U.S. EPA Finalizes Elimination of TRI PFAS de-minimis

elimination of de-minimis rule for pfas

Effective November 30, 2023, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) finalized Changes to Reporting Requirements for Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances and to Supplier Notifications for Chemicals of Special Concern rule which designates per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) as “chemicals of special concern” and with that comes other requirements to the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) program under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) Section 313.  This designation eliminates the de-minimis exemption for TRI reporting and supplier notifications, as well as eliminates the option to submit a Form A report instead of a Form R.

PFAS were initially added to the TRI chemical list for the 2021 reporting year when the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) was signed on December 20, 2019. The NDAA immediately added 172 PFAS chemicals with a 100-pound reporting threshold for each of the listed PFAS that are manufactured, processed, or otherwise used at the facility. Additionally, the NDAA stipulated that additional PFAS would be added annually thereafter. As of 2023, the list has increased to include an additional 17 PFAS chemicals, totaling 189 TRI-listed PFAS. The previous de-minimis concentration threshold for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) was set at 0.1%, and all other TRI-listed PFAS at 1%.

The decision to eliminate the de-minimis exemption is due to PFAS being typically incorporated into materials at very low concentrations, causing facilities to disregard them during the TRI reporting process and for supplier notifications. With the designation of PFAS as “chemicals of special concern,” EPA’s goal is to develop a more accurate and complete dataset of where PFAS are being released to the environment and potential impacts on human health because they believe more facilities will be required to submit TRI reports for PFAS than have historically done so.

What’s Next?

Suppliers and facilities are now required to disclose TRI-listed PFAS, no matter the concentration. Previously, suppliers and facilities were able to claim the de-minimis exemption and not disclose the chemical composition due to lower concentrations.

• Request from your suppliers and be on the lookout for updated SDS or supplier notifications sent with the first shipments of the year in 2024.
• Review used materials that were historically listed as containing PFAS and were designated as meeting the PFAS de-minimis
• Track PFAS chemicals that will be reported for the 2024 Reporting Year in July 2025.

If you have questions about the changes to TRI reporting requirements for PFAS, how to review and track PFAS containing materials, or how PFAS may impact your facility, please contact Colleen Nagel at cnagel@all4inc.com or (616)251-1097 or Kayla Turney at kturney@all4inc.com or (610)422-1143.