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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 13 / Friday, January 22, 2021 / Proposed Rules understand the prescribed analytical methods for detecting PFAS, monitoring frequency, and detection benchmarks in current permits; and obtaining input and perspectives from state partners. In November 2020, EPA issued a memo detailing an interim NPDES permitting strategy for PFAS. This strategy is being implemented for EPA-issued NPDES
permits.
C. Workshop on Federal Government Human Health PFAS Research With the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine On October 2627, 2020, the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine NASEM held a Workshop on Federal Government Human Health PFAS Research. This workshop was the result of collaboration between EPA, the U.S. Department of Defense DoD, the U.S. Department of Agriculture USDA, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services HHS and will help further coordinate PFAS research across the federal government. Aggressively addressing PFAS has been an active and ongoing priority for this Administration, and the goal of the workshop was to discuss ongoing federal research and data gaps. Following the workshop, NASEM will compile a report summarizing the discussion and views of workshop participants on how to ensure that the federal research program for PFAS is robust and focused on addressing the highest priority human health research. Workshop proceedings will be published in early 2021.

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D. Safe Drinking Water Act SDWA
Actions for PFOA and PFOS
EPA has taken a number of actions under SDWA, consistent with the PFAS
Action Plan and its statutory and regulatory authorities. In 2016, EPA
established health advisories for PFOA
and PFOS Ref. 6 based on the Agencys assessment of the latest peer-reviewed science to provide drinking water system operators, and state, tribal and local officials who have the primary responsibility for overseeing these systems, with information on the health risks of these chemicals, so they can take the appropriate actions to protect their residents. To provide Americans, including the most sensitive populations, with a margin of protection from a lifetime of exposure to PFOA and PFOS from drinking water, EPA
established the health advisory levels at 70 parts per trillion.
EPA is committed to following the regulatory process established under SDWA and supporting states and public water systems as they determine the
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appropriate steps to reduce exposure to PFOA and PFOS in drinking water.
E. National Primary Drinking Water Regulation for PFOA and PFOS
On March 10, 2020, EPA published a notice 85 FR 14098, FRL1000588
seeking comment on proposed determinations to regulate PFOA and PFOS. EPA is considering the public comments on this notice and expects to issue final regulatory determination in January 2021. If EPA issues final determinations to regulate PFOA and PFOS, SDWA requires that the EPA
publish a proposed regulation within 24
months of the final determination and promulgate a final regulation within 18
months of proposal SDWA allows the Agency to extend that final rule deadline by 9 months.
Under the third Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule UCMR 3
85 FR 26072, FRL96604, from 2013
to 2015, EPA required almost 5,000
public water systems to monitor for six PFAS see https www.epa.gov/
dwucmr/third-unregulatedcontaminant-monitoring-rule. The results of this monitoring were used by EPA in making the proposed regulatory determination for PFOA and PFOS. EPA
has committed to monitoring for more PFAS in the UCMR 5 and at lower levels than was possible under the UCMR 3.
EPA expects to publish a proposed UCMR 5 in January 2021.
F. PFOA Stewardship Program EPA launched the PFOA Stewardship Program Ref. 7 in January, 2006
because of concerns about the impact of PFOA and long-chain PFAS on human health and the environment, including concerns about their persistence, presence in the environment and in the blood of the general U.S. population, long half-life in people, and developmental and other adverse effects in laboratory animals.
By March 1, 2006, the eight major companies in the PFAS industry submitted commitments to the PFOA
Stewardship Program. Specifically, these companies committed to reducing PFOA from facility emissions and product content by 95 percent no later than 2010, and to work toward eliminating PFOA from emissions and product content no later than 2015. The companies participating in the PFOA
Stewardship Program were global companies with business operations in the United States and other countries.
To meet the program goals, most companies stopped the manufacture and import of long-chain PFAS, and then transitioned to alternative chemicals.
Other companies exited the PFAS

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industry altogether. All participating companies state that they met the PFOA
Stewardship Program goals. In July 2020
EPA codified and expanded the impact of the PFOA Stewardship program through the issuance of the long chain PFAS SNUR, as discussed in Unit III.H.
G. Addition of Certain PFAS to the Toxics Release Inventory TRI
Regulations The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 NDAA Pub.
L. 11692 added certain PFAS to the list of chemicals required to be reported to the TRI and established a 100-pound reporting threshold for these substances.
EPAs TRI is an important tool that provides the public with information about the use of certain chemicals by tracking their management and associated activities. U.S. facilities in different industry sectors must report annually how much of each chemical is released to the environment and/or managed through recycling, energy recovery, and treatment. TRI helps support informed decision-making by companies, government agencies, nongovernmental organizations and the public. For example, EPA uses TRI
information to understand releases and potential exposures to chemicals being assessed under TSCA.
In June 2020, the Agency published a final rule 85 FR 37354, June 22, 2020;
FRL1000809 that updated the regulations to reflect the addition of these PFAS to the TRI by the NDAA. Per the NDAA requirements, the PFAS
additions became effective as of January 1, 2020. Reporting for these PFAS will be due to EPA by July 1, 2021, for calendar year 2020 data. By July 31, 2021, EPA expects to release raw data concerning the TRI-listed PFAS from information collected. Additionally, the NDAA provides a framework for additional PFAS to be added automatically to the TRI list on January 1 of the year following certain EPA
actions NDAA section 7321c. For example, the NDAA automatically adds a PFAS to the TRI list in response to the EPA finalizing a toxicity value for it.
H. Regulatory Actions Under TSCA
EPA has taken a range of regulatory actions under TSCA to address potential exposures and/or risks associated with manufacturing, processing, and use of PFAS. EPAs New Chemicals program reviews alternatives for PFOA and related chemicals before they enter the marketplace to identify whether the range of toxicity, fate and bioaccumulation issues that have caused past concerns with perfluorinated substances may be
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