EPA Proposes Landmark PFAS Reporting Rule Affecting Article Importers, Small Businesses

Texas companies – both big and small – may soon face landmark reporting and recordkeeping requirements for Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS). Under the Toxic Substances Control Act, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has proposed a rule that would require companies that have manufactured (including imported) PFAS at any time, in any quantity and for any purpose since 2011 to report information regarding PFAS uses, production volumes, byproducts, exposures, disposal and health and environmental effects. Any company subject to the reporting requirement would also be required to maintain its PFAS reporting records for five years.

Notably, the proposed rule would include articles containing PFAS, whether manufactured in the U.S. or imported, and would not include any of the traditional TSCA exemptions for small manufacturers, byproducts, impurities or research and development. Accordingly, the potential reach of the rule is immense, extending to a dozen or more industrial sectors and to companies, including small businesses, that previously may never have had any TSCA reporting obligations.