EPA Acts To Regulate Import Of Certain PFAS Chemical Surface Coatings

A proposed rule would require prior Environmental Protection Agency approval under the Toxic Substances Control Act prior to the import of certain long-chain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances chemicals. On February 20, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") used its authority under Section 5(a)(2) of the Toxic Substances Control Act ("TSCA") to issue a proposed supplemental significant new use rule ("SNUR") for more than 25 long-chain perfluoroalkyl carboxylate ("LCPFAC") chemical substances. The proposed supplemental SNUR narrows the scope of a broader proposal released on January 21, 2015, as part of the proposed SNUR for long-chain perfluoroalkyl carboxylate and perfluoroalkyl sulfonate chemical substances ("PFAS"). That earlier proposal aimed, among other things, to designate as a "significant new use" the import of more than a dozen persistent PFAS chemicals, including long-chain perfluoroalkyl carboxylate ("LCPFAC") substances.