On May 27, 2025, the American Chemistry Council (ACC) petitioned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under Section 21 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to reconsider the final risk management rule for trichloroethylene (TCE). ACC requests that EPA reconsider and amend two provisions of the rule:

• Revise the byproduct exclusion in 40 C.F.R. Section 751.301(c) by removing the “site-limited” restriction that requires byproduct TCE to be reused as a “part of the same overall manufacturing process.” The petition states that this would allow facilities to continue reusing/processing byproduct TCE either at the same facility where the byproduct was generated or at another facility; and
• Delete the last sentence from the “regulatory threshold” provision in 40 C.F.R. Section 751.301(b), allowing facilities to continue discharging wastewater that contains TCE at less than 0.1 percent by weight pursuant to their valid, existing Clean Water Act (CWA) National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits.

To give EPA adequate time to consider the issues raised in the petition, ACC also hereby requests that EPA take immediate action to revise the TCE rule by extending the compliance deadlines for the prohibitions on wastewater disposal and reuse of byproduct TCE. According to ACC, an extension “would ensure the regulated community does not expend significant resources on compliance with prohibitions that EPA may ultimately modify.” Under TSCA Section 21, EPA has 90 days from the date of receipt to grant or deny the petition. More information on EPA’s final TCE risk management rule is available in our January 13, 2025, memorandum.