The Nickel Report

On September 18, 2025, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced the agency will be prioritizing the review of new chemicals under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) that are intended for use in data center projects, including the infrastructure that powers data centers, or for the manufacturing of covered components, as defined by Executive Order (EO) 14318, “Accelerating Federal Permitting of Data Center Infrastructure.” This prioritization of reviews will start with submissions received on or after September 29, 2025, and could accelerate time to market for chemistries supporting the expansion of US data center capacity. 

On September 10, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) authorized the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) to regulate all underground injection of carbon dioxide for long-term geological sequestration within Arizona’s jurisdiction. The final rule followed a comprehensive technical and legal review to ensure the state’s Underground Injection Control (UIC) program met all requirements under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) section 1422. As discussed in an earlier post, Arizona previously did not have primacy over any UIC well classes, unlike other states that have sought Class VI primacy thus far.

Last month saw several developments in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ongoing efforts to authorize states to implement Class VI of the federal Underground Injection Control (UIC) program under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) for geologic sequestration of carbon. This push toward state primacy is an important development for the rapidly growing carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) industry, for which Class VI permits are the critical construction and operating permit. Currently, there are 62 CCS projects - including many with multiple wells - with permit applications pending with EPA. Project proponents anticipate that permitting will be faster if administered by the state instead of EPA. The latest developments last month include: (1) EPA’s proposal to grant primacy to Arizona; (2) EPA’s proposal to grant primacy to Texas; (3) a federal court decision rejecting a challenge to EPA’s earlier grant of primacy to Louisiana; and (4) an ongoing challenge to West Virginia’s recently granted primacy.

On June 9, 2025, the US EPA took another step forward toward having states take the lead for implementing and enforcing Class VI Underground Injection Control (UIC) programs under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), which are central to carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) permitting. To date, EPA has signed Memoranda of Agreement (MOAs) with several states regarding state agreements to implement Class VI injection well programs. The Texas MOA was signed on April 29, 2025. Now, and consistent with the MOA, EPA has released its proposed rule to give Texas primacy over the program. 

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.