Erin Brooks

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) issued two proposed rules on May 20, 2026, seeking to partially unwind the requirements imposed under the current National PFAS Drinking Water Regulations promulgated in 2024: (1) first, EPA proposes rescinding the Maximum Contaminant Levels (“MCLs”) for three PFAS substances and a Hazard Index for a mixture of PFAS constituents; and (2) second, EPA proposes providing an opportunity for entities subject to the rule to extend the...

I. What Was the 2024 Proposed Rule? RCRA was enacted, in large part, to manage a defined category of materials, “Hazardous Wastes,” from “cradle-to-grave.”  In 2024, EPA issued a proposed rule that would have expanded the regulatory definition of “Hazardous Waste” as applied to corrective action at RCRA-permitted facilities to include all wastes that “cause, or significantly contribute to an increase in mortality or an increase in serious irreversible, or incapacitating reversible, illness.” II.

Erin L.