The Nickel Report

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced significant changes coming for two of its major rules that regulate per- and-polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). First, EPA announced on May 12, 2025, that it is delaying the reporting period for the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Section 8(a)(7) PFAS Reporting Rule and is also considering reopening the entire rule to make substantive revisions. Second, on May 14, 2025, EPA also announced that it plans to withdraw its drinking water standards under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) for four of the six PFAS that EPA sought to regulate.

These announcements are consistent with EPA’s strategic plan released on April 28 to address PFAS across all program offices (see a previous blog post). These actions signal that EPA is taking steps to provide regulated entities more flexibility and much needed relief from overly burdensome requirements pertaining to PFAS.

TSCA PFAS Reporting Rule

EPA released an interim final rule that extends the reporting period for the TSCA PFAS Reporting Rule by nine months. The prior reporting period would have begun on July 11, 2025 and closed on January 11, 2026, with a longer deadline of July 11, 2026, for small article importers. The new reporting period will now run from April 13, 2026, to October 13, 2026, with a deadline of April 13, 2027, for small article importers. The interim rule became effective on May 13, 2025. EPA is accepting comments on the interim final rule until June 12, 2025, on the topic of the reporting period only. After receiving comments, EPA may decide to reopen the rule again and make changes to the reporting period.

The reason for the delay is that EPA needs more time to prepare and beta test the reporting software being developed to collect information that companies will be submitting in response to the reporting rule. EPA believes additional time will also be necessary to take advantage of recently appropriated funds from Congress ($17 million) to improve functionality of the reporting application.

Notably, EPA is also considering reopening certain yet unidentified aspects of the rule for public comment. Stakeholders have been calling for revisions to the PFAS Reporting Rule for years because the rule is one of the most expansive TSCA reporting rules promulgated by EPA. The rule imposes detailed reporting requirements on entities that have manufactured or imported PFAS at any time from January 1, 2011 until December 31, 2022. The reporting rule also applies to importers of articles containing PFAS, which could include many consumer, industrial, and commercial products. The rule does not have any traditional TSCA reporting exclusions such as PFAS that are impurities, byproducts, used in commercial research and development (R&D), or only produced or imported in low volumes (see the previous blog post about the rule for more details). EPA also imposes a complex and highly subjective standard of diligence that companies must consider when gathering PFAS data from their own records and from their supply chains.

While EPA did not indicate what changes it plans to make, its April 28 announcement about PFAS suggests that it may consider easing requirements for small businesses or companies that import articles.

SDWA Drinking Water Standards

EPA also announced that it plans to maintain the national primary drinking water regulations (NPDWRs) promulgated by the prior administration for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), two of the most well known PFAS. The maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) established for PFOA and PFOS, which are legally enforceable levels that are allowed in drinking water, will continue to be 4 parts per trillion (ppt). See our previous blog post for more information on the final rule.

Though it is maintaining the MCLs, EPA intends to propose a rule this fall to extend compliance deadlines for PFOA and PFOS to 2031, establish a federal exemption framework, and initiate outreach to water systems through its new PFAS OUTreach Initiative (PFAS OUT). EPA states that these steps will address the most significant compliance challenges EPA has heard from public water systems, members of Congress, and other stakeholders.

By contrast, EPA will rescind regulations setting MCLs and reconsider the regulatory determinations for four other PFAS that were included in the rulemaking: perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS), perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), HFPO-DA (commonly known as GenX), and the Hazard Index mixture of these three plus perfluorobutane sulfonic acid (PFBS). EPA seeks this rescission to “ensure that the determinations and any resulting drinking water regulations follow the legal process laid out in [SDWA].”

This announcement is in response to a court-ordered deadline for EPA to indicate its plans for the NPDWRs that are currently being challenged in the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (American Water Works Association (AWWA), et al. v. EPA). EPA intends to support the US Department of Justice in defending any ongoing legal challenges to the NPDWRs for PFOA and PFOS.