Now that we have entered the second year of Administrator Zeldin’s tenure, BCLP looks back at how EPA’s actions in 2025 and previews what regulated industry may expect in 2026. The timeline below highlights the regulatory changes BCLP monitored throughout 2025, and those items companies should continue to watch in 2026.

EPA retained the rule designating perfluorooctanoic acid (“PFOA”) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (“PFOS”) as “Hazardous Substances” pursuant to section 102(a) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (“PFAS CERCLA Rule”).

As discussed in BCLP’s Insight, the PFAS CERCLA Rule affects businesses in many different ways, including Phase I Environmental Site Assessments; impacting Potentially Responsible Party determinations; enabling site reopeners or modifications; administering reporting requirements; subjecting PFOA and PFOS to the Hazardous Materials Transportation Act; and triggering transfer requirements for government-owned property.

As of the date of publication, numerous parties have challenged the PFAS CERCLA Rule before the United States Court of Appeals District of Columbia Circuit. The PFAS CERCLA Rule has yet to be finalized.

While EPA retained the PFAS CERCLA Rule, EPA proposed rescinding and reconsidering the PFAS Drinking Water limits and Hazard Index for four PFAS compounds (PFHxS, PFNA, PFBS, and HFPO-DA, commonly known as GenX).  EPA retained only the 4 ppt Maximum Contaminant Levels (“MCLs”) for PFO and PFOS, Public water systems will now have an additional two years (until 2031) to comply with the MCL for PFOA and PFOS. BCLP’s Insight further discusses EPA’s decision, and EPA provides additional information at a related website.

As of the date of publication, EPA has not submitted a final rule changing the Drinking Water Regulations, and on January 21, 2026, a federal district court denied EPA’s proposal to vacate the drinking water limits, preserving the status quo until the court has briefing on the merits.  BCLP discussed these commitments in a past Insight.

This chart demonstrates how EPA proposes to adjust the regulations established on April 10, 2024:

Mixtures containing two or more of PFHxS, PFNA, HFPO-DA, and PFBS

EPA is requiring businesses that manufacture or import PFAS chemicals, or have manufactured or imported PFAS chemicals in the past, to submit a significant amount of information to EPA during an eleven-year period from 2011 to 2022.  The rule became final in October 2023, and the reporting period has been postponed – now opening in 2026.

EPA delayed the implementation of this rule (repeatedly), and the data submission period will now for most reporting entities will now run from April 13, 2026, through October 13, 2026. BCLP’s Insight, among other things, provides information regarding the information that a business needs to submit.