EPA’s Fall 2023 Regulatory Agenda released

The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Fall 2023 Semiannual Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions was released on December 7. The agenda shows the agency’s upcoming regulatory actions and where they are in the rulemaking process.

The agenda includes major updates, such as:

• Finalizing a rule under the Clean Water Act by September 2024 to require facilities near navigable water that store listed hazardous substances above a threshold amount to prepare facility response plans and implement response training for spills;
• Moving the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards for Heavy-Duty Vehicles — Phase 3 rule to the final rule stage, with an expected publishing date in March 2024;
• Proposing a rule in December 2023 that, if finalized, would list specific per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) as hazardous constituents under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, which would subject them to corrective action requirements at hazardous waste treatment, storage, and disposal facilities; and
• Proposing a rule in April 2024 to clarify how water quality trading and other market-based approaches may be used by the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permitting authorities in permits to meet applicable water quality standards.

While you will want to review the entire agenda to learn about all the rulemakings on EPA’s docket, this article highlights just some of the major rules we are watching closely. Also, please note that the agenda dates reflect tentative dates by which the agency hopes to publish the rulemakings in the Federal Register.