74360 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 209 / Tuesday, October 31, 2023 / Rules and Regulations 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 372 

[EPA–HQ–TRI–2022–0270; FRL–8741–04– 

OCSPP] 

RIN 2070–AK97 

Changes to Reporting Requirements 

for Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl 

Substances and to Supplier 

Notifications for Chemicals of Special 

Concern; Community Right-to-Know 

Toxic Chemical Release Reporting 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) is adding per- and 

polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) 

subject to reporting under the 

Emergency Planning and Community 

Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) and the 

Pollution Prevention Act (PPA) 

pursuant to the National Defense 

Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 

(NDAA) to the list of Lower Thresholds 

for Chemicals of Special Concern 

(chemicals of special concern). These 

PFAS already have a lower reporting 

activity threshold of 100 pounds. The 

addition of these PFAS to the list of 

chemicals of special concern means 

such PFAS are subject to the same 

reporting requirements as other 

chemicals of special concern (i.e., it 

eliminates the use of the de minimis 

exemption and the option to use Form 

A and would limit the use of range 

reporting for PFAS). Removing the 

availability of these burden-reduction 

reporting options will result in a more 

complete picture of the releases and 

waste management quantities for these 

PFAS. EPA is removing the availability 

of the de minimis exemption for 

purposes of the Supplier Notification 

Requirements for all chemicals on the 

list of chemicals of special concern. 

This will help ensure that purchasers of 

mixtures and trade name products 

containing such chemicals are informed 

of their presence in mixtures and 

products they purchase to better inform 

any TRI reporting obligations. 

DATES: This final rule is effective 

November 30, 2023 and shall apply for 

the reporting year beginning January 1, 

2024 (reports due July 1, 2025). 

ADDRESSES: The docket for this action, 

identified by docket identification (ID) 

number EPA–HQ–TRI–2022–0270, is 

available online at https://

www.regulations.gov or in person at the 

Office of Pollution Prevention and 

Toxics Docket (OPPT Docket) in the 

Environmental Protection Agency 

Docket Center (EPA/DC). All documents 

in the docket are listed on https://

www.regulations.gov. Although listed in 

the index, some information is not 

publicly available, e.g., Confidential 

Business Information (CBI) or other 

information whose disclosure is 

restricted by statute. Certain other 

material, such as copyrighted material, 

is not placed on the internet and will be 

publicly available only in hard copy 

form. Additional instructions on visiting 

the docket, along with more information 

about dockets generally, is available at 

https://www.epa.gov/dockets. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

For technical information contact: 

Daniel R. Ruedy, Data Gathering and 

Analysis Division (7406M), Office of 

Pollution Prevention and Toxics, 

Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 

Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 

20460–0001; telephone number: (202) 

564–7974; email: ruedy.daniel@epa.gov. 

For general information contact: The 

Emergency Planning and Community 

Right-to-Know Hotline; telephone 

numbers: toll free at (800) 424–9346 

(select menu option 3) or (703) 348– 

5070 in the Washington, DC Area and 

International; or go to https://

www.epa.gov/home/epa-hotlines. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. General Information 

A. Does this action apply to me? 

You may be potentially affected by 

this action if you manufacture, process, 

or otherwise use listed PFAS or any 

chemicals listed under 40 CFR 372.28. 

The following list of North American 

Industry Classification System (NAICS) 

codes is not intended to be exhaustive, 

but rather provides a guide to help 

readers determine whether this action 

applies to them. Potentially affected 

entities may include: 

• Facilities included in the following 

NAICS manufacturing codes 

(corresponding to Standard Industrial 

Classification (SIC) codes 20 through 

39): 311 *, 312 *, 313 *, 314 *, 315 *, 316, 

321, 322, 323 *, 324, 325 *, 326 *, 327 *, 

331, 332, 333, 334 *, 335 *, 336, 337 *, 

339 *, 111998 *, 113310, 211130 *, 

212323 *, 212390 *, 488390 *, 512230 *, 

512250 *, 5131 *, 516210 *, 519290 *, 

541713 *, 541715 * or 811490 *. 

* Exceptions and/or limitations exist for 

these NAICS codes. 

• Facilities included in the following 

NAICS codes (corresponding to SIC 

codes other than SIC codes 20 through 

39): 211130 * (corresponds to SIC code 

1321, Natural Gas Liquids, and SIC 

2819, Industrial Inorganic Chemicals, 

Not Elsewhere Classified); or 212114, 

212115, 212220, 212230, 212290 *; or 

2211 *, 221210 *, 221330 (limited to 

facilities that combust coal and/or oil 

for the purpose of generating power for 

distribution in commerce) (corresponds 

to SIC codes 4911, 4931, and 4939, 

Electric Utilities); or 424690, 424710 

(corresponds to SIC code 5171, 

Petroleum Bulk Terminals and Plants); 

425120 (limited to facilities previously 

classified in SIC code 5169, Chemicals 

and Allied Products, Not Elsewhere 

Classified); or 562112 (limited to 

facilities primarily engaged in solvent 

recovery services on a contract or fee 

basis (previously classified under SIC 

code 7389, Business Services, NEC)); or 

562211 *, 562212 *, 562213 *, 562219 *, 

562920 * (limited to facilities regulated 

under the Resource Conservation and 

Recovery Act, subtitle C, 42 U.S.C. 6921 

et seq.) (corresponds to SIC code 4953, 

Refuse Systems). * Exceptions and/or 

limitations exist for these NAICS codes. 

• Federal facilities. 

• Facilities that the EPA 

Administrator has specifically required 

to report to TRI pursuant to a 

determination under EPCRA section 

313(b)(2). 

A more detailed description of the 

types of facilities covered by the NAICS 

codes subject to reporting under EPCRA 

section 313 can be found at: https://

www.epa.gov/toxics-release-inventorytri-program/tri-covered-industry-sectors. 

To determine whether your facility is 

affected by this action, you should 

carefully examine the applicability 

criteria in part 372, subpart B of title 40 

of the Code of Federal Regulations. 

Federal facilities are required to report 

under Section 6(a)–(b) of Executive 

Order 14096 (88 FR 25251 April 21, 

2023), Revitalizing Our Nation’s 

Commitment to Environmental Justice 

for All. If you have questions regarding 

the applicability of this action to a 

particular entity, consult the person 

listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT. 

B. What action is the Agency taking? 

EPA is adding all PFAS included on 

the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) 

pursuant to sections 7321(b) and 7321(c) 

of the 2020 NDAA to the list of 

chemicals of special concern (40 CFR 

372.28). EPA maintains a list of PFAS 

added to the TRI list pursuant to the 

NDAA at: https://www.epa.gov/toxicsrelease-inventory-tri-program/list-pfasadded-tri-ndaa. The addition of PFAS 

added to TRI pursuant to sections 

7321(b) and (c) of the NDAA to the list 

of chemicals of special concern aligns 

reporting requirements for these PFAS 

with other chemicals of special concern. 

EPA anticipates this will result in 


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additional Form R reports being filed for 

these PFAS due to the removal of the de 

minimis exemption and the option to 

use Form A. It also limits the use of 

range reporting, which will capture 

more specific information for PFAS 

added pursuant to sections 7321(b) and 

7321(c) of the NDAA. 

In addition, EPA is removing the 

availability of the de minimis exemption 

under the Supplier Notification 

Requirements (40 CFR 372.45) for 

facilities that manufacture or process 

any chemicals included on the list of 

chemicals of special concern. 

This action does not make any 

changes to the article exemption. 

C. What is the Agency’s authority for 

this action? 

This action is issued under EPCRA 

sections 313, 42 U.S.C. 11023 and 328, 

42 U.S.C. 11048. EPCRA is also referred 

to as Title III of the Superfund 

Amendments and Reauthorization Act 

of 1986. 

D. Why is the Agency taking this action? 

EPA is taking this action to increase 

the data collected for PFAS. Removing 

the availability of certain burdenreduction reporting options will result 

in a more complete picture of the 

releases and waste management 

quantities for PFAS. This will increase 

the number of TRI reports on listed 

PFAS and the amount of information 

provided on such reports, resulting in 

more information on the waste 

management of these chemicals 

available to the Agency, as well as to the 

public. EPA expects this information 

will be a benefit to the public, including 

communities with environmental justice 

concerns and public water utilities, as 

well as inform future Agency actions, 

including under the Clean Water Act, 

the Resource Conservation and 

Recovery Action, the Comprehensive 

Environmental Response, 

Compensation, and Liability Act, and 

the Toxic Substances Control Act. In 

addition, this action will increase data 

collected for all chemicals of special 

concern by eliminating the de minimis 

exemption for purposes of the Supplier 

Notification Requirements for all 

chemicals on the list of chemicals of 

special concern. The elimination of this 

exemption from Supplier Notification 

Requirements ensures that purchasers of 

mixtures and trade name products 

containing such chemicals are informed 

of their presence in mixtures and 

products they purchase. 

E. What are the estimated incremental 

impacts of this action? 

EPA prepared an updated economic 

analysis for this action entitled, 

‘‘Economic Analysis for the Changes to 

Reporting Requirements for Per- and 

Polyfluoroalkyl Substances and to 

Supplier Notification Requirements for 

Chemicals of Special Concern; 

Community Right-to-Know Toxic 

Chemical Release Reporting,’’ which 

presents an analysis of the costs of the 

reporting changes for PFAS and other 

chemicals of special concern based on 

updated 2022 wage rates and an 

increase in supplier notification burden 

estimates (Ref. 1). EPA estimates that 

this action will result in an additional 

623 to 2,015 Form R reports being filed 

annually. EPA estimates that the costs of 

this action will be approximately 

$3,318,492 and $10,733,149 in the first 

year of reporting and approximately 

$1,580,214 and $5,111,044 in the 

subsequent years. In addition, EPA has 

determined that, of the 486 to 1,333 

small businesses affected by this action, 

none are estimated to incur annualized 

cost impacts of more than 1% of 

revenues. Thus, this action is not 

expected to have a significant adverse 

economic impact on a substantial 

number of small entities. 

Removing the availability of certain 

burden-reduction reporting options will 

result in a more complete picture of the 

releases and waste management 

quantities for PFAS. This will increase 

the number of TRI reports on listed 

PFAS and the amount of information 

provided on such reports, resulting in 

more information on the waste 

management of these chemicals 

available to the Agency, as well as to the 

public. 

II. Background Information 

A. What is EPCRA section 313? 

EPCRA section 313, 42 U.S.C. 11023 

(also known as the Toxics Release 

Inventory (TRI)), requires certain 

facilities that manufacture, process, or 

otherwise use listed toxic chemicals in 

amounts above reporting activity 

threshold levels to report their 

environmental releases and other waste 

management quantities of such 

chemicals annually. These facilities 

must also report pollution prevention 

and recycling data for such chemicals, 

pursuant to PPA section 6607, 42 U.S.C. 

13106. 

TRI provides information about 

releases of toxic chemicals from covered 

facilities throughout the United States; 

however, TRI data do not reveal 

whether or to what degree the public is 

exposed to listed chemicals. TRI data 

can, in conjunction with other 

information, be used as a starting point 

in evaluating such exposures and the 

risks posed by such exposures. The 

determination of potential risk to 

human health and/or the environment 

depends upon many factors, including 

the toxicity of the chemical, the fate of 

the chemical in the environment, and 

the amount and duration of human or 

other exposure to the chemical. 

For more information on TRI, visit the 

TRI website at https://www.epa.gov/tri. 

Note that TRI does not cover all 

chemicals, facilities, or types of 

pollution (see https://www.epa.gov/ 

toxics-release-inventory-tri-program/ 

what-toxics-release-inventory for 

information on which chemicals and 

facilities are regulated under TRI). 

Additionally, via this website, EPA 

provides a guidance document entitled 

‘‘Factors to Consider When Using 

Toxics Release Inventory Data’’ 

available at: https://www.epa.gov/ 

system/files/documents/2022-02/ 

factorstoconsider_approved-by-opa_

1.25.22-copy.pdf, which helps explain 

some of the uses, as well as limitations, 

of data TRI collects. 

B. What are PFAS? 

PFAS are synthetic organic 

compounds that do not occur naturally 

in the environment. PFAS contain an 

alkyl carbon chain on which the 

hydrogen atoms have been partially or 

completely replaced by fluorine atoms. 

Definitions of what constitutes ‘‘PFAS’’ 

differ amongst scientific and regulatory 

bodies. However, in general, the strong 

carbon-fluorine bonds of PFAS make 

them resistant to degradation and thus 

highly persistent in the environment 

(Refs. 2 and 3). Some of these chemicals 

have been used for decades in a wide 

variety of consumer and industrial 

products (Refs. 2 and 3). Some PFAS 

have been detected in wildlife 

indicating that at least some PFAS have 

the ability to bioaccumulate (Ref. 3). 

Because of the widespread use of PFAS 

in commerce and their tendency to 

persist in the environment, most people 

in the United States have been exposed 

to PFAS (Refs. 2, 4 and 5). Some PFAS 

can accumulate in humans and remain 

in the human body for long periods of 

time (e.g., months to years) (Refs. 2 and 

3), as a result, several PFAS have been 

detected in human blood serum (Refs. 2, 

3, 4, and 5). 

C. What PFAS have been added to the 

TRI list? 

On December 20, 2019, the NDAA 

was signed into law (Pub. L. 116–92, 

https://www.congress.gov/public-laws/ 

116th-congress). The NDAA included 


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two provisions that automatically add 

PFAS to the TRI list. First, section 

7321(b) of the NDAA added to the TRI 

list, effective January 1, 2020, 14 

chemicals by name and/or Chemical 

Abstracts Service Registry Number 

(CASRN) and additional PFAS that meet 

specific criteria. On June 22, 2020 (85 

FR 37354 (FRL–10008–09)), EPA 

updated the TRI list in the CFR to reflect 

the 172 non-CBI PFAS added to TRI by 

section 7321(b) of the NDAA. 

Additional PFAS are added to the TRI 

list on an annual basis by the NDAA. 

Specifically, PFAS that meet the criteria 

in section 7321(c) of the NDAA are 

deemed added to the TRI list on January 

1 of the year after specific criteria are 

met. Through this provision, the NDAA 

will continue to add PFAS to the TRI 

list over time as additional PFAS meet 

the criteria outlined in 7321(c). The 

criteria of section 7321(c) require the 

addition to the TRI list of certain PFAS 

after any one of the following dates: 

• Final Toxicity Value. The date on 

which the Administrator finalizes a 

toxicity value for the PFAS or class of 

PFAS; 

• Significant New Use Rule. The date 

on which the Administrator makes a 

covered determination for the PFAS or 

class of PFAS; 

• Addition to Existing Significant 

New Use Rule. The date on which the 

PFAS or class of PFAS is added to a list 

of substances covered by a covered 

determination. 

• Addition as an Active Chemical 

Substance. The date on which the PFAS 

or class of PFAS to which a covered 

determination applies is: 

• Added to the list published under 

section 8(b)(1) of the Toxic Substances 

Control Act (TSCA) (15 U.S.C. 2601 et 

seq.) and designated as an active 

chemical substance under TSCA section 

8(b)(5)(A); or 

• Designated as an active chemical 

substance under TSCA section 8(b)(5)(B) 

on the list published under TSCA 

section 8(b)(1). 

EPA updates the TRI list in the CFR 

to reflect the PFAS added to TRI by 

section 7321(c) of the NDAA. The first 

update rule identifying PFAS that met 

the 7321(c) criteria during 2020 was 

published on June 3, 2021 (86 FR 29698 

(FRL–10022–25)). 

To date, section 7321 of the NDAA 

has added a total of 189 PFAS to the TRI 

list at: https://www.epa.gov/tri/PFAS. A 

complete list of the PFAS added to the 

TRI list can be found at: https://

www.epa.gov/toxics-release-inventorytri-program/list-pfas-added-tri-ndaa. In 

addition, the NDAA established a 

manufacture, processing, or otherwise 

use reporting threshold of 100 pounds 

for each of the PFAS added to the TRI 

list by sections 7321(b) and 7321(c) of 

the NDAA. In the first year of reporting 

for the initial 172 listed PFAS, EPA only 

received 89 reports from 38 facilities 

covering 43 different PFAS. Similar 

levels of PFAS reporting were observed 

in the subsequent year: with 176 PFAS 

on the TRI list in RY2021, only 42 

facilities reported submitted a total of 87 

reports covering 43 different PFAS. 

III. Summary of Public Comments on 

Proposed Rule 

Upon publication of the proposed rule 

on December 5, 2022, EPA provided a 

60-day comment period (87 FR 74379 

(FRL–8714–03–OCSPP)). EPA received 

36 comments on the proposed rule. EPA 

received comments from citizens, 

industry groups, non-governmental 

organizations, and state governments. 

The majority of comments on the 

proposed rule addressed EPA’s burden 

estimates, with the majority stating EPA 

underestimated the burden of listing 

PFAS as chemicals of special concern 

and removing the supplier notification 

de minimis exemption would impose. 

Several commenters requested EPA 

lower the activity thresholds for PFAS. 

Many of the commenters stated that 

EPA has not demonstrated PFAS meet 

the criteria to be classified as chemicals 

of special concern. Many of the 

commenters stated that eliminating the 

regulatory exemptions for PFAS will 

create a more complete picture of PFAS 

in communities and the environment. 

After considering the public comments, 

EPA updated the economic analysis to 

incorporate 2022 wage rates, include a 

summary of small entity analysis, and 

increase the supplier notification 

burden estimates. Further edits to the 

analysis were not required because EPA 

has made no substantive changes as 

compared with what had been 

proposed. Summaries of the comments 

and EPA’s responses to the comments 

appear in the Response to Comment 

document (Ref. 6) which is in the docket 

for this rulemaking. 

IV. What changes is EPA making to the 

TRI reporting requirements? 

A. Designating PFAS Automatically 

Added to the TRI List by the 2020 

NDAA as Chemicals of Special Concern 

EPA is adding all PFAS included on 

the TRI list pursuant to sections 7321(b) 

and 7321(c) of the NDAA (see 40 CFR 

372.65(d) and (e)) to the list of 

chemicals of special concern at 40 CFR 

372.28. EPA first created the list of 

chemicals of special concern to increase 

the utility of TRI data by ensuring that 

the data collected and shared through 

TRI are relevant and topical (Ref. 7). 

EPA lowered the reporting thresholds 

for chemicals of special concern because 

even small quantities of releases of these 

chemicals can be of concern. The first 

chemicals that were added to the list of 

chemicals of special concern were those 

identified as persistent, bioaccumulative 

and toxic (PBT) chemicals which, 

except for the dioxin and dioxin-like 

compounds category, have reporting 

thresholds of either 10 or 100 pounds 

depending on their persistent and 

bioaccumulative properties (Ref. 7). 

Chemicals of special concern are also 

excluded from the de minimis 

exemption, may not be reported on 

Form A (Alternate Threshold 

Certification Statement), and have limits 

on the use of range reporting. 

The de minimis exemption allows 

facilities to not consider small 

concentrations of TRI chemicals not 

classified as chemicals of special 

concern in mixtures or other trade name 

products when making threshold 

determinations and release and other 

waste management calculations. The de 

minimis exemption does not apply to 

the manufacture of a TRI chemical 

except if that chemical is manufactured 

as an impurity and remains in the 

product distributed in commerce, or if 

the chemical is imported below the 

appropriate de minimis level. The de 

minimis exemption does not apply to a 

byproduct manufactured coincidentally 

as a result of manufacturing, processing, 

otherwise use, or any waste 

management activities. 

The Form A provides facilities that 

otherwise meet TRI-reporting thresholds 

the option of certifying on a simplified 

reporting form provided that they do not 

exceed 500 pounds for the total annual 

reportable amount (described 

subsequently in this document) for that 

chemical and that their amounts 

manufactured, processed, or otherwise 

used do not exceed 1 million pounds. 

All chemicals of special concern (except 

certain instances of reporting lead in 

stainless steel, brass, or bronze alloys) 

are excluded from Form A eligibility. 

Form A does not include any 

information on releases or other waste 

management. Nor does it include source 

reduction information or any other 

chemical-specific information other 

than the identity of the chemical. 

For certain data elements (Part II, 

Sections 5, 6.1, and 6.2 of Form R), for 

chemicals not classified as chemicals of 

special concern, the reportable quantity 

may be reported either as an estimate or 

by using the range codes that have been 

developed. Currently, TRI reporting 

provides three reporting ranges: 1–10 


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pounds, 11–499 pounds, and 500–999 

pounds. 

The availability of these burden 

reduction tools is inconsistent with a 

concern for small quantities of the 

chemicals and the expanded reporting 

that was sought for chemicals with 

lower reporting thresholds. In the 

preamble to the 1999 final rule (Ref 7), 

EPA outlined the reasons for 

promulgating the de minimis exemption 

(e.g., that facilities had limited access to 

information and that low concentrations 

would not contribute to the activity 

threshold) and determined that those 

rationales did not apply to chemicals of 

special concern. Id. at 58670. Among 

the reasons provided, EPA explained 

that even minimal releases of persistent 

bioaccumulative toxic chemicals may 

result in significant adverse effects and 

can reasonably be expected to 

significantly contribute to exceeding the 

proposed lower threshold. Id. EPA also 

determined that facilities reporting on 

chemicals of special concern could not 

avail themselves of Form A reporting 

because the information provided on 

Form A is ‘‘insufficient for conducting 

analyses’’ on chemicals of special 

concern and would be ‘‘virtually useless 

for communities interested in assessing 

risk from releases and other waste 

management’’ of such chemicals (i.e., 

the Form A does not include estimated 

release and other waste management 

quantities). Id. Lastly, EPA eliminated 

range reporting for chemicals of special 

concern because the use of ranges could 

misrepresent data accuracy for PBT 

chemicals because the low or the highend range numbers may not really be 

that close to the estimated value. Id. For 

the full discussion, see Persistent 

Bioaccumulative Toxic (PBT) 

Chemicals; Lowering of Reporting 

Thresholds for Certain PBT Chemicals; 

Addition of Certain PBT Chemicals; 

Community Right-to-Know Toxic 

Chemical Reporting (Refs. 7 and 8) 

EPA has determined that PFAS added 

to EPCRA section 313 by sections 

7321(b) and 7321(c) of the 2020 NDAA 

should be categorized as chemicals of 

special concern and added to the list in 

40 CFR 372.28. The NDAA set a 100- 

pound annual reporting threshold for 

PFAS added by sections 7321(b) and 

7321(c), which indicates a concern for 

small quantities of such PFAS. EPA has 

therefore determined that the 

availability of certain burden reduction 

tools (i.e., de minimis levels, Form A, 

and range reporting) is not justified for 

these chemicals as the availability of 

these tools is inconsistent with a 

concern for small quantities. 

Further, due to the strength of the 

carbon-fluorine bonds, many PFAS can 

be very persistent in the environment 

(Refs. 2, 3, and 9). Persistence in the 

environment allows PFAS 

concentrations to build up over time; 

thus, even small releases can be of 

concern. As with PBT chemicals, 

permitting reporting facilities to 

continue to rely on the burden 

reduction tools (de minimis levels, Form 

A, and range reporting) would eliminate 

reporting on potentially significant 

quantities of the listed PFAS. As 

explained in more detail in Unit IV., 

EPA’s rationale for eliminating these 

burden reduction tools for PBT 

chemicals (Refs. 7 and 8) applies 

equally well to PFAS. 

The de minimis exemption allows 

facilities to not consider concentrations 

of TRI listed chemicals in Unit IV., 1% 

(0.1% for carcinogens) in mixtures or 

other trade name products they import, 

process, or otherwise use in making 

threshold calculations and release and 

other waste management (including 

disposal to land and other types of 

waste management (i.e., energy 

recovery, recyling, treatment)) 

determinations. Since the de minimis 

level is based on relative concentration 

rather than a specific amount, the 

application of this exemption to PFAS 

listed under sections 7321(b) and 

7321(c) could allow significant 

quantities of such PFAS to be excluded 

from TRI reporting by facilities. For 

example, if a facility imports, processes, 

or otherwise uses 100,000 pounds of a 

mixture or trade name product that 

contains 0.5% of a listed PFAS, then 

500 pounds (or five times the reporting 

threshold) would be disregarded. This 

exclusion is inconsistent with a concern 

for small quantities of PFAS. Many 

PFAS are used in products below the 

established de minimis levels (Refs. 4 

and 10), and the continued availability 

of the exemption for PFAS would 

permit facilities to discount those uses 

when determining whether an 

applicable threshold has been met to 

trigger reporting. 

The Form A provides certain covered 

facilities the option of submitting a 

substantially shorter form with a 

reduced reporting burden (Ref. 11). For 

example, the Form A does not require 

facilities to report any information on 

releases (e.g., releases through fugitive 

or non-point air emissions, discharges to 

streams or water bodies) or waste 

management quantities. Facilities can 

qualify to file a Form A if the total 

annual reportable amount for the listed 

chemical does not exceed 500 pounds, 

and the amounts manufactured, 

processed, or otherwise used do not 

exceed 1 million pounds. The annual 

reportable amount is equal to the 

combined total quantities released at the 

facility (including disposed of within 

the facility), treated at the facility (as 

represented by amounts destroyed or 

converted by treatment processes), 

recovered at the facility as a result of 

recycling operations, combusted for the 

purpose of energy recovery at the 

facility, and amounts transferred from 

the facility to off-site locations for the 

purpose of recycling, energy recovery, 

treatment, and/or disposal. This means 

that facilities that are required to report 

data on PFAS and also qualify to file a 

Form A will not be providing specific 

quantity data on up to 500 pounds of a 

listed PFAS (five times the reporting 

threshold). For reporting year 2020, 

approximately 10% of the reporting 

forms submitted for the listed PFAS 

were Forms A (i.e., reporting for TRI 

reflects 93 active reporting forms of 

which 84 were Forms R and 9 were 

Forms A). This trend continued with 

reporting year 2021, in which 9 of the 

total 87 reporting forms for PFAS were 

Form A. 

While the Form A does provide some 

general information on the quantities of 

the chemical that the facility manages as 

waste, this information may be 

insufficient for conducting analyses on 

PFAS and may be less meaningful for 

communities interested in assessing risk 

from releases of PFAS. The threshold 

category for amounts managed as waste 

does not include quantities released to 

the environment as a result of remedial 

actions or catastrophic events not 

associated with production processes 

(section 8.8 of Form R). Thus, the waste 

threshold category in Form A does not 

include all releases. Given that even 

small quantities of PFAS may result in 

elevated concentrations in the 

environment, EPA believes it would be 

inappropriate to allow a reporting 

option that would exclude information 

on some releases. Thus, removing the 

availability of the use of Form A for 

PFAS is consistent with a concern for 

understanding small quantities of PFAS. 

For TRI-listed chemicals, other than 

chemicals of special concern, releases 

and off-site transfers for further waste 

management of less than 1,000 pounds 

can be reported using ranges or as a 

whole number. The reporting ranges are: 

1–10 pounds; 11–499 pounds; and 500– 

999 pounds. For larger releases and offsite transfers for further waste 

management of the toxic chemical, the 

facility must report the whole number. 

Use of ranges could reduce data 

accuracy because the low or the highend range numbers may not be that 

close to the estimated value, even taking 

into account inherent data errors (i.e., 

errors in measurements and developing 


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estimates). For PFAS, it is important to 

have accurate data regarding the amount 

released even when the quantities are 

relatively small, since concern may be 

tied to even small quantities of a 

substance. This issue was apparent for 

PFAS for reporting years 2020 and 2021 

since much of the data reported was for 

less than 1,000 pounds. 

EPA anticipates that the elimination 

of these burden reduction tools will 

increase the amount and quality of data 

collected for PFAS and is consistent 

with the concern for small quantities of 

PFAS (Ref. 1). 

B. Elimination of the Supplier 

Notification Requirement De Minimis 

Exemption for Chemicals of Special 

Concern 

EPA is also eliminating the use of the 

de minimis exemption under the 

Supplier Notification Requirements at 

40 CFR 372.45(d)(1) for all substances 

on the list of chemicals of special 

concern. EPA extended the de minimis 

exemption to the supplier notification 

requirement in its initial TRI reporting 

rule (53 FR 4500, February 16, 1988 

(FRL–3298–2)). The revised text reads as 

follows: 

If a mixture or trade name product contains 

no toxic chemical in excess of the applicable 

de minimis concentration as specified in 40 

CFR 372.38(a) except for chemicals listed 

under 40 CFR 372.28 which are excluded 

from the de minimis exemption. 

The de minimis exemption to the 

Supplier Notification Requirements 

allows suppliers to not provide 

notifications for mixtures or trade name 

products containing the listed toxic 

chemicals if the chemicals are present at 

concentrations below 1% of the mixture 

(0.1% for carcinogens). The de minimis 

exemption is not a small quantity 

exemption; it is a small concentration 

exemption. Therefore, it is possible that 

significant quantities of chemicals of 

special concern can be overlooked by 

reporting facilities if suppliers can use 

the de minimis exemption. For example, 

if a mixture or trade name product 

contains 0.9% of a listed PFAS and 

100,000 pounds of the product is 

purchased, the supplier need not 

provide notification and the purchaser 

could be unaware of and not account for 

900 pounds of PFAS. The impact of this 

exemption for the PBT chemicals with 

10-pound reporting thresholds is even 

greater. Using the same 100,000-pound 

example, if mercury were present at 

0.9% then that same 900 pounds would 

be 90 times the mercury reporting 

threshold. 

It is also possible that quantities of 

chemicals of special concern would be 

included in supplier notifications by 

reporting facilities if suppliers cannot 

use the de minimis exemption. For 

example, if a mixture or trade name 

product contains 0.9% of a listed PFAS 

and 1,000 pounds of the product is 

purchased, the supplier would need to 

provide notification for 9 pounds of 

PFAS. This would also impact PBT 

chemicals with 10-pound reporting 

thresholds. Using the same 1,000-pound 

example, if mercury was present at 

0.9% then that same 9 pounds would be 

below the mercury reporting threshold. 

However, such quantities may become 

reportable, in aggregate, if a reporting 

entity receives multiple shipments 

(including from multiple suppliers) of a 

given product in a year and performs a 

threshold activity in excess of the TRI 

reporting threshold. Further, TRI 

supplier notification regulations do not 

require a person to consider the total 

quantity of the chemical being supplied 

but rather require the person to consider 

the concentration of the chemical in the 

product or mixture. Including a 

consideration of quantity rather than 

concentration shipped would 

complicate as well as reduce the ability 

of supplier notifications to inform 

downstream recipients of products and 

mixtures containing a TRI-listed 

chemical. 

EPA considered whether to include a 

small quantity exemption in lieu of a de 

minimis exemption for supplier 

notification. However, EPA is concerned 

that such an exemption would not 

provide adequate information to 

facilities receiving multiple shipments 

over the course of a year to address TRI 

reporting requirements that may apply 

to them, based on the total aggregated 

quantity received. Without such 

information on the TRI-listed chemical, 

the receiving facility may not have 

sufficient data to inform potential TRI 

reporting obligations. 

Many PFAS are used in products 

below the established de minimis levels 

(Refs. 4 and 10) which results in users 

of those products not knowing they are 

receiving a product that contains a TRIreportable PFAS. PFAS reports received 

for the TRI 2020 and 2021 reporting 

years were mostly from manufacturers 

and waste disposal facilities which 

suggests that the de minimis exemption 

may have been used by most users and 

processors see https://www.epa.gov/ 

toxics-release-inventory-tri-program/ 

find-understand-and-use-tri. EPA has 

concluded that it is important and 

necessary to eliminate the supplier 

notification de minimis exemption for 

PFAS added to the TRI list pursuant to 

sections 7321(b) and 7321(c) of the 

NDAA because if that exemption were 

to remain in place the Agency may fail 

to collect information on amounts of 

PFAS that significantly exceed the 

reporting threshold. 

In addition, eliminating the use of the 

de minimis exemption for supplier 

notification purposes for all other 

chemicals of special concern ensures 

that potentially significant quantities of 

such chemicals are not overlooked by 

reporting facilities. The PBT chemicals 

and chemical categories that are 

classified as chemicals of special 

concern, and are thus also impacted by 

this change, are as follows: 

• Aldrin (CASRN: 309–00–2); 

• Benzo[g,h,i]perylene (CASRN: 191– 

24–2); 

• Chlordane (CASRN: 57–74–9); 

• Dioxin and dioxin-like compounds 

category (manufacturing; and the 

processing or otherwise use of dioxin 

and dioxin-like compounds category if 

the dioxin and dioxin-like compounds 

are present as contaminants in a 

chemical and if they were created 

during the manufacturing of that 

chemical) (TRI Category Code: N150); 

• Heptachlor (CASRN: 76–44–8); 

• Hexabromocyclododecane category 

(TRI Category Code: N270); 

• Hexachlorobenzene (CASRN: 118– 

74–1); 

• Isodrin (CASRN: 465–73–6); 

• Lead (this lower threshold does not 

apply to lead when it is contained in 

stainless steel, brass or bronze alloy; 

(CASRN: 7439–92–1); 

• Lead compounds category (TRI 

Category Code: N420); 

• Mercury (CASRN: 7439–97–6); 

• Mercury compounds category (TRI 

Category Code: N458); 

• Methoxychlor (CASRN: 72–43–5); 

• Octachlorostyrene (CASRN: 29082– 

74–4); 

• Pendimethalin (CASRN: 40487–42– 

1); 

• Pentachlorobenzene (CASRN: 608– 

93–5); 

• Polychlorinated biphenyls (CASRN: 

1336–36–3); 

• Polycyclic aromatic compounds 

category (PACs) (TRI Category Code: 

N590); 

• Tetrabromobisphenol A (CASRN: 

79–94–7); 

• Toxaphene (CASRN: 8001–35–2); 

and 

• Trifluralin (CASRN: 1582–09–8). 

When EPA established the chemicals 

of special concern list, it decided to not 

remove the de minimis exemption 

eligibility from supplier notification 

requirements, indicating that the 

Agency believed that there was 

sufficient information available on PBT 

chemicals by suppliers. (Refs. 7 and 8). 

However, EPA has determined that 

there are situations where this 


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information is not available. For 

example, the Agency has found that 

there is significant variability in the 

concentration of PACs in fuels, yet the 

presence and concentration of PACs in 

fuel oil is often not provided in supplier 

notifications or SDSs. Additionally, EPA 

is aware of metal mixtures and products 

containing low concentrations of lead 

(not contained in stainless steel, brass or 

bronze alloys) whose supplier 

notifications and SDSs do not state there 

is lead present in the mixture or 

product. Further, it is unclear whether 

downstream purchasers would be made 

aware of PBT chemicals contained in 

many products without notification of 

the presence of such chemicals. 

In situations where such information 

is already available, supplier 

notifications may already be addressed 

(e.g., if such information in already 

included on an SDS) or the burden of 

a supplier to provide such information 

is minimal (i.e., if the information is 

redundant then the burden to provide 

such known information should be 

trivial). However, as noted in Unit IV., 

the quantity information EPA is 

requiring for de minimis concentrations 

below the concentration threshold may 

not be provided in SDSs. OSHA 

maintains a 1% concentration threshold 

for reporting the presence and 

concentration of most hazardous 

chemicals on SDSs (29 CFR part 1910, 

subpart Z). For chronic hazards (with 

Carcinogenicity, Germ Cell 

Mutagenicity, and Reproductive 

Toxicity), OSHA has established a 0.1% 

concentration threshold for reporting 

the presence and concentration of 

chemicals on SDSs (29 CFR part 1910, 

subpart Z). EPA notes that there may be 

other reasons for a chemical’s exclusion 

from an SDS (e.g., a chemical may be in 

an article that is not covered by SDS 

requirements but is subject to TRI 

supplier notification requirements). As 

described in section 4.3 of the EA (Ref. 

1) for this final rule, EPA believes that 

any potential increase in new supplier 

reporting is minimal, particularly 

regarding non-PFAS chemicals of 

special concern. 

In the 1999 proposal to establish a 

chemical of special concern list, EPA 

also reasoned that entities subject to TRI 

supplier notification requirements could 

retain use of the de minimis exemption 

for PBTs because ‘‘[m]any of the 

chemicals identified as persistent and 

bioaccumulative in today’s action are 

not imported, processed, or otherwise 

used but are manufactured as 

byproducts’’ (Ref. 8). However, the 

Agency has since learned that several 

PBT chemicals are not manufactured as 

byproducts, and those chemicals are 

known to be processed for distribution 

to customers. For example, in Reporting 

Year 2021, the Agency received 55 

Forms R for tetrabromobisphenol A 

(TBBPA). None of those forms indicated 

that TBBPA had been manufactured as 

a byproduct. However, some forms 

indicated the TBBPA is processed, 

including as an article component. 

Similarly, for Reporting Year 2021, the 

Agency received 76 Forms R on 

polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs); 64 of 

those forms did not indicate those PCBs 

had been manufactured as byproducts, 

though some forms indicated the PCBs 

had been processed, including as an 

article component. Because many PBT 

chemicals are not manufactured as 

byproducts and may exist in relatively 

lower concentrations within products or 

mixtures, the Agency’s initial rationale 

to allow suppliers to exempt 

concentrations of PBT chemicals below 

de minimis from supplier notification 

requirements warrants reconsideration. 

Therefore, EPA has reassessed this 

exemption and modified it 

appropriately to provide TRI facilities 

that receive products or mixtures 

containing chemicals of special concern 

with additional information related to 

quantities of chemicals of special 

concern that may contribute to their 

reporting thresholds. EPA created the de 

minimis exemption pursuant to the 

authority provided in EPCRA section 

328 (42 U.S.C. 11048) and is adjusting 

the scope of the exemption under that 

same authority. EPCRA section 328 

provides that EPA has authority to 

promulgate regulations as may be 

necessary to carry out this chapter. EPA 

has concluded that it is important and 

necessary to eliminate the supplier 

notification de minimis exemption for 

all chemicals of special concern because 

if that exemption were to remain in 

place the Agency may fail to collect 

information on amounts of such 

chemicals that significantly exceed the 

reporting threshold. 

This action reflects EPA’s current 

understanding of chemical activities 

involving all chemicals of special 

concern (i.e., both PBTs and PFAS). 

C. Impact of Listing Certain PFAS on the 

Chemicals of Special Concern List 

This action revises the regulatory text 

to add PFAS currently on TRI pursuant 

to 7321(b) and 7321(c) of the NDAA to 

the list of chemicals of special concern. 

Additionally, the regulatory text, as 

revised by this action, provides that all 

PFAS added to TRI pursuant to sections 

7321(b) and 7321(c), regardless of the 

date of their addition, are included on 

the chemicals of special concern list. 

Thus, as PFAS continue to be added to 

TRI pursuant to sections 7321(b) and 

7321(c), they will also be added to the 

list of chemicals of special concern as of 

the date they are added to the TRI. It is 

likely that some of the substances 

meeting the criteria in 7321(b) and 

7321(c) will be subject to confidential 

business information claims. For 

substances subject to such claims, the 

Agency must follow the process 

outlined in section 7321(e) of the 

NDAA. 

As with PFAS currently on the TRI 

list, future PFAS added to the TRI list 

under 7321(b) and 7321(c) will have a 

100-pound reporting threshold, per 

sections 7321(b)(2)(A) and 7321(c)(2)(B). 

Congress’ use of this low reporting 

threshold demonstrates a concern for 

even relatively small quantities of these 

PFAS. Therefore, EPA has concluded 

that it is appropriate for all PFAS added 

to the TRI list under these provisions to 

be added to the chemicals of special 

concern list upon listing. If these PFAS 

were not added to the chemicals of 

special concern list at the time of their 

addition to the TRI list, there would be 

a delay in the reporting requirements 

while EPA conducts a rulemaking 

simply to add them to the chemicals of 

special concern list. This would result 

in differences in how previously listed 

PFAS and newly listed PFAS are treated 

even though they were automatically 

listed with the same reporting 

thresholds. The chemicals of special 

concern designation is a regulatory 

construct and here, EPA has determined 

it is appropriate to designate all PFAS 

added to TRI pursuant to 7321(b) and 

7321(c) as chemicals of special concern 

due to Congress’ use of the 100-pound 

reporting threshold, indicating a 

concern for even relatively small 

quantities of PFAS, and PFAS’ 

persistence in the environment and 

growing evidence showing potential 

adverse human health effects (Refs. 2, 3, 

and 9). Further, this regulatory change 

will provide additional data that will 

help the Agency to better understand 

the extent of potential impacts caused 

by these PFAS. Given that the NDAA set 

a 100-pound reporting threshold for all 

PFAS added pursuant to sections 

7321(b) and 7321(c), EPA has 

determined that additional rulemakings 

to designate these chemicals as 

chemicals of special concern are 

unnecessary because the rationale for 

any future rulemakings would remain 

the same and would result in a delay of 

reporting requirements. EPA has 

finalized regulatory text that adds those 

PFAS added pursuant to 7321(b) and 

7321(c) to the chemicals of special 


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concern list upon their addition to the 

TRI list. 

EPA has decided not to provide a 

structural definition (e.g., OECD) of 

PFAS as part of this action, because 

doing so is outside the scope of this 

rulemaking. This rulemaking only 

concerns chemical substances added to 

the TRI by sections 7321(b) and 7321(c) 

of the NDAA, neither of which require 

EPA to provide a definition of PFAS. 

Section 7321(b) added by name and/or 

CASRN specific PFAS to the TRI list 

and sections 7321(b) and (c) identify 

EPA activities involving PFAS that 

would cause a PFAS to be added to the 

TRI list. The activities described by 

sections 7321(b) and (c) indicate 

whether they pertain to a PFAS, and 

thus a separate determination of 

whether or not the covered activity 

involves a PFAS is not necessary. EPA 

is therefore not providing a definition of 

PFAS for purposes of this rulemaking, 

and issues relating to the definition of 

PFAS are outside the scope of this 

rulemaking. EPA will consider the need 

for a PFAS definition for a purpose 

other than the NDAA section 7321(b) 

and (c) listings, should the need for 

such a definition arise. As indicated in 

the proposal for this rulemaking, EPA 

acknowledges there is another 

rulemaking underway to list PFAS 

additions for NDAA 7321(d), and the 

Agency expects that rulemaking to 

clarify the status of those listed PFAS as 

chemicals of special concern. 

V. References 

The following is a listing of the 

documents that are specifically 

referenced in this document. The docket 

includes these documents and other 

information considered by EPA, 

including documents that are referenced 

within the documents that are included 

in the docket, even if the referenced 

document is not itself physically located 

in the docket. For assistance in locating 

these other documents, please consult 

the person listed under FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT. 

1. USEPA. Economic Analysis for the 

Changes to TRI Reporting for PFAS. 

October 2023. 

2. USEPA. Our Current Understanding of the 

Human Health and Environmental Risks 

of PFAS. U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency, Washington, DC. https://

www.epa.gov/pfas/our-currentunderstanding-human-health-andenvironmental-risks-pfas. 

3. ATSDR. Agency for Toxic Substances and 

Disease Registry. Toxicological Profile 

for Perfluoroalkyls. May 2021. https://

www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/ 

tp200.pdf. 

4. ATSDR. Agency for Toxic Substances and 

Disease Registry. Per- and 

Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) and 

Your Health. PFAS in the U.S. 

Population. https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/ 

pfas/health-effects/us-population.html. 

5. Centers for Disease Control and 

Prevention, U.S. Department of Health 

and Human Services. National Report on 

Human Exposure to Environmental 

Chemicals. Updated March 2022. 

Accessed [insert date]. https://

www.cdc.gov/exposurereport/. 

6. USEPA. Response to Comment document. 

October 2023. 

7. USEPA. Final Rule: Persistent 

Bioaccumulative Toxic (PBT) Chemicals; 

Lowering of Reporting Thresholds for 

Certain PBT Chemicals; Addition of 

Certain PBT Chemicals; Community 

Right-to-Know Toxic Chemical 

Reporting. Federal Register. 64 FR 

58666, October 29, 1999 (FRL–6389–11). 

8. USEPA. Proposed Rule: Persistent 

Bioaccumulative Toxic (PBT) Chemicals; 

Lowering of Reporting Thresholds for 

Certain PBT Chemicals; Addition of 

Certain PBT Chemicals; Community 

Right-to-Know Toxic Chemical 

Reporting. Federal Register. 64 FR 688, 

January 5, 1999 (FRL–6389–11). 

9. National Institute of Environmental Health 

Sciences. Perfluoroalkyl and 

Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS). 

https://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/ 

agents/pfc/index.cfm. 

10. Kotthoff, et al. 2015. Perfluoroalkyl and 

polyfluoroalkyl substances in consumer 

products. Environmental Science and 

Pollution Research 22:14546–14559. 

11. USEPA. Toxics Release Inventory Form 

A. https://ordspub.epa.gov/ords/ 

guideme_ext/guideme_ext/guideme/file/ 

ry_2021_form_a.pdf. 

12. USEPA. Supporting Statement for an 

Information Collection Request (ICR) 

‘‘Rule-Related Amendment; Changes to 

Reporting Requirements for Per- and 

Polyfluoroalkyl Substances; Community 

Right-to-Know Toxic Chemical Release 

Reporting; Final Rule (RIN 2070– 

AK97).’’ EPA ICR No.2724.02; OMB 

Control No. 2070–0225. July 2023. 

VI. Statutory and Executive Orders 

Reviews 

Additional information about these 

statutes and Executive Orders can be 

found at https://www.epa.gov/lawsregulations/laws-and-executive-orders. 

A. Executive Order 12866: Regulatory 

Planning and Review and Executive 

Order 14094: Modernizing Regulatory 

Review 

This action is a ‘‘significant regulatory 

action’’ as defined in Executive Order 

12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993), 

as amended by Executive Order 14094 

(88 FR 21879, April 11, 2023). 

Accordingly, EPA submitted this action 

to the Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) for Executive Order 12866 

review. Documentation of any changes 

made in response to the Executive Order 

12866 review is available in the docket. 

EPA prepared an economic analysis of 

the potential impacts associated with 

this action. This analysis, ‘‘Economic 

Analysis for the Changes to TRI 

Reporting for PFAS’’ (Ref. 1) is also 

available in the docket and summarized 

in Unit E.1. 

B. Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) 

The information collection activities 

in this rule will be submitted to OMB 

for approval under the PRA, 44 U.S.C. 

3501 et seq. The Information Collection 

Request (ICR) document that EPA 

prepared has been assigned EPA ICR 

No. 2724.02 and the OMB Control No. 

2070–0225. You can find a copy of the 

ICR in the docket for this rule, and it is 

briefly summarized here (Ref. 12). The 

information collection requirements are 

not enforceable until OMB approves 

them. 

Currently, the facilities subject to the 

reporting requirements under EPCRA 

section 313 and PPA section 6607 may 

use either EPA Toxic Chemicals Release 

Inventory Form R (EPA Form 1B9350– 

1), or EPA Toxic Chemicals Release 

Inventory Form A (EPA Form 1B9350– 

2). The Form R must be completed if a 

facility manufactures, processes, or 

otherwise uses any listed chemical 

above threshold quantities and meets 

certain other criteria. For the Form A, 

EPA established an alternative threshold 

for facilities with low annual reportable 

amounts of a listed toxic chemical. A 

facility that meets the appropriate 

reporting thresholds, but estimates that 

the total annual reportable amount of 

the chemical does not exceed 500 

pounds per year, can take advantage of 

an alternative manufacture, process, or 

otherwise use threshold of 1 million 

pounds per year of the chemical, 

provided that certain conditions are 

met, and submit the Form A instead of 

the Form R. In addition, respondents 

may designate the specific chemical 

identity of a substance as a trade secret 

pursuant to EPCRA section 322 (42 

U.S.C. 11042) and 40 CFR part 350. 

OMB has approved the reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements related to 

Forms A and R, supplier notification, 

and petitions under OMB Control 

number 2070–0212 (EPA ICR No. 

2613.04) and those related to trade 

secret designations under OMB Control 

2050–0078 (EPA ICR No. 1428.12). As 

such, this ICR is intended to amend the 

existing ICR to include the following 

additional details: 

• Respondents/affected entities: 

Facilities covered under EPCRA section 

313 that manufacture, process or 

otherwise use listed PFAS (See Unit 

I.A.). 


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• Respondent’s obligation to respond: 

Mandatory (EPCRA section 313). 

• Frequency of response: Annual. 

• Total estimated number of 

respondents: 623 to 2,015. 

• Total estimated burden: 43,843 and 

111,768 burden hours in the first year 

and approximately 22,244 and 71,946 

burden hours in the steady state. Burden 

is defined at 5 CFR 1320.3(b). 

• Total estimated cost: 

Approximately $3,318,492 and 

$10,733,149 in the first year of reporting 

and approximately $1,580,214 and 

$5,111,044 in the steady state (per year) 

includes $0 annualized capital or 

operation & maintenance costs. 

An agency may not conduct or 

sponsor, and a person is not required to 

respond to, a collection of information 

unless it displays a currently valid OMB 

control number. The OMB control 

numbers for the EPA’s regulations in 40 

CFR are listed in 40 CFR part 9. When 

OMB approves this ICR, the Agency will 

announce that approval in the Federal 

Register and publish a technical 

amendment to 40 CFR part 9 to display 

the OMB control number for the 

approved information collection 

activities contained in this final rule. 

C. Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) 

I certify that this action will not have 

a significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities 

under the RFA, 5 U.S.C. 601 et seq. The 

small entities subject to the 

requirements of this action are primarily 

classified within the manufacturing and 

waste management industry sectors. The 

Agency has determined that of the 623 

to 2,015 entities estimated to be 

impacted by this action, 486 to 1,333 are 

small businesses; no small governments 

or small organizations are expected to 

be affected by this action. The average 

cost per small firm is $7,413 (at a 3% 

discount rate) or $7,520 (at a 7% 

discount rate). All small businesses 

affected by this action are estimated to 

incur annualized cost impacts of less 

than 1%. Even under a worst-case 

scenario comparing compliance costs to 

average revenue of firms with between 

10 (smallest number required to report) 

and 14 employees instead of comparing 

compliance costs to the weighted 

average revenue of small firms, there are 

still no costs that exceed the 1% impact 

threshold. Thus, this action is not 

expected to have a significant adverse 

economic impact on a substantial 

number of small entities. A more 

detailed analysis of the impacts on 

small entities is provided in EPA’s 

economic analysis (Ref. 1). 

D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

(UMRA) 

This action does not contain an 

unfunded mandate of $100 million or 

more as described in UMRA, 2 U.S.C. 

1531–1538, and does not significantly or 

uniquely affect small governments. The 

action imposes no enforceable duty on 

any state, local or tribal governments or 

the private sector. EPA did not identify 

any small governments that would be 

impacted by this action. EPA’s 

economic analysis indicates that the 

total cost of this action is estimated to 

be from $3,318,492 and $10,733,149 in 

the first year of reporting and from 

$1,580,214 and $5,111,044 in 

subsequent reporting years (Ref. 1). 

E. Executive Order 13132: Federalism 

This action does not have federalism 

implications as specified in Executive 

Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 

1999), because it will not have 

substantial direct effects on states, on 

the relationship between the national 

government and the states, or on the 

distribution of power and 

responsibilities among the various 

levels of government. 

F. Executive Order 13175: Consultation 

and Coordination With Indian Tribal 

Governments 

This action does not have tribal 

implications as specified in Executive 

Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 

2000) because it will not have 

substantial direct effects on tribal 

governments, on the relationship 

between the Federal government and 

the Indian tribes, or on the distribution 

of power and responsibilities between 

the Federal government and Indian 

tribes. It does not have substantial direct 

effects on tribal government because 

this action relates to toxic chemical 

reporting under EPCRA section 313, 

which primarily affects private sector 

facilities. Thus, Executive Order 13175 

does not apply to this action. 

G. Executive Order 13045: Protection of 

Children From Environmental Health 

Risks and Safety Risks 

EPA interprets Executive Order 13045 

(62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997) as 

applying only to regulatory actions 

considered significant under section 

3(f)(1) of Executive Order 12866 and 

that concern environmental health or 

safety risks that EPA has reason to 

believe may disproportionately affect 

children, per the definition of ‘‘covered 

regulatory action’’ in section 2–202 of 

Executive Order 13045. 

Although this action does not concern 

an environmental health or safety risk, 

the data collected as a result of this 

action will provide information about 

releases to the environment that could 

be used to inform the public on 

potential exposures to toxic chemical 

releases, pursuant to the right-to-know 

principles. EPA also believes that the 

information obtained as a result of this 

action could be used by government 

agencies, researchers, and others to 

identify potential problems, set 

priorities, and take appropriate steps to 

reduce any potential exposures and 

related human health or environmental 

risks identified as a result of increased 

knowledge of exposures to PFAS. 

H. Executive Order 13211: Actions 

Concerning Regulations That 

Significantly Affect Energy Supply, 

Distribution, or Use 

This action is not a ‘‘significant 

energy action’’ as defined in Executive 

Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, May 22, 

2001), because it is not likely to have a 

significant adverse effect on the supply, 

distribution or use of energy and has not 

otherwise been designated by the 

Administrator of the Office of 

Information and Regulatory Affairs as a 

significant energy action. 

I. National Technology Transfer and 

Advancement Act (NTTAA) 

This action does not involve technical 

standards under the NTTAA section 

12(d), 15 U.S.C. 272. 

J. Executive Order 12898: Federal 

Actions To Address Environmental 

Justice in Minority Populations and 

Low-Income Populations and; Executive 

Order 14096: Revitalizing Our Nation’s 

Commitment to Environmental Justice 

for All 

EPA finds that it is not practicable to 

perform an environmental justice 

analysis because it lacks data on the 

exact locations of every exposure 

source. EPA was unable to perform an 

environmental justice analysis because 

it lacks data on the exact location of 

every exposure source based on 

reporting activity. The purpose of this 

action is to require reporting activity. 

However, this regulatory action makes 

changes to the reporting requirements 

for PFAS that will result in more 

information being collected and 

provided to better evaluate exposures 

and the risks posed by such exposures. 

The determination of potential risk to 

human health and/or the environment 

depends upon many factors, including 

the toxicity of the chemical, the fate of 

the chemical in the environment, and 

the amount and duration of human or 

other exposure to the chemical. This 

action does not directly address human 

health or environmental risks. However, 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1
74368 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 209 / Tuesday, October 31, 2023 / Rules and Regulations 

the action will increase the level of 

information available to assess 

environmental protection for all affected 

populations without having any 

disproportionate and adverse human 

health or environmental effects on any 

population, including any community 

with environmental justice concerns. 

Specifically, changes to the reporting 

requirements for PFAS will provide 

more information on releases and waste 

management of PFAS. By requiring 

reporting of this additional information, 

EPA will be providing communities 

across the U.S. (including communities 

with environmental justice concerns) 

with access to data which they may use 

to seek lower exposures and 

consequently reductions in chemical 

risks for themselves and their children. 

This information can also be used by 

government agencies and others to 

identify potential problems, set 

priorities, and take appropriate steps to 

reduce any potential risks to human 

health and the environment. Therefore, 

informational benefits, of the action, 

including behavioral changes such as 

consumers avoiding specific products, 

may have positive impact on the human 

health and environmental impacts on all 

communities, including communities 

with environmental justice concerns. 

K. Congressional Review Act (CRA) 

This action is subject to the CRA, 5 

U.S.C. 801 et seq., and EPA will submit 

a rule report to each House of the 

Congress and to the Comptroller General 

of the United States. This action is not 

a ‘‘major rule’’ as defined by 5 U.S.C. 

804(2). 

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 372 

Environmental protection, 

Community right-to-know, Reporting 

and recordkeeping requirements, and 

Toxic chemicals. 

Dated: October 18, 2023. 

Michal Freedhoff, 

Assistant Administrator, Office of Chemical 

Safety and Pollution Prevention. 

Therefore, for the reasons stated in the 

preamble, EPA is amending 40 CFR 

chapter I as follows: 

PART 372—TOXIC CHEMICAL 

RELEASE REPORTING: COMMUNITY 

RIGHT-TO-KNOW 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 372 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 11023 and 11048. 

§ 372.22 [Amended] 

■ 2. Amend § 372.22(c) by removing 

‘‘§ 372.25, § 372.27, § 372.28, or 

§ 372.29’’ and adding in its place 

‘‘§§ 372.25, 372.27, or 372.28’’. 

§ 372.25 [Amended] 

■ 3. Amend § 372.25 by: 

■ a. In the introductory text, remove 

‘‘Except as provided in § 372.27, 

§ 372.28, and § 372.29’’ and add in its 

place ‘‘Except as provided in §§ 372.27 

and 372.28’’; and 

■ b. In paragraphs (f), (g), and (h), 

remove ‘‘§ 372.27, § 372.28, or § 372.29’’ 

and add in its place ‘‘§§ 372.27 or 

372.28’’. 

■ 4. In § 372.28, amend table 1 to 

paragraph (a)(1) by adding the entry 

‘‘Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances’’ 

alphabetically to read as follows: 

§ 372.28 Lower thresholds for chemicals 

of special concern. 

* * * * * 

(a) * * * 

(1) * * * 

TABLE 1 TO PARAGRAPH (a)(1) 

Chemical name CAS No. 

Reporting 

threshold 

(in pounds) 

*******

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (Individually listed per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances 

added by 15 U.S.C. 8921(b)(1) and (c)(1)). (EPA periodically updates the lists of covered 

chemicals at § 372.65(d) and (e) to reflect chemicals that have been added by 15 U.S.C. 

8921).

see § 372.65(d) and (e) ........... 100 

* * * * * * * 

§ 372.29 [Removed] 

■ 5. Remove § 372.29. 

§ 372.30 [Amended] 

■ 6. Amend § 372.30 by: 

■ a. In paragraph (a), remove ‘‘in 

§ 372.25, § 372.27, § 372.28, or § 372.29 

at’’ and add in its place ‘‘in §§ 372.25, 

372.27, or 372.28 at’’; and 

■ b. In paragraphs (b)(1), (b)(3) 

introductory text, (b)(3)(i), and (b)(3)(iv), 

remove ‘‘§ 372.25, § 372.27, § 372.28, or 

§ 372.29’’ and add in its place 

‘‘§§ 372.25, 372.27, or 372.28’’. 

§ 372.38 [Amended] 

■ 7. Amend § 372.38 by: 

■ a. In paragraph (a)(2), remove ‘‘except 

for purposes of § 372.45(d)(1)’’; and 

■ b. In paragraphs (b), (c), (d), (f), (g) and 

(h), remove ‘‘§ 372.25, § 372.27, 

§ 372.28, or § 372.29’’ and add in its 

place ‘‘§§ 372.25, 372.27, or 372.28’’. 

■ 8. Amend § 372.45, by revising 

paragraph (d)(1) to read as follows: 

§ 372.45 Notification about toxic 

chemicals. 

* * * * * 

(d) * * * 

(1) If a mixture or trade name product 

contains no toxic chemical in excess of 

the applicable de minimis concentration 

as specified in § 372.38(a), except for 

chemicals listed in § 372.28(a), which 

are excluded from the de minimis 

exemption. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2023–23413 Filed 10–30–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 


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