EPA Finalizes Rule Allowing Manufacturers Access to HFCs

The EPA is finalizing a rule renewing limited, priority access to a class of chemicals called hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) through 2030. Specifically, EPA is finalizing its first mandatory five-year review of application-specific allowances (ASAs), which provide limited, priority access to HFCs.

 

Priority access is being provided for the following five applications: propellants in metered dose inhalers (MDIs); certain foams for marine and trailer uses; etching of semiconductor material or wafers and the cleaning of chemical vapor deposition chambers within the semiconductor manufacturing sector; mission-critical military end uses; and onboard aerospace fire suppression.

 

Recognizing the absence of safe and effective alternatives, in particular for law enforcement and military use, EPA is excluding defense sprays from the requirements for aerosols established under the 2023 Technology Transitions Rule. Therefore, EPA is not renewing ASA eligibility for defense spray beginning with calendar year 2026 allowances as it is no longer necessary because they will have continued access to necessary HFCs from the open market.

 

This rule will not result in any significant changes to the HFC phasedown program as a whole.

 

Please see the Regulatory Actions for Allowance Allocation and Reporting webpage for more information.

 

 

OSHA renewed its alliance with the National Waste & Recycling Association and the Solid Waste Association of North America with the shared goal of improving the safety and health of workers in the solid waste and recycling industry.

 

During the three-year agreement, OSHA, NWRA and SWANA will focus on safety issues, including transportation hazards such as backovers and distracted driving, slips, trips and falls, as well as needlestick and musculoskeletal injuries. Participants will also address potential health issues associated with lithium battery hazards in waste and recycling collection and processing.

 

Through the alliance, participants will develop valuable resources, including educational articles, fact sheets, and toolkits aimed at preventing and mitigating hazards. Participants plan to share information at industry conferences and engage in discussions at forums and meetings. An important aspect of the Alliance's outreach will be directed toward small- and medium-sized employers, ensuring that all businesses within the waste and recycling industry have access to essential safety information and resources.

 

OSHA's Alliance Program helps the agency develop working relationships with organizations committed to workplace safety and health. This includes trade and professional associations, labor unions, educational institutions, community and faith-based groups, and government agencies.

 

Alliance participants work with OSHA to provide workers and employers with information, guidance, and resources to promote safety and health in workplaces. Alliances also ensure that workers know their rights and employers understand their responsibilities under the Occupational Safety and Health Act.

 

EPA is acting on 175 Small Refinery Exemption (SRE) petitions from 38 small refineries for 2016 – 2024 compliance years. In consultation with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), EPA reviewed and considered information submitted by each petitioning small refinery. EPA then evaluated each SRE petition consistent with the Clean Air Act and case law. After carefully reviewing all information, EPA is granting full exemptions to 63 petitions, granting partial exemptions to 77 petitions, denying 28 petitions, and determining 7 petitions to be ineligible.

 

EPA is reaffirming the policy it set in the first Trump Administration through the 2020 Renewable Volume Obligation Rulemaking, granting partial relief (a 50 percent exemption) where a small refinery has demonstrated that it faces partial hardship. Under DOE’s 2011 Small Refinery Study, small refineries would have been denied any relief despite demonstrating partial hardship. Concurrent with this decision, EPA will update the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) Small Refinery Exemption website to reflect action on the 175 petitions.

 

At the same time, EPA is reaffirming a policy to return RFS compliance credits, known as Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs), previously retired for compliance when a small refinery receives an exemption for a prior compliance year. Under the RFS program, RINs have a two-year window for use, covering the compliance year in which they were generated and the following compliance year. Therefore, while 2022 and earlier vintage RINs are not eligible for use to meet the open 2024 compliance obligations or future obligations, these vintage RINs can be used to demonstrate compliance for prior compliance years consistent with their two-year window. Ultimately, this means that the 2022 and earlier vintage RINs will not impact the number of RINs available to meet 2024 and future compliance obligations and are not expected to impact demand for biofuels.

 

Finally, in the near future, EPA will submit a draft supplemental proposed rule to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on the proposed reallocations of the 2023 and later compliance year exempted volumes. EPA does not plan to propose reallocation of any of the exempted volumes for any SREs from 2016 – 2022 in light of the limitation on their potential use. EPA will also be providing updated information on how the agency intends to project SREs for 2026 and 2027 in the context of establishing percentage standards for those years. The proposed adjustments will help ensure that refineries blend the intended volumes of renewable fuel into the nation’s fuel supply in 2026 and 2027 after accounting for the SREs granted for 2023 and 2024 in today’s actions and projected SREs granted for 2025 – 2027 in Set 2. The supplemental proposal will seek to balance the goals of the RFS in supporting the production and use of renewable fuels while taking into account economic impacts, following the law, and ensuring opportunity for stakeholder comment.

 

Please see EPA’s Renewable Fuel Standard program website for more information.

 

 

The European Chemicals Agency’s (ECHA) scientific committees for Risk Assessment (RAC) and for Socio-Economic Analysis (SEAC) have been evaluating the proposal to restrict PFAS in the EU/EEA since March 2023. This restriction proposal covers more than 10,000 substances and many sectors of application. Following its submission to ECHA, the subsequent six-month consultation has resulted in more than 5,600 responses from all stakeholder groups (Industry, NGOs, institutions, academia, national authorities, agencies, civil society actors, citizens etc.).

 

The Committees’ evaluation is being carried out in batches, focusing on the 14 different sectors analyzed in the originally submitted restriction proposal, as well as PFAS manufacturing and horizontal issues. In parallel, the national authorities of Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden, who prepared the proposal (the Dossier Submitter), have progressively updated their initial report to address the significant number of responses received during the consultation, sector by sector. This updated report, called the Background Document, forms the basis for the Committees’ opinions. The information from the consultation has also led to the identification of a further eight sectors. These sectors have been assessed by the Dossier Submitter and incorporated into the now completed Background Document, which has been received by ECHA on 24 June 2025 and made available to RAC and SEAC and to the public on ECHA’s website.

 

It is the collective goal of ECHA, the Dossier Submitter and the European Commission to allow for appropriate action to be taken to protect human health and the environment, as soon as is practicably possible. The European Commission, in the Chemicals Industry Action Plan adopted on 8 July 2025, has also communicated that ‘The scientific assessment of the Universal PFAS restriction by the ECHA’s committees is ongoing and scheduled to conclude in 2026. The Commission is committed to presenting a proposal as soon as possible after receiving ECHA’s opinion, with the overall objective of minimizing PFAS emissions.

 

Considering the sheer scale of this complex restriction proposal, RAC and SEAC have already made good progress in their opinion making on the 14 sectors covered by the original restriction proposal, plus PFAS manufacturing and horizontal issues. However, including a further 8 sectors into the Committees’ evaluations now would require significant time beyond 2026 to finalize the opinion with these sectors.

 

Therefore, in the ongoing procedure, the Committees will not carry out a sector specific evaluation of these further eight sectors. However, the evaluation of horizontal issues will cover, amongst others, the hazard assessment and risk management measures of general applicability that are able to monitor and limit emissions of PFAS to the environment (e.g., reporting requirements, PFAS management plan).

 

ECHA has the firm objective to deliver the final RAC and SEAC opinions to the European Commission in 2026. RAC and SEAC plan to conclude their discussions on the 14 sectors covered by the original restriction proposal plus PFAS manufacturing and horizontal issues by the end of 2025. This is to allow ECHA to finalize the RAC opinion and the SEAC draft opinion and to carry out the consultation on the SEAC draft opinion in the first half of 2026. This approach will ensure that more than 90% of PFAS emissions and volumes are covered by the opinions which will be sent to the European Commission for decision making.

 

It is expected that the final RAC and SEAC opinions, in combination with the Background Document, will give the European Commission the possibility to consider in its decision making how to best address the different use sectors (14 sectors plus the additional eight sectors), PFAS manufacturing and horizontal issues.

 

 

With first responders continuing to fight the fire at the Smitty’s Supply Inc. site, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will serve as the lead agency on-scene. Previously, the responsible party (Smitty’s), was coordinating these efforts. To support these current operations, EPA is mobilizing Emergency Rapid Response Services (ERRS) contractors to coordinate response efforts and continue operations seamlessly during the transition.

 

EPA plans contain any remaining onsite hazardous materials and recover unburned material from the facility in ditches, ponds, and the Tangipahoa River. The recovered materials will be transported and disposed of in an EPA-approved facility.

 

“EPA understands that no single agency can tackle a response like this, and we provided support as soon as the State of Louisiana requested it,” said EPA Regional Administrator Scott Mason. “We are stepping in to lead the effort now at the state’s request to ensure that the work is completed quickly so the community can get back on its feet as soon as possible.”

 

Within hours of the notification, EPA deployed an EPA on-scene coordinator and technical assistance contractor (START) personnel to the response command post in Roseland to conduct community air monitoring and document the facility’s efforts to secure the release. Currently there are 18 EPA employees and contractor staff supporting this effort, including 10 onsite. EPA is in the process of increasing the number of mobilized personnel.

 

EPA will continue to work closely with the Louisiana State Police, the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office (TPSO), the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP), the Tangipahoa Parish Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, the National Weather Service (NWS), and other local, state, and federal agencies.

 

EPA will continue to provide updates on the response effort. Additional information about the response is available at https://response.epa.gov/SmittysSupplyFire.