Happy New Year everyone! December was a busy month at the U.S. EPA as they worked to issue a few remaining draft proposals and finalize one outstanding action before the end of the year.
Amendments to TSCA for Review of New PFAS Finalized
On December 4, the U.S. EPA announced that it had finalized amendments to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) pertaining to the review of new chemicals. These amendments eliminate certain exemptions for PFAS, including low volume exemptions (LVE) and low release and exposure exemptions (LoREX).
Draft General Permit for Industrial Stormwater Discharge Published
On December 13, the U.S. EPA published a proposed new rule for stormwater discharge permitting under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES), including substantial new indicator monitoring requirements for PFAS in stormwater discharge. Public comments are due on or before February 11, 2025. They should be submitted at www.regulations.gov docket #EPA-HQ-OW-2024-0481.
Although the proposed rule only applies to states for which the U.S. EPA administers NPDES permitting, states with self-administered rules tend to follow the EPA’s lead. Once finalized, it’s likely only a matter of time before these new NPDES protocols are implemented in many of the more industrialized states.
EPA Releases Preliminary ELG Plan 16
On December 16, the U.S. EPA released its Preliminary Effluent Guidelines Program Plan 16 (Preliminary ELG Plan 16). Authorized under the Clean Water Act (CWA), the EPA’s ELG Program Plans detail the agency’s intention to study pollutants in wastewater effluent. In Preliminary ELG Plan 16, the EPA called out two areas for study pertaining directly to PFAS: PFAS Processors and Centralized Waste Treatment (CWT) facilities.
Once finalized, ELG Plan 16 does not replace ELG Plan 15, introduced in 2021. ELG Plan 15 initiated several ongoing initiatives, including:
- The establishment of ELGs in several industries: OCPSF (Organic Chemicals, Plastics, and Synthetic Fibers), Metal Finishing & Electroplating, Textile Mills, and Landfills
- Continued monitoring of PFAS discharge from Pulp and Paper Mills and Airports
- A study of industrial influent sent to Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTWs)
EPA Issues Draft Ambient Water Quality Criteria for 3 PFAS
On December 16, the U.S. EPA also issued Draft Ambient Water Quality Criteria for three PFAS: PFOA, PFOS, and PFBS. Water Quality Criteria are not enforceable limits. Rather, they are intended to be used as guidelines for state agencies responsible for issuing wastewater discharge permits. The proposed criteria establish human health levels for water plus organisms (e.g., edible fish) and criteria for organisms only.
Public comments on the Draft Ambient Water Quality Criteria are due on or before February 24, 2025. They should be submitted at www.regulations.gov docket #EPA-HQ-OW-2024-0454.
The Ambient Water Quality Criteria augment the more comprehensive Aquatic Life Ambient Water Quality Criteria and Acute Saltwater Aquatic Life Benchmarks for PFOA and PFOS and the acute freshwater aquatic life benchmarks for PFBA, PFHxA, PFNA, PFDA, PFBS, PFHxS, 8:2 FTUCA, and 7:3 FTCA issued by the EPA on October 7, 2024.
Learn More About Testing for PFAS in Fish and Other Aquatic Life
Jim Occhialini, Pace® Specialty Services Program Manager, recently conducted a webinar on testing for PFAS in plant and animal tissue. This webinar is now available on-demand.
9 PFAS Added to TRI
With the finalization of the U.S. EPA’s toxicity values, another 9 PFAS have been added to the Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) for reporting year 2025, bringing the total number of PFAS on the TRI list to 205. The added PFAS include:
- Ammonium perfluorodecanoate (PFDA NH4) (3108-42-7)
- Sodium perfluorodecanoate (PFDA-Na) (3830-45-3)
- Perfluoro-3-methoxypropanoic acid (377-73-1)
- 6:2 Fluorotelomer sulfonate acid (27619-97-2)
- 6:2 Fluorotelomer sulfonate anion (425670-75-3)
- 6:2 Fluorotelomer sulfonate potassium salt (59587-38-1)
- 6:2 Fluorotelomer sulfonate ammonium salt (59587-39-2)
- 6:2 Fluorotelomer sulfonate sodium salt (27619-94-9)
- Acetic acid, [(γ-ω-perfluoro-C8-10-alkyl)thio] derivs., Bu esters (3030471-22-5)
Cheers to 2025!
As always, if you have questions about analyzing for PFAS in drinking water, wastewater, ground/surface water, biota, soil, consumer products, and more, reach out to us. And if you haven’t already, be sure to subscribe to the PFAS Matters blog to receive additional insights on PFAS testing and legislation in the new year. On behalf of the entire Pace® PFAS team, we look forward to serving you in 2025!
