Vermont Business Magazine Attorney General Charity Clark today announced highlights from the Office’s Environmental Protection Unit during her first year in office.

“Vermont’s natural environment and natural resources are part of who we are as a state. I am proud of my office’s role in upholding Vermont’s environmental laws and protecting our environment for future generations,” said Attorney General Clark. 

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January 9, 2024

Contact Information

EPA Press Office (press@epa.gov)

WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the automatic addition of seven per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to the list of chemicals covered by the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI).  

TRI data is reported to EPA annually by facilities in designated industry sectors and federal facilities that manufacture, process, or otherwise use TRI-listed chemicals above set quantities. The data include quantities of such chemicals that were released into the environment or otherwise managed as waste. Information collected through TRI allows communities to learn how facilities in their area are managing listed chemicals. The data collected is available online and helps to support informed decision-making by companies, government agencies, non-governmental organizations and the public, and advances the Biden-Harris commitments to ensuring environmental justice through improved accountability and transparency for families, workers, and communities across the country.

The addition of these seven PFAS helps to further the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to address the impacts of these forever chemicals, and advances EPA’s PFAS Strategic Roadmap to confront the human health and environmental risks of PFAS.

“With these additions to the Toxics Release Inventory, we’ll be collecting data on the release and management of almost 200 PFAS in communities across the country, furthering our efforts to better understand and protect people from these chemicals,” said Assistant Administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention Michal Freedhoff. “We’ll also share this information with the public, empowering communities to engage with the facilities using these chemicals to prevent or reduce pollution.”

These seven PFAS were added to the TRI list pursuant to the Fiscal Year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which provides the framework for the automatic addition of PFAS to TRI each year in response to specified EPA activities involving such PFAS. For TRI Reporting Year 2024 (reporting forms due by July 1, 2025), reporting is required for these seven additional PFAS, bringing the total PFAS subject to TRI reporting to 196.

Addition of PFAS with final toxicity values

The 2020 NDAA includes a provision that automatically adds PFAS to the TRI list upon the Agency’s finalization of a toxicity value. Six PFAS were automatically added for Reporting Year 2024 due to EPA having finalized a toxicity value during 2023. Only these particular salt forms of the acids are added to the list.

Ammonium perfluorohexanoate; Chemical Abstract Service Registration Number (CASRN) 21615-47-4

Lithium bis[(trifluoromethyl)sulfonyl] azanide; CASRN 90076-65-6

Perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA); CASRN 307-24-4

Perfluoropropanoic acid (PFPrA); CASRN 422-64-0

Sodium perfluorohexanoate; CASRN 2923-26-4

1,1,1-Trifluoro-N-[(trifluoromethyl)sulfonyl] methanesulfonamide; CASRN 82113-65-3

Addition of PFAS no longer claimed as confidential business information

Under NDAA section 7321(e), EPA must review confidential business information (CBI) claims before adding a PFAS to the TRI list if the chemical identity is subject to a claim of protection from disclosure under 5 U.S.C. 552(a). EPA previously identified one PFAS for addition to the TRI list based on the NDAA’s provision to include specific PFAS upon the NDAA’s enactment. However, due to CBI claims related to its identity, this PFAS was not added to the TRI list at that time. The identity of this chemical was subsequently declassified in an update to the Toxic Substances Control Act Inventory in February 2023. Because its identity is no longer confidential, the following chemical was added to the TRI list:

Betaines, dimethyl(.gamma.-.omega.-perfluoro-.gamma.-hydro-C8-18-alkyl); CASRN 2816091-53-7 

As of January 1, 2024, facilities that are subject to reporting requirements for these chemicals should begin tracking their activities involving these PFAS as required by Section 313 of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act. Reporting forms will be due by July 1, 2025.

These seven newly added PFAS, along with the previous 189 TRI-listed PFAS, are also subject to EPA’s action in October 2023 to classify all PFAS subject to TRI reporting as chemicals of special concern. Among other impacts, this removes the use of a reporting exemption that allowed facilities to avoid reporting information on PFAS when those chemicals were used in small concentrations.

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On Jan. 2, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) rang in the new year by publishing a Proposed Rule updating the Ground Water Quality Standards (GWQS) for 65 of the 73 constituents currently regulated for Class II-A groundwater. As most readers know, the department uses the GWQS as base standards for the remediation of groundwater contamination. For most ongoing and future cleanups, the updated GWQS will apply. For previously closed sites, the impact of the Proposed Rule will depend on a number of factors, including (1) whether any of the contaminants with updated standards still exist and (2) whether the updated standards resulted in an order of magnitude change.

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The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) today released draft guidance for State entities to inform the investments and benefits reporting on compliance with the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act’s (Climate Act) requirement that a minimum of 35 percent, with a goal of 40 percent, of the State’s clean energy investments benefit disadvantaged communities. The draft Disadvantaged Communities Investments and Benefits Reporting Guidance is a blueprint for reporting energy efficiency and clean energy programmatic investments by State entities in disadvantaged communities and will advance consistency and transparency in complying with the Climate Act’s equity provisions. 

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Here is an Environmental Law Alert from one of BCONE’s annual sponsors, Pullman & Comley.

Is Connecticut’s Transfer Act Going Away Anytime Soon? No, But Progress Is Being Made

The Connecticut General Assembly passed Public Act 20-09 in the fall of 2020 with the promise that the Connecticut Transfer Act would be abolished in favor of a released-based, rather than a transaction-based, remediation program.  Under Public Act 20-09’s terms, once the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) adopts release-based regulations pursuant to section 22a-134tt of the General Statutes, the Transfer Act will cease to apply to future transactions in Connecticut; only those  sites  already in the Transfer Act program will need to be remediated in accordance with the Transfer Act’s requirements.

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Pittsburgh, PA – The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) today announced that the Beaver County Environmental Mitigation Community Fund steering committee has finalized a protocol implementation plan, which establishes the advisory board’s role in executing projects.

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EPA to hold hybrid public hearing on January 10 in Woodstock, Conn.

January 3, 2024

Contact Information

Mikayla Rumph (rumph.mikayla@epa.gov)

(617) 918-1016

WOODSTOCK, CONN. (Jan. 3, 2024) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will be holding a hybrid public hearing on the amended Proposed Plan for the cleanup of the Linemaster Switch Corp. Superfund Site in Woodstock, Conn on January 10, 2024.

Public Hearing: January 10, 2024, 7:00 p.m. until all comments are heard.

In-person: Woodstock Middle School Cafeteria, 147B Route 169, Woodstock, CT 06281

Virtually: epa.gov/superfund/linemaster.

During the public hearing, EPA will be accepting oral comments on the preferred remedial alternative identified in the Proposed Plan. No new information will be presented at the hearing. The Proposed Plan presents EPA's proposed changes to the current (ongoing) remedy for the site.

In a 1993 Record of Decision, EPA selected a cleanup plan for the entire site. This remedy required the construction and operation of a groundwater and soil vapor extraction system within the "source area," as well as the extraction and treatment of contaminated groundwater outside the source area (i.e., downgradient areas). Despite 25 years of active site remediation, and evidence that the concentration of contaminants is declining, significant impacts to the soil and groundwater remain. As a result, EPA is proposing to amend the 1993 Record of Decision. The proposed revised remedy includes additional treatment of contaminated soil, as well as modifying the existing groundwater extraction and treatment system. The proposed amended remedy is estimated to cost approximately $11.4 million and is estimated to take approximately one to two years to design and implement.

EPA will be accepting public comments on the Proposed Plan until midnight January 12, 2024. EPA will formally respond to all comments, both written and oral, received during the comment period in a responsiveness summary which will be part of the formal record. EPA will then release its Amended Record of Decision. 

More Information on the Public Comment Opportunity:

EPA's Proposed Plan for Linemaster Site, its Administrative Record File, as well as other site related documents and other technical documents related to the site, are available for review online at EPA's webpage: epa.gov/superfund/linemaster.

The Woodstock Town Hall can be used as an access point for EPA's Linemaster Switch Corp. Superfund Site webpage.

EPA's Records Center is located within EPA's regional office at 5 Post Office Square in Boston, Mass. EPA's Records Center is open Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. To make an appointment to view the records at EPA's regional office, please call at (617) 918-1440.

If you would like a copy of the Proposed Plan mailed to you, contact Charlotte Gray at gray.charlotte@epa.gov or (617) 918-1243.

Submit your comments during the 30-day public comment period on the Proposed Plan no later than midnight January 12, 2024 by mail, hand delivery/courier, or email to:

John Bryant, Remedial Project Manager

Linemaster Switch Corp. Superfund Site

U.S. EPA New England

5 Post Office Square, Suite 100

Mail Code: 7-MI

Boston, MA 02109

Email: Bryant.John@epa.gov

Phone: (617) 918-1375

The public hearing on January 10, 2024 is another opportunity for the public to comment on the proposed amended remedy. All verbal comments will be recorded and become part of the official record.

If you have questions on the comment period, please contact:

Charlotte Gray, EPA Community Involvement Coordinator, by email at Gray.Charlotte@epa.gov or by phone at (617) 918-1243.

Background

The 92-acre Linemaster Switch Corp. Superfund Site houses a former manufacturing facility in Woodstock, Conn. that produced electrical and pneumatic foot switches and wiring harnesses. As part of the manufacturing operations, several chemicals were used at the site including trichloroethene (TCE). Due to the remaining contamination from the previous manufacturing operations, the site was placed on the Superfund National Priorities List in February of 1990. A cleanup plan for the site was selected in a 1993 Record of Decision. Since then, cleanup activities have included the installation of soil and groundwater treatment systems.

More information

Linemaster Switch Corp. Superfund Site Profile Page

The office of Gov. Ned Lamont said late Tuesday that he would on Wednesday announce plans to redevelop the site of the former New Haven Veterans Memorial Coliseum and construct a 277,435-square-foot “Class A life sciences and tech office building” there.

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Possibly contaminated sites in four eastern Connecticut towns are part of a statewide initiative to clean up those sites so that they can be reused for other purposes.

Governor Ned Lamont’s Office announced on Dec. 18 that $7.2 million in grants statewide would be distributed to help the remediation and assessment of 713 acres of blighted properties in nine towns, including the four eastern Connecticut towns of Griswold, Sprague, Putnam and Lisbon, according to the press release.

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Last week, as part of President Joe Biden’s Investing in America agenda, the Biden-Harris Administration announced a $50 million Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) grant for the Bronx’s Fordham University to serve as a Regional Grantmaker.

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