EPA PFAS reporting changes proposed

The Environmental Protection Agency has pushed back a nationwide reporting deadline for “forever chemicals” while it weighs exemptions that would shrink who has to disclose them. (federalregister.gov) Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, are a large class of chemicals used in products that resist heat, oil, stains, and water. Under the Toxic Substances Control Act, the agency’s 2023 rule required companies that made or imported PFAS, including in articles, at any point from 2011 through 2022 to report uses, volumes, disposal, exposures, and hazard information. (epa.gov) That reporting window had already been moved once in May 2025, when the agency delayed the start from July 11, 2025, to April 13, 2026. The May 2025 interim final rule set October 13, 2026, as the due date for most manufacturers and April 13, 2027, for small manufacturers reporting only as article importers. (epa.gov) On November 13, 2025, the agency proposed rewriting the scope of the rule. The proposal would add exemptions for imported articles, PFAS in mixtures or products at concentrations of 0.1% or lower, certain byproducts, impurities, research and development chemicals, and non-isolated intermediates. (federalregister.gov) Imported articles are finished goods or components brought into the United States, like electronics, textiles, cookware, or industrial parts that may contain PFAS. The 2023 rule covered those imports; the 2025 proposal would remove that category from reporting. (epa.gov; federalregister.gov) On April 13, 2026, the agency delayed the start again. The submission period will now begin on January 31, 2027, or 60 days after a forthcoming final rule on those substantive changes takes effect, whichever is earlier. (federalregister.gov; epa.gov) The Environmental Protection Agency said the new delay avoids collecting data that might not be required after the rule is revised. The agency’s PFAS reporting page says a final rule on the 2025 proposal is expected in 2026. (epa.gov; epa.gov) The Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy backed the exemptions and said the proposal would remove 127,469 small businesses from the reporting requirement, with estimated savings of $703 million to $761 million. That office said the changes would reduce burdens while still giving the agency PFAS manufacturing information. (advocacy.sba.gov) The fight is over how much of the PFAS map the government will still see. If the imported-article exemption survives, the final rule will collect less information about PFAS moving through consumer goods and industrial supply chains than the 2023 version was designed to capture. (epa.gov; federalregister.gov)