[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 70 (Monday, April 13, 2026)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 18786-18789]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2026-07062]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 705
[EPA-HQ-OPPT-2020-0549; FRL-7902.4-02-OCSPP]
RIN 2070-AL44
Modification to the Start of the Submission Period for
Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Reporting and
Recordkeeping Under TSCA 8(a)(7)
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Final rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking final
action to revise the start of the reporting period for the
Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Reporting and
Recordkeeping Rule (PFAS Reporting Rule). Pursuant to this action, the
submission period for the PFAS Reporting Rule will begin on January 31,
2027, or 60 days following the effective date of a forthcoming final
[[Page 18787]]
rule on the substantive requirements of the PFAS Reporting Rule,
whichever is earlier.
DATES: This final rule is effective on April 13, 2026.
ADDRESSES: The docket for this action, identified by docket
identification (ID) number EPA-HQ-OPPT-2020-0549, is available online
at https://www.regulations.gov. Additional instructions for 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: Carolyn Hammack, Chemical
Information, Prioritization, and Toxics Release Inventory Division
(7406M), Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, Environmental
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460-
0001; telephone number: (202) 566-0521; email address:
[email protected].
For general information contact: The TSCA Assistance Information
Service Hotline, Goodwill Vision Enterprises, 422 South Clinton Ave.,
Rochester, NY 14620; telephone number: (800) 471-7127 or (202) 554-
1404; email address: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Executive Summary
A. Does this action apply to me?
This action may apply to you if you have manufactured (including
imported) PFAS for a commercial purpose at any time since January 1,
2011. The following list of North American Industrial Classification
System (NAICS) codes is not intended to be exhaustive but rather
provides a guide to help readers determine whether this document
applies to them. Potentially affected entities may include:
Utilities (NAICS code 22);
Manufacturing (NAICS code 31 through 33);
Wholesale trade (NAICS code 42); and
Waste management and remediation services (NAICS code
562).
This list details the types of entities that EPA is aware could
potentially be regulated by this action. Other types of entities not
listed could also be regulated. To determine whether your entity is
regulated by this action, you should carefully examine the
applicability criteria found in 40 CFR 705.10 and 705.12. If you have
questions regarding the applicability of this action to a particular
entity, consult the person listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT section.
B. What is the Agency's authority for taking this action?
EPA is promulgating this rule pursuant to its authority in Toxic
Substances Control Act (TSCA) section 8(a)(7) (15 U.S.C. 2607(a)(7)).
The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (FY 2020
NDAA) (Pub. L. 116-92, section 7351) amended TSCA section 8(a) in
December 2019, adding section 8(a)(7), titled ``PFAS Data.'' TSCA
section 8(a)(7) requires EPA to promulgate a rule ``requiring each
person who has manufactured a chemical substance that is a [PFAS] in
any year since January 1, 2011'' to report information described in
TSCA section 8(a)(2)(A) through (G).
Under the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(1), an
agency may make a rule effective immediately if it ``grants or
recognizes an exemption or relieves a restriction.'' This is such a
rule because it relieves restrictions by shifting the commencement of
reporting.
C. What action is the Agency taking?
EPA is taking final action on a discrete aspect of the November 13,
2025 proposed rule (90 FR 50923 (FRL-7902.3-01-OCSPP)) to amend the
start of the data submission period for the PFAS Reporting Rule
codified at 40 CFR part 705 to 60 days after the effective date of the
forthcoming final rule, as proposed, with an added backstop date of
January 31, 2027. The data submission period for the PFAS Reporting
Rule will begin 60 days following the effective date of a forthcoming
final action on the substantive requirements of the PFAS Reporting Rule
(or January 31, 2027--whichever is earlier). EPA expects to ultimately
replace 40 CFR 705.20(c) with the effective date of the final revisions
rule. EPA is providing January 31, 2027, as an added not-later-than
commencement date but expects to finalize the final revisions rule--
including the amendment to 40 CFR 705.20(c)--well before that fallback
date and expects to later remove this fallback date with the final
revisions rule, regardless of whether EPA ultimately decides to
finalize all, some, or none of the proposed substantive revisions to
the PFAS Reporting Rule.
EPA is not addressing the currently codified duration of the
submission period and thus is retaining the current six-month
submission period, with an additional six months for reporting by small
manufacturers (as defined at 40 CFR 704.3) whose reporting obligations
under this rule are exclusively from article import. EPA will address
any changes to the duration of the submission period, as well as other
considerations regarding the reporting timeline, in the forthcoming
final action.
D. Why is the Agency taking this action?
This action provides EPA with additional time to consider and
respond to comments on both the interim final rule (published on May
13, 2025) and the proposed rule (published on November 13, 2025), and
then publish a final rule, if appropriate. EPA received 27 unique
comments and 639 comments from a mail-in campaign on the May 2025
interim final rule and nearly 600 unique comments and more than 8,500
comments from two mail-in campaigns on the November 2025 proposed rule.
EPA needs additional time to address these comments, write and publish
a final rule, release updated guidance, and update its reporting tool.
Providing a start date for the submission period relative to the
effective date of the forthcoming final action on the November 13,
2025, proposal will ensure EPA does not need to later readjust the
start of the submission period. Further, the subsequent final action
will define the duration of the submission period, accounting for the
nature of any changes to the reporting requirements. Establishing a
start for the submission period in this rule, then defining the
duration of the submission period in the subsequent final action,
provides stakeholders ample notice and sufficient time to plan for
compliance, complete due diligence activities, and avoid expending
efforts that may not align with the final requirements.
E. Children's Environmental Health
This action is not subject to the EPA's Children's Health Policy
(https://www.epa.gov/children/childrens-health-policy-and-plan) because
EPA does not believe the action has considerations for human health.
This action simply adjusts the submission period applicable to existing
reporting requirements.
II. Background
The TSCA section 8(a)(7) PFAS Reporting Rule, finalized on October
11, 2023, pursuant to the FY 2020 NDAA, requires any entity that
manufactured (including imported) PFAS or PFAS-containing articles at
any time since January 1, 2011, to report detailed information to EPA
(88 FR 195 (7902-02-OCSPP)). The original submission period was
scheduled to begin on November 12, 2024, with an extended deadline for
small article importers. On
[[Page 18788]]
September 5, 2024, EPA promulgated a direct final rule (89 FR 72336
(FRL-7902.1-02-OCSPP)) shifting the reporting deadline due to delays in
the development of the electronic reporting application in the Central
Data Exchange (CDX), moving the start of the submission period from
November 12, 2024, to July 11, 2025. On May 13, 2025 (90 FR 20236 (FRL-
7902.2-01-OCSPP)), EPA issued an interim final rule providing a second
extension because of continued information technology development
delays and the need for additional time to consider public comments the
Agency expected to receive on a subsequent proposed modification rule.
The second extension established the start of the submission period as
April 13, 2026.
On November 13, 2025, EPA proposed modifications to the TSCA
section 8(a)(7) PFAS Reporting Rule (90 FR 50923 (FRL-7902.3-01-
OCSPP)). The comment period for the proposal closed on December 29,
2025. Commenters pointed out that the existing language in the
regulation regarding the data submission period (April 13, 2026 through
October 13, 2026) may precede any revision of the regulation, resulting
in discrepancies between the codified submission period and any planned
revisions to the scope.
This final rule addresses only the date on which the data
submission period begins and does not address the end of the submission
period (i.e., EPA is not altering the currently codified submission
period with this action). Currently, the submission period for the PFAS
Reporting Rule begins April 13, 2026, and runs for six months, i.e.,
through October 13, 2026 (though small manufacturers reporting only as
PFAS article importers have until April 13, 2027, to report). EPA is
modifying the submission period so that it begins January 31, 2027, or
60 days following the date identified by 40 CFR 705.20(c) (to be added
by a subsequent final rule to address the remaining topics proposed in
the November 2025 proposal), whichever date is earlier. EPA expects
that this subsequent final rule will be issued before January 31, 2027.
In the subsequent final rule, EPA expects to add the effective date of
the final revisions rule as the date in 40 CFR 705.20(c) and remove the
January 31, 2027, backstop from the rule. EPA intends the two
commencement dates included in this final rule to be severable. That
is, if the 60-day deadline were to be vacated in the event of judicial
review, the January 31, 2027, backstop would remain in place;
conversely, if the January 31, 2027, backstop were to be vacated in the
event of judicial review, the 60-day deadline would remain in place.
In the subsequent final rule, EPA will also address whether to
include any exemptions to the reporting requirements and other
potential revisions to the PFAS Data Reporting Rule proposed by the
Agency.
III. Response to Public Comments
Due to the scope of this final rule, EPA is specifically
summarizing and responding to comments related to the start date of the
submission period. EPA is not responding to comments related to the
duration of the submission period or other substantive changes to the
PFAS Data Reporting Rule, except when those comments focus on when the
submission period begins. EPA will address the remaining comments when
it takes subsequent final action on the remainder of the proposed rule.
With regard to the submission period, determining an appropriate
duration is related to other changes the Agency might or might not
implement through subsequent final action on the remainder of the
proposed rule. Accordingly, EPA is deferring action on a decision
regarding the duration of the submission period, and thus the reporting
deadline, for the PFAS Data Reporting Rule until subsequent final
action concerning the November 2025 proposal.
Several commenters on the May 2025 interim final rule and the
November 2025 proposed rule requested that EPA delay the start of and/
or extend the duration of the submission period to allow time for rule
familiarization; for development, familiarization, and beta testing of
the reporting tool; for completion of any new or refined due diligence
efforts needed to comply with the final rule; and to ensure that data
submissions are of the highest quality to enhance utility. Commenters
offered a variety of suggestions for how long the start of the
submission period should be delayed, ranging from five months to five
years following final action on the substance of the November 2025
proposed rule. Some commenters specifically supported the timeline
provided by EPA in the proposed rule that is being finalized with this
action, with the caveat that all the exemptions from the proposed rule
are also finalized. A minority of commenters expressed opposition to
any further delays to the start of the submission period out of concern
that delaying data collection may slow progress and postpone important
public health protections. EPA has prepared responses to all comments
received on this topic in the May 2025 interim final rule and the
November 2025 proposed rule (Ref. 1).
IV. Summary of the Final Rule
EPA has determined it is appropriate to shift the current starting
date for the submission period for the PFAS Data Reporting Rule.
Accordingly, EPA is finalizing the start date of the submission of the
data required by the PFAS Data Reporting Rule to be 60 days following
the effective date of a subsequent final action, which will be
finalized in the subsequent rule, with a backstop start date of January
31, 2027. This subsequent final action will address the revisions
proposed in the November 13, 2025, proposed rule published in the
Federal Register, as well as provide the duration of the submission
period for the PFAS Data Reporting Rule. The submission period for the
PFAS Data Reporting Rule will not begin until a successive final action
on this rule by the Agency.
V. References
The following is a list of the documents specifically referenced in
this document. The docket for this rule includes these documents and
other information considered by EPA. For assistance in locating these
other documents, please consult the technical person listed under FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
1. USEPA. Response to Comments on Timelines for Submission Period
Start Date. March 2026.
VI. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
Additional information about these statutes and Executive Orders
can be found at https://www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/laws-and-executive-orders.
A. Executive Order 12866: Regulatory Planning and Review and Executive
Order 13563: Improving Regulations and Regulatory Review
This action is not a significant regulatory action and was
therefore not submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
for review under Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993)
and 13563 (76 FR 3821, January 21, 2011).
B. Executive Order 14192: Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation
This action is considered an Executive Order 14192 deregulatory
action. This rule provides burden reduction by providing relief against
existing compliance deadlines.
[[Page 18789]]
C. Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA)
This action does not impose any new information collection burden
under the PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. OMB has previously approved the
information collection activity contained in the existing regulations
and has an assigned OMB Control No. 2070-0217 (EPA ICR No. 2682.02).
This action does not create any new reporting or recordkeeping
obligations and does not otherwise change the burden estimates that
were approved.
D. 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. In making this determination, the EPA concludes that
the impact of concern for this rule is any significant adverse economic
impact on small entities and that the agency is certifying that this
rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial
number of small entities because the rule relieves regulatory burden on
the small entities subject to the rule. This action will delay
compliance dates of a data reporting rule and alleviate compliance
burden on small entities subject to that action. We have therefore
concluded that this action will relieve regulatory burden for all
directly regulated small entities.
E. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA)
This action does not contain an unfunded mandate of $100 million
(adjusted annually for inflation) or more (in 1995 dollars) 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.
F. 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 the 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.
G. Executive Orders 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. This action does not impose substantial
direct compliance costs on federally recognized Indian tribal
governments. Thus, Executive Order 13175 does not apply to this action.
H. 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 those regulatory actions 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.
This action does not concern an environmental health risk or safety
risk because it simply adjusts the submission period for existing
reporting requirements. Since this action does not concern human
health, EPA's Policy on Children's Health also does not apply.
I. Executive Order 13211: Actions Concerning Regulations That
Significantly Affect Energy Supply, Distribution, or Use
This action is not subject to Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355,
May 22, 2001), because it is not a significant regulatory action under
Executive Order 12866.
J. National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act (NTTAA)
This rulemaking does not involve technical standards under the
NTTAA section 12(d), 15 U.S.C. 272.
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 705
Environmental Protection, Chemicals, Hazardous substances,
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
Lee Zeldin,
Administrator.
For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 40 CFR part 705 is
amended as follows:
PART 705--REPORTING AND RECORDKEEPING REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTAIN PER-
AND POLYFLUOROALKYL SUBSTANCES
0
1. The authority for part 705 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 15 U.S.C. 2607(a)(7).
0
2. Revise Sec. 705.20 to read as follows:
Sec. 705.20 When to report.
(a) All information reported to EPA in response to the requirements
of this part must be submitted during the applicable submission period.
For all reporters submitting information pursuant to Sec. Sec. 705.15
and 705.18(b) (research and development), the submission period shall
begin January 31, 2027, or 60 days following the date provided in
paragraph (c) of this section, whichever is earlier, and last for six
months.
(b) For any reporter who is reporting under this part exclusively
pursuant to Sec. 705.18(a) (article importers) and is also considered
a small manufacturer under the definition at 40 CFR 704.3, the
submission period shall begin January 31, 2027, or 60 days following
the date provided in paragraph (c) of this section, whichever is
earlier, and last for twelve months.
(c) EPA intends to publish a document in the Federal Register
announcing the submission period date and revising or removing this
paragraph (c).
[FR Doc. 2026-07062 Filed 4-10-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P