Read the full article by Philip Comella and Olivia Rangaswami (Taft)
“With the publication of two new proposed rules on February 8, 2024, EPA has taken the first step under its PFAS Strategic Roadmap to bring PFAS compounds under the umbrella of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (‘RCRA’). These proposals are designed to accomplish both short- and long-term objectives. In the short-term, EPA’s proposals will make PFAS compounds subject to corrective action authorities at RCRA hazardous waste facilities. This means that if a release occurs at such facilities, the owner or operator must investigate whether the contamination includes PFAS and, if so, remediate the contamination along with other hazardous constituents. In the long term, EPA’s proposals set the stage to list nine PFAS compounds as RCRA hazardous wastes.
1. First Proposal: Definition of Hazardous Waste Applicable to Corrective Action for Releases from Solid Waste Management Units
In the first proposal,[1] Definition of Hazardous Waste Applicable to Corrective Action for Releases from Solid Waste Management Units, 89 Fed. Reg. 8598 (Feb. 8, 2024), EPA addresses unfinished business [2] in its prior rulemakings to make it clear that RCRA’s corrective action authorities are not limited to releases of hazardous wastes listed or identified in 40 C.F.R. Part 261[3], but extend to hazardous waste covered by the broader statutory definition.[4] The clear import of the proposal is to ensure EPA’s corrective action authority extends to PFAS compounds, including the nine it proposes to list as hazardous constituents in the companion proposal discussed below.” …