In September, EPA outlined its newest plan for setting rules for PFAS limitations in industrial wastewater in certain industries. Click here to see EPA’s next steps in its September 2021 Preliminary Plan 15.
In October 2021, public comments on Preliminary Plan 15 were submitted. Some concerns included the economic feasibility of pretreatment removal of PFAS from landfill leachate in the Landfills sector; the need for fully authorized analytical procedures and uniform sampling techniques for effluent sampling; concerns about uncertainties in the existing data upon which EPA has relied for Preliminary Plan 15; and industry concerns about EPA assessing all or numerous PFAS together categorically, as opposed to independently or in smaller, like-kind classes.
EPA will issue The Final Plan 15 in fall 2022. Based on a recent PFAS Strategic Roadmap, EPA expects to issue the proposed rule for PFAS manufacturers in summer 2023 and for electroplaters in summer 2024. EPA predicts that its thorough studies of PFAS discharges in the Landfills and Textile Mills industry categories, as well as the Electrical and Electronic Components sector, will be finalized by fall 2022 to inform a decision on future rulemaking by the end of 2022.
