EPA's PFAS Data Rule Could Be Challenged in Court

Environmental partner Lawrence Culleen and Environmental counsel Judah Prero were quoted in the recent Bloomberg Law article, "EPA's Final PFAS Data Rule Seen as Ripe for Industry Challenges." The article discusses the Environmental Protection Agency's rule that requires companies to report information on manufactured goods with an estimated 1,462 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).

Prero told Bloomberg Law that he believes the rule "could be subject to challenge," given that the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) — the law which prompted the EPA to issue the rule — did not mention it required information on manufactured goods. Prero explained that the NDAA only referred to chemical substances.

Culleen added that the EPA's rule requires an exhaustive amount of information. Although the EPA revised the rule to lessen the burden on small businesses, it is unclear whether it also revised its cost estimate for medium and large businesses, Culleen told the publication.

Culleen was also quoted in the recent Chemical Watch article, "Stakeholders question whether TSCA PFAS reporting rule will give useful data," where he similarly discussed the burden the rule would have on certain businesses. He told the publication that the rule's relief mechanism "provides no resource savings" to article importers, many of whom are new to PFAS reporting.

» Read the Bloomberg Law article: "EPA's Final PFAS Data Rule Seen as Ripe for Industry Challenges" (subscription required).
» Read the Chemical Watch article: "Stakeholders question whether TSCA PFAS reporting rule will give useful data" (subscription required).