EPA's PFAS Rulemaking Trajectory: Key Updates Across CERCLA, TSCA, RCRA, SDWA And CWA

Highlights

• The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is retaining its Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) designations for perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and plans to propose a new framework to guide future designations with economic impact considerations.
• With a targeted regulatory approach, the agency aims to narrow the scope of drinking water regulations to PFOS and perfluorooctanoic acid PFOA only.
• The recently released Unified Regulatory Agenda outlines seven upcoming actions related to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) at varying stages in the rulemaking process and utilizes a broad range of legislative authorities.
• These actions span multiple environmental statutes – including the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) and Clean Water Act (CWA) – and provide further insight into the Trump Administration's trajectory on PFAS regulations.

As the Trump Administration rolls back Biden-era regulations, all eyes have been on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as it determines if and how it will enforce the Biden Administration's regulations on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The Trump Administration has offered insight into its direction through responses to ongoing litigation against the rules. (See Holland & Knight's previous alert, "The PFAS Drinking Water Rule Under the Second Trump Administration," April 16, 2025.)

Now, the EPA has released its most definitive guidance to date with the announcement that it will retain the Biden-era designation of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA or Superfund).

The EPA's broader regulatory trajectory is detailed in the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) recently released Unified Regulatory Agenda, which outlines seven upcoming PFAS-related actions at varying stages in the rulemaking process and utilizes a broad range of legislative authorities. These actions span multiple environmental statutes, including the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) and Clean Water Act (CWA). The rulemakings provide further insight into the Trump Administration's trajectory on PFAS regulations.

CERCLA Designation

The EPA announced on Sept. 17, 2025, that it would retain the Biden-era designation of PFOA and PFOS as hazardous substances under CERCLA with the intention of "holding polluters accountable" for cleanup costs. The EPA has opted to defend the Biden EPA's final rule in ongoing litigation. In tandem with its announcement, the EPA submitted an unopposed motion to lift the ongoing abeyance, as the agency has completed its review of the rule and made a decision to keep it in place, which was allowed on Oct. 2, 2025, and set a deadline of Dec. 5, 2025, for final briefs.

Though the EPA plans to defend the CERCLA Rule to provide more regulatory certainty, the EPA intends to develop a CERCLA Section 102(a) Framework Rule governing future CERCLA hazardous substance designations. This rule will instill a uniform approach to designations and require the EPA to consider the costs of proposed designations. In addition to this regulatory fix, the EPA called on the U.S. Congress to take further action to protect passive receivers from liability through statutory action guided by technical assistance from the EPA. At least one bill has been introduced that would provide liability protection for water utilities. The prospects for legislative relief for other large categories of passive receivers – such as farmers who apply biosolids – remain unclear.

Regulatory Unified Agenda

In September 2025, the OMB released its biannual Regulatory Unified Agenda. This agenda provides insight into the Trump Administration's upcoming regulatory activities, including a timeline for their release, and revealing a coordinated, multi-statute strategy to require reporting and/or limit PFAS discharges under CWA, RCRA, TSCA and SDWA.

The Regulatory Unified Agenda features seven upcoming PFAS actions, many of which finalize or clarify actions initiated during the Biden Administration, but the EPA also includes two new actions to further regulate PFAS.

First, the EPA plans on finalizing the following actions:

• Listing of Specific PFAS as Hazardous Constituents Under RCRA. In April 2026, the EPA plans to finalize the proposed rule designating nine PFAS compounds, their salts and structural isomers to the list of hazardous constituents under RCRA. This will require corrective action for releases of these substances. (See Holland & Knight's previous alert, "EPA Proposes RCRA Corrective Action Expansions Targeting PFAS," Feb. 14, 2024.) The EPA did not hint at any potential revisions of the rule, stating only that it is considering public comments as it develops the final version of the rule. EPA also plans to finalize (potentially at the same time as this listing) its proposed rule clarifying that RCRA's statutory definition of "hazardous waste" applies to corrective actions at solid waste management units. As a practical matter, this clarification would apply RCRA's corrective action authorities not only to PFAS chemicals listed as hazardous constituents, but any PFAS chemical that meets the broader statutory definition of "hazardous waste."
• Addition of Certain PFAS to the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI). In February 2026, the EPA plans to finalize a rule to add individual PFAS and PFAS categories to the TRI and finalize the criteria needed for PFAS to be automatically added to the TRI. In the meantime, the EPA announced on Oct. 7, 2025, the addition of the chemical perfluorohexane sulfonate (PFHxS-Na) to the list of substances subject to TRI reporting, bringing the total number of PFAS subject to TRI reporting to 206.
• Clarification to Supplier Notification Provision Due to Automatic Additions of PFAS to the TRI. In November 2025, the EPA plans to finalize edits to the TRI guidelines to align supplier notification provisions with the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act's (NDAA) requirement for the EPA to annually add new PFAS compounds to the TRI. These revisions would explicitly require covered suppliers to notify customers receiving products containing chemicals newly added to the TRI, namely PFAS compounds, of their presence as soon as these compounds are added to the list on Jan. 1 of each year. In practice, this means suppliers will be required to notify customers of the presence of these compounds as early as the first shipment of each calendar year.

Next, the EPA plans to clarify the following actions:

• PFAS National Primary Drinking Water Regulation Rulemaking. In October 2025, the EPA plans to propose a rule to extend the deadline for public water systems to comply with the April 2024 National Primary Drinking Water Regulation (NPDWR) setting Maximum Contaminant Levels for PFAS. Additionally, this action will solidify the revisions announced in May 2025, which would narrow the regulation to applying only to PFOS and PFOA. This revision eliminates perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS), perfluorononanoic Acid (PFNA) and hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid (HFPO-DA, commonly known as GenX), along with the Hazard Index mixture of these three PFAS plus perfluorobutane sulfonic acid (PFBS), from the original reporting and mitigation requirements. This revision significantly reduces the number of PFAS compounds subject to monitoring and mitigation, potentially easing compliance burdens for public water systems.
• PFAS Data Reporting and Recordkeeping under TSCA. In December 2025, the EPA plans to propose a rule to revise an October 2023 final rule requiring manufacturers and importers of PFAS to report data about their usage of such substances between 2011 and 2022 under TSCA. The upcoming action, which is currently undergoing interagency review, is likely to create exemptions for certain uses and modify the scope of reporting. Based on previous EPA actions to extend the data submission deadline for manufacturers granting further leniency for small manufacturers reporting as article importers, it is likely that the EPA will create exemptions for these importers. The EPA has also opened additional opportunities for public comment on the October 2023 action, stressing a need for critical feedback on data collection software and desired guidance. Manufacturers and importers should monitor this rulemaking closely, particularly if they qualify as small entities or import PFAS-containing articles, as exemptions may reduce reporting obligations.

Finally, the EPA is spearheading the following new actions:

• PFAS Requirements in National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit Applications. In November 2025, the EPA plans to propose a rulemaking to update NPDES to require permit applications to include monitoring and reporting for PFAS discharges. Facilities in the plastics, chemical and synthetic fiber sectors should prepare for expanded monitoring and discharge limitations under these forthcoming rules.
• PFAS Requirements in Effluent Limitation Guidelines. Following through on Effluent Guidelines Plan 15, in January 2026, the EPA plans to propose a rulemaking to revise the Organic Chemicals, Plastics and Synthetic Fibers Effluent Limitations Guidelines and Standards to address PFAS discharges from manufacturing facilities.

Next Steps

The fate of other recent PFAS-related EPA actions – including the proposed 2026 Multi-Sector General Permit (which included PFAS monitoring requirements for certain sectors), draft recommended ambient water quality criteria for PFOA, PFOS and PFBS, and draft risk assessment of PFOA and PFOS in biosolids – remain unclear.

Industries across the supply chain should anticipate heightened scrutiny as the EPA advances rulemakings that will expand monitoring, reporting and corrective action requirements for PFAS, particularly in manufacturing, water treatment and waste management sectors. Regulatory uncertainty persists around several key federal initiatives, including PFAS-related permit requirements and biosolids risk assessments. Moreover, states continue to promulgate PFAS measures of their own, adding to this uncertainty.

For more information or to address how these developments – as well as the numerous state efforts to regulate or remediate PFAS contamination – may impact your operations, please contact the authors or another member of Holland & Knight's Emerging Contaminants and PFAS Team.

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