Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Data Reporting and Recordkeeping Under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA); Change to Submission Period and Technical Correction, 72336-72340 [2024-19931]

Agencies

• ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 172 (Thursday, September 5, 2024)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 72336-72340]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-19931]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 705

[EPA-HQ-OPPT-2020-0549; FRL-7902.1-02-OCSPP]
RIN 2070-AK67


Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Data 
Reporting and Recordkeeping Under the Toxic Substances Control Act 
(TSCA); Change to Submission Period and Technical Correction

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule; change to submission period and technical 
correction.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or Agency) is taking 
direct final action to amend the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) 
regulation with reporting and recordkeeping requirements for 
perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). As promulgated in 
October 2023, the regulation requires manufacturers (including 
importers) of PFAS in any year between 2011-2022 to report certain data 
to EPA related to exposure and environmental and health effects. EPA is 
making a one-time modification to change the beginning of the data 
submission period from November 12, 2024, to July 11, 2025, with a 
corresponding change to the end of the submission period. EPA is also 
making a technical correction to address an error in the regulatory 
text. There are no other changes to the reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements in the existing rule under TSCA.

DATES: This rule is effective November 4, 2024 without further notice. 
However, if EPA receives adverse comment by October 7, 2024, the Agency 
will publish a timely withdrawal in the Federal Register informing the 
public that this direct final rule will not take effect.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by docket identification 
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPPT-2020-0549, online at https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments. Do not submit electronically any information you consider to 
be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose 
disclosure is restricted by statute. Additional instructions on 
commenting and visiting the docket, along with more information about 
dockets generally, is available at https://www.epa.gov/dockets.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 
    For technical information: Stephanie Griffin, Data Gathering, 
Management, and Policy Division (7406M), Office of Pollution Prevention 
and Toxics, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, 
Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone number: 202-564-1463; email 
address: [email protected].
    For general information: The TSCA-Hotline, ABVI-Goodwill, 422 South 
Clinton Ave., Rochester, NY 14620; telephone number: (202) 554-1404; 
email address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Executive Summary

A. Does this action apply to me?

    This action may apply to you if you have manufactured (defined by 
statute at 15 U.S.C. 2602(9) to include import) PFAS for a commercial 
purpose at any time since January 1, 2011. The following list of North 
American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) codes is not intended 
to be exhaustive, but rather provides a guide to help readers determine 
whether this document applies to them. Potentially affected entities 
may include:
     Construction (NAICS code 23);
     Manufacturing (NAICS codes 31 through 33);
     Wholesale trade (NAICS code 42);

[[Page 72337]]

     Retail trade (NAICS codes 44 through 45); and
     Waste management and remediation services (NAICS code 
562).
    This list details the types of entities that EPA is aware could 
potentially be impacted by this action. Other types of entities not 
listed could also be impacted. To determine whether your entity is 
impacted by this action, you should carefully examine the applicability 
criteria found in 40 CFR 705.10 and 705.12. If you have questions 
regarding the applicability of this action to a particular entity, 
consult the person listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT 
section (see above).
    Any use of the term ``PFAS'' will apply to chemical substances that 
meet the structural definition of PFAS codified at 40 CFR 705. PFAS is 
defined as including at least one of these three structures:
    R-(CF2)-CF(R')R'', where both the CF2 and CF 
moieties are saturated carbons;
    R-CF2 OCF2-R', where R and R' can either be 
F, O, or saturated carbons; and
    CF3 C(CF3)R'R'', where R' and R'' can either 
be F or saturated carbons.
    The requirements of this rule also apply to PFAS manufactured as a 
byproduct or impurity or in articles or mixtures. Further, this rule is 
not limited to PFAS currently on the TSCA Chemical Substance Inventory. 
For a more thorough discussion of the chemical substances included in 
this rule, please see Unit III.A. of the final rulemaking (88 FR 70516, 
October 11, 2023 (FRL-7902-02-OCSPP)).
    This rule does not require reporting on substances that are 
excluded from the definition of ``chemical substance'' in TSCA section 
3(2)(B). Those exclusions include, but are not limited to: Any 
pesticide (as defined by the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and 
Rodenticide Act) when manufactured, processed, or distributed in 
commerce for use as a pesticide; any food, food additive, drug, 
cosmetic, or device, as defined by the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic 
Act, when manufactured, processed, or distributed in commerce for use 
as a food, food additive, drug, cosmetic or device; tobacco or any 
tobacco product; any source material, special nuclear material, or 
byproduct material as such terms are defined in the Atomic Energy Act 
of 1954; and, any article the sale of which is subject to the tax 
imposed by section 4181 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954.

B. What is the Agency's authority for taking this action?

    As with the final rule that published in the Federal Register of 
October 11, 2023 (88 FR 70516) (FRL-7902-02-OCSPP)), EPA is 
promulgating this rule pursuant to its authority in TSCA section 
8(a)(7) (15 U.S.C. 2607(a)(7)). The National Defense Authorization Act 
for Fiscal Year 2020 (NDAA) (Pub. L. 116-92, section 7351) amended TSCA 
section 8(a) in December 2019, adding TSCA section 8(a)(7), titled 
``PFAS Data.'' TSCA section 8(a)(7) requires EPA to promulgate a rule 
``requiring each person who has manufactured a chemical substance that 
is a [PFAS] in any year since January 1, 2011'' to report information 
described in TSCA section 8(a)(2)(A) through (G). This includes a broad 
range of information, such as information related to chemical identity 
and structure, production, use, byproducts, exposure, disposal, and 
health and environmental effects.
    TSCA section 14 imposes requirements for the assertion, 
substantiation, and review of information that is claimed as 
confidential business information (CBI).

C. What action is the Agency taking?

    EPA is issuing this amendment to change the data submission period 
for the TSCA section 8(a)(7) PFAS reporting rule that is codified in 40 
CFR part 705, by changing the start date to July 11, 2025, and making 
corresponding changes to the end dates for the submission period. For 
reasons detailed in Unit II., the Agency is compelled to take this 
action in response to constraints on the timely development and testing 
of the software being developed to collect information pursuant to this 
reporting rule (i.e., the rule's reporting application). EPA is also 
taking action to correct an inadvertent error in the rulemaking by 
revising the text ``published study reports'' under the requirement to 
submit Organization for the Economic Cooperation and Development's 
(OECD) Harmonised Templates (OHTs) to the correct requirement of 
submitting OHTs for ``unpublished study reports.'' EPA intended to 
require OHTs only for unpublished study reports and is correcting the 
text accordingly.
    This action does not alter any other aspect of the TSCA section 
8(a)(7) PFAS rule in 40 CFR part 705. This action will result in 
additional time for the Agency's reporting application to be completed 
and sufficiently tested to ensure that reporting entities do not 
experience issues that prevent their submission of data as required 
under TSCA section 8(a)(7) during the regulatory submission period. 
Further, without modifying the reporting period, EPA would need to 
continue to develop the application while reporting is occurring. Forms 
that were submitted prior to the completion of such continued 
development could require resubmission due to the effects of such 
ongoing application development. Similarly, forms that were started but 
not yet submitted could need to be restarted due to the effects of 
ongoing application development.
    The Agency further anticipates being able to review submitted data, 
including CBI claims, and prepare non-CBI data for broader 
dissemination more efficiently if the full data collection 
infrastructure is established prior to the start of the submission 
period. Further, this action is consistent with the public interest 
because it is designed to facilitate compliance with the rule and to 
ensure that the collection includes accurate data on manufactured PFAS 
in the United States. Any impact on the regulated community is expected 
to be beneficial given that the extension provides additional time to 
submit accurate reports to EPA.

D. Why is the Agency using a direct final rule?

    EPA is taking direct final action because the Agency views this as 
a noncontroversial action and anticipates no adverse comment. Although 
EPA continues to devote significant resources to development of the 
reporting application, EPA will not be in a position to accept data in 
a usable manner under the current start date of November 12, 2024, and 
thus it will be impossible for submitters to begin to submit data on 
that date. For reasons detailed in Unit II., the reporting timeline is 
no longer tenable and maintaining that deadline would require entities 
to submit data before EPA has the technological capacity in place to 
accept that data. This would negatively impact EPA's ability to 
collect, organize, and make the collected data available to the public, 
which is the underlying objective of the regulation as well as the 
Congressional direction that required its promulgation.
    This action also includes a technical correction to revise an error 
in the regulatory text. At 40 CFR 705.15(f)(1), the requirement for 
PFAS manufacturers to submit all existing information concerning the 
environmental or health effects of that PFAS stipulates that the OHTs 
must be completed for ``each published study report'' [emphasis added]. 
EPA's intent was to require OHTs and supporting information for 
unpublished study reports, as those are not publicly available in open 
literature (see 88 FR at 70524). Thus, this action also revises the 
word ``published'' to ``unpublished'' at 40 CFR 705.15(f)(1).

[[Page 72338]]

    In the ``Proposed Rules'' section of this issue of the Federal 
Register, EPA is publishing a separate document that will serve as the 
proposed rule to amend the beginning of the submission period if 
adverse comments are received on this direct final rule. EPA will not 
institute a second comment period on this action. Any parties 
interested in commenting must do so at this time. For further 
information about commenting on this rule, see the ADDRESSES section of 
the document in the ``Proposed Rules'' section of this Federal Register 
publication.
    If EPA receives adverse comment, the Agency will publish a timely 
withdrawal in the Federal Register informing the public that this 
direct final rule will not take effect. In this case, EPA would address 
all public comments in a subsequent final rule. EPA reiterates that 
there is no feasible way to begin collecting the TSCA section 8(a)(7) 
dataset by November 12, 2024, so maintaining the current submission 
period timeline is not tenable.

II. Background

A. What is the modification to the submission period?

    The 2016 Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century 
Act (Lautenberg Act) considerably expanded the scope of EPA's 
responsibilities under TSCA. The amendments require EPA to 
systematically and comprehensively prioritize and evaluate at least 20 
chemicals at the same time and provide protections against the 
identified unreasonable risks through regulations. Under the amended 
law, EPA is also required to complete formal risk determinations for 
100 percent of all new chemical submissions, as compared to the pre-
2016 practice of completing formal risk determinations on about 20 
percent of such submissions. The amended law also provides new 
responsibility for increasing transparency and new data-gathering 
authority to support the Agency assessments. EPA's appropriated 
resources for implementing TSCA have not kept pace with the Agency's 
activities and obligations under amended TSCA. For example, the enacted 
budget for fiscal year 2024 resulted in an $8.4 million reduction to 
contracts and other non-payroll TSCA funding levels when compared with 
funding for fiscal year 2023 (a ~33% reduction).
    As described in this unit, this increased responsibility alongside 
reduced funding has forced EPA to make difficult choices, including 
delays in activities that impact the Agency's ability to collect data 
for the TSCA section 8(a)(7) requirement during the reporting period 
that had been anticipated when the Agency promulgated the rule.
    Nearly all TSCA regulatory submissions are required to be submitted 
through EPA's Central Data Exchange (CDX). CDX provides EPA's interface 
with data submitters, including fulfillment of all legal requirements 
for electronic submittals as set out by the Cross-Media Electronic 
Reporting Rule (CROMERR) (40 CFR part 3).
    When EPA uses CDX to collect information, the Agency must also 
develop a corresponding application in its TSCA CBI environment, which 
is used to manage the final validation and processing of submitted 
content. Each submission to CDX is transmitted into the appropriate 
TSCA CBI application for further processing, storage, and use. After 
successfully processing a submission, a secure message is sent back to 
CDX, which updates the submission status to ``submitted'' and provides 
a Case Number to the submitter for their reference. Functional CDX and 
CBI applications are necessary for a regulated entity to fully and 
legally submit the required information to EPA and demonstrate 
compliance with the regulation under which the information was 
submitted.
    Under the NDAA, EPA was directed to write the final rule that was 
published on October 11, 2023 (88 FR 70516 (FRL-7902-02-OCSPP)). EPA's 
obligation under the NDAA to use its TSCA section 8 authority is 
critical to the Agency's understanding of PFAS in commerce. The 
information required under the TSCA section 8(a)(7) rule will create a 
comprehensive database of previously manufactured PFAS in commerce and 
support EPA's actions to address PFAS exposure and contamination.
    From a TSCA perspective, the amount of data that is expected to be 
submitted under this rule is unprecedented due to the number of 
chemicals and years of data for which this reporting requirement 
applies, underscoring the critical need to ensure the fidelity of the 
process and the data, which can only be achieved by delaying the start 
of the reporting period. To fully ensure the Agency's reporting 
platform can manage this volume of materials, an industry testing 
period will be required. This is built into the new timeline with a 
sufficient window to allow for software updates and modifications based 
upon this testing.
    For technical reasons explained in Unit II. B., EPA must delay the 
data submission period of this rule. EPA will not be able to accept, 
confirm receipt, and ensure fidelity of reported PFAS information at 
the original reporting start date of November 12, 2024. It is in the 
interest of the general public and industry that EPA move the start of 
the reporting period from November 12, 2024, to July 11, 2025, to 
ensure that the infrastructure underlying the data collection process 
is working optimally, thus ensuring ultimate public access, as 
appropriate, to this information. It is for these reasons that EPA, as 
a matter of good governance, must postpone the submission periods 
codified in the final rule (88 FR 70516, October 11, 2023 (FRL-7902-02-
OCSPP)). As codified, this includes a start and end date for 
submission, including an alternate end date for small entities.

B. Why is the Agency modifying the data submission period?

    Due to increased statutory obligations across the TSCA Existing and 
New Chemicals programs and a lack of increased resources to meet those 
obligations, including a 5 percent reduction to the TSCA program in 
Fiscal Year 2024 compared to what was appropriated in Fiscal Year 2023 
and an unfunded Cost of Living Adjustment for FY 2024, EPA's Office of 
Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT) was forced to make difficult 
choices to ensure that the program was able to continue its work to 
protect human health and the environment from the risks presented by 
toxic chemical substances. Because of this challenge, as a result of 
competing priorities for information technology/information management 
(IT/IM) resources, and in response to the uncertainties associated with 
working under three successive Continuing Resolutions that lasted 
through March 9, 2024, which resulted in EPA receiving funding via 30-
day increments and thus, due to the lack of a budget, being unable to 
project funding availability for the year, OPPT was forced to 
significantly reduce its IT/IM operating budget in FY2024 to prevent 
overspending of resources. Software development efforts in process and 
operations and maintenance activities associated with both CDX and TSCA 
CBI-based applications, which are critical to the Agency's TSCA data 
collections, including the data collected under this rule, were 
impacted by these reductions, resulting in increased costs due to 
unforeseen complications arising with existing software applications as 
well as forecasted resource needs for developing new software 
applications.

[[Page 72339]]

The reduced funding for this work would primarily have been used for 
the contractual support on which EPA relies for much of its IT/IM 
efforts.
    Because the decrease in resources impacted the funds available for 
contractor support, EPA's contractors reduced their effort on the TSCA 
information technology software and related portfolio by more than 50 
percent, which had significant, immediate implications for EPA's 
ability to make progress on many of its IT/IM projects. Most 
significantly for this rule, software development needed to be re-
prioritized so only those projects with the nearest-term deadlines 
received resources and effort. For example, when the asbestos reporting 
application had to be developed by spring 2024, contractor staff 
supporting other applications (e.g., TSCA section 8(a)(7), Chemical 
Data Reporting (CDR), and operations and maintenance) were re-allocated 
to that effort. Additionally, the asbestos reporting application 
required additional support beyond what was initially anticipated due 
to CBI-related reporting nuances that took more resources, including 
time, to implement and delayed the receipt of reporting for that rule. 
This process of focusing development on reporting requirements with the 
nearest-term deadlines was shortly thereafter repeated in support of 
the 2024 CDR reporting cycle, which began on June 1, 2024. EPA was only 
able to allocate resources for development of the reporting application 
for this TSCA section 8(a)(7) rule in May 2024. These resources 
immediately went to reassembling, training, and additional onboarding 
of the team (staff had been previously transitioned from the TSCA 
section 8(a)(7) reporting application due to the re-prioritizing 
activities described above). These activities were completed in June 
2024, by which time developing a fully functioning reporting tool by 
the submission period date in the TSCA section 8(a)(7) final rule was 
impossible due to the significant amount of development required to 
ensure that the application would fully support the required data 
elements, including the ability to make, as applicable, associated CBI 
claims. (88 FR 70516 October 11, 2023 (FRL-7902-02-OCSPP)). Further, 
EPA typically conducts testing prior to making an application 
available, and in response to users having difficulties using some of 
the other recent TSCA applications (e.g., the application for asbestos 
reporting), ensuring that the Agency has adequate time to test the TSCA 
section 8(a)(7) PFAS reporting application is critical. Relatedly, EPA 
has committed to providing interested industry stakeholders an 
opportunity to help test the application to ensure that it could 
collect the data as intended, which the timeline for the current 
reporting period does not allow.
    To ensure functioning reporting capability, EPA must extend the 
development project timeline. Accordingly, the reporting tool will be 
available beginning July 11, 2025. This action will maintain all other 
reporting obligations under TSCA section 8(a)(7), and reporters will 
still have the same amount of time to submit data as codified at 40 CFR 
705.

C. What is the technical correction?

    Additionally, EPA is using this action to amend a typographical 
error in the regulation's paragraph related to the submission of OHTs. 
The regulatory text at 40 CFR 705.15(f)(1) currently states that OHTs 
are required for ``published study reports.'' Requiring OHTs for 
published study reports was not the intent of the final rule, nor would 
this yield any benefits, if submitters are not required to submit 
information that is in open scientific literature. This phrase should 
have read ``unpublished study reports,'' which is consistent with EPA's 
explanation in the final rule preamble: ``EPA is not requiring 
manufacturers to search open scientific literature to find relevant 
information on a PFAS that was previously not in their possession or 
control for the purpose of this rule. EPA believes that implementing 
such a requirement may result in duplicative information, if multiple 
PFAS manufacturers are submitting the same studies or other information 
that are available publicly (including in EPA's scientific literature 
databases)'' (88 FR 70524, October 11, 2023 (7902-02-OCSPP)).

IV. Statutory and Executive Orders Reviews

A. Executive Order 12866: Regulatory Planning and Review and Executive 
Order 14094: Modernizing Regulatory Review

    This action is not a significant regulatory action as defined in 
Executive Order 12866(58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993), as amended by 
Executive Order 14094 (88 FR 21879, April 11, 2023), and was therefore 
not subject to Executive Order 12866 review.

B. Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA)

    This action does not contain any new information collection burden 
under the PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. OMB has previously approved the 
information collection activities contained in the existing regulations 
and has assigned OMB control number 2070-0217 (EPA ICR No. 2682.02). 
This action does not create any new reporting or recordkeeping 
obligations, and does not otherwise change the burden estimates that 
were approved.

C. Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA)

    I certify that this action will not have a significant economic 
impact on a substantial number of small entities under the RFA, 5 
U.S.C. 601 et seq. In making this determination, EPA concludes that the 
impact of concern for this action is any significant adverse economic 
impact on small entities and that the agency is certifying that this 
action will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial 
number of small entities because the rule has no net burden on the 
small entities subject to the rule. This direct final rule provides the 
same timeframe for reporting, while delaying the start date and 
otherwise adds no new reporting requirements. This action only 
postpones the start of the information submission period already 
required and makes a technical correction to the regulatory text. We 
have therefore concluded that this action will have no net regulatory 
burden for all directly regulated small entities.

D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA)

    This action does not contain an unfunded mandate of $100 million 
(in 1995 dollars and adjusted annually for inflation) or more as 
described in UMRA, 2. U.S.C. 1531-1538, and does not significantly or 
uniquely affect small governments. The action imposes no enforceable 
duty on any State, local or Tribal governments or the private sector.

E. Executive Order 13132: Federalism

    This action does not have federalism implications as specified in 
Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999), because it will 
not have substantial direct effects on the states, on the relationship 
between the national government and the states, or on the distribution 
of power and responsibilities among the various levels of government.

F. Executive Order 13175: Consultation and Coordination With Indian 
Tribal Governments

    This action does not have Tribal implications as specified in 
Executive Order 1317(65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000), because it will 
not have substantial direct effects on Tribal governments, on the 
relationship

[[Page 72340]]

between the Federal Government and the Indian Tribes, or on the 
distribution of power and responsibilities between the Federal 
Government and Indian Tribes. This action does not impose substantial 
direct compliance costs on federally recognized Indian tribal 
governments. Thus, Executive Order 13175 does not apply to this action.

G. Executive Order 13045: Protection of Children From Environmental 
Health Risks and Safety Risks

    This action is not subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR 19885, 
April 23, 1997), because it does not concern an environmental health or 
safety risk. Since this action does not concern human health, EPA's 
Policy on Children's Health also does not apply. Although this does not 
concern an environmental health or safety risk and does not materially 
alter the reporting requirements under TSCA section 8(a)(7), EPA 
believes that the one-time data collection imposed in the 2023 final 
rule will aid in collecting all existing and reasonably ascertainable 
information related to the manufacturing (including importing) of PFAS 
since 2011. As noted in the 2023 final rule, this one-time collection 
will help identify data gaps surrounding the knowledge of commercially 
manufactured PFAS. Understanding the extent of existing data gaps 
related to manufactured PFAS will also help inform and tailor future 
EPA actions to address PFAS as needed. The one-time collection will 
provide information on the quantity of PFAS to which children may be 
exposed. EPA believes that the information obtained as a result of this 
one-time data collection could also be used by the public, government 
agencies and others to identify potential problems, set priorities, and 
take appropriate steps to reduce any potential human health or 
environmental risks, including potential risks to children.

H. Executive Order 13211: Actions Concerning Regulations That 
Significantly Affect Energy Supply, Distribution or Use

    This action is not a ``significant energy action'' as defined in 
Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001), because it is not 
likely to have any adverse effect on the supply, distribution or use of 
energy.

I. National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act (NTTAA)

    This action does not involve technical standards under the NTTAA 
section 12(d), 15 U.S.C. 272.

J. Executive Order 12898: Federal Actions To Address Environmental 
Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations and 
Executive Order 14096: Revitalizing Our Nation's Commitment to 
Environmental Justice for All

    The EPA believes that this type of action does not concern human 
health or environmental conditions and therefore cannot be evaluated 
with respect to potentially disproportionate and adverse effects on 
communities with environmental justice concerns in accordance with 
Executive Orders 12898 (59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994) and 14096 (88 FR 
25251, April 26, 2023). This action does not materially alter the 
reporting requirements under TSCA section 8(a)(7), as discussed in Unit 
II.

K. Congressional Review Act (CRA)

    This action is subject to the CRA, 5 U.S.C. 801 et seq., and EPA 
will submit a rule report to each House of the Congress and to the 
Comptroller General of the United States. This does not meet the 
criteria set forth in 5 U.S.C. 804(2).

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 705

    Chemicals, Environmental protection, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements.

    Dated: August 29, 2024.
Michal Freedhoff,
Assistant Administrator, Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution 
Prevention.

    Therefore, for the reasons set forth in the preamble, 40 CFR part 
705 is amended as follows:

PART 705--REPORTING AND RECORDKEEPING REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTAIN PER- 
AND POLYFLUOROALKYL SUBSTANCES

0
1. The authority for part 705 continues to read as follows

    Authority:  42 U.S.C. 2607(a)(7).


0
2. Amend Sec.  705.15 by revising paragraph (f)(1) to read as follows:


Sec.  705.15   What information to report.

* * * * *
    (f) * * *
    (1) Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) 
Harmonized Templates. For each unpublished study report, the submitter 
shall complete an OECD Harmonized Templates for Reporting Chemical Test 
Summaries and submit the accompanying study reports and supporting 
information. This can be accomplished by using the freely available 
IUCLID software.
* * * * *

0
3. Revise Sec.  705.20 to read as follows:


Sec.  705.20   When to report.

    All information reported to EPA in response to the requirements of 
this part must be submitted during the applicable submission period. 
For all reporters submitting information pursuant to Sec. Sec.  705.15 
and 705.18(b) (research and development), the submission period shall 
begin on July 11, 2025, and last for six months: July 11, 2025, through 
January 11, 2026. For any reporter who is reporting under this part 
exclusively pursuant to Sec.  705.18(a) (article importers), and is 
also considered a small manufacturer under the definition at 40 CFR 
704.3, the submission period shall begin on July 11, 2025, and last for 
12 months: July 11, 2025, through July 11, 2026.

[FR Doc. 2024-19931 Filed 9-4-24; 8:45 am]
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