors, petroleum bulk terminals, and natural gas processors.
- Employ at least ten full-time employees (or equivalent) at the facility.
- Manufacture, process, or otherwise uses hazardous chemicals. As defined, manufacturing includes the production of listed chemicals as impurities or byproducts, as well as imports of listed chemicals. Processing includes preparing a chemical for distribution in commerce.
Companies with facilities that meet these criteria should evaluate their processes and products to determine whether any listed PFAS occur in quantities sufficient to meet the reporting threshold under the new requirements.
The deadline for the 2024 reporting year is July 1, 2025. For more information on TRI reporting requirements, or for assistance in evaluating legal obligations, contact Jeff Parker (jparker@sheppardmullin.com), Olivier Theard (otheard@sheppardmullin.com), or Louise Dyble (ldyble@sheppardmullin.com). This is the second post in a series covering federal PFAS regulations. See part one here.