EPA Issues Interim Final Rule on Compliance Date Extensions for TSCA Risk Management for TCE
Released September 12, 2025
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is issuing an interim final rule for risk management for trichloroethylene (TCE) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). This interim final rule keeps the ban in place while extending compliance dates for critical infrastructure and national security applications resulting from the use of TCE as a processing aid in the manufacture of nuclear fuel and for certain processors of industrial chemicals who dispose of TCE to wastewater. These changes are intended to provide impacted businesses with a reasonable transition time timeline in order to comply with the provisions of the risk management rule.
On December 17, 2024, EPA issued the final rule to manage the risks of TCE under TSCA. The prohibition of the majority of industrial and commercial uses has a compliance date of September 15, 2025. In May 2025, EPA received a TSCA section 21 petition concerning the impact of the September 15, 2025, prohibition on disposal of TCE to wastewater for processors of TCE and industrial and commercial users of TCE as a processing aid. EPA conducted outreach with TCE users to gather information about processing and disposal to wastewater. In June 2025, a nuclear fuel manufacturer contacted EPA with concerns regarding the impact of the prohibition of TCE on their nuclear fuel production which has national security and critical use applications and furnishes several existing Department of War (DOW) and Department of Energy (DOE) contracts. EPA also conducted outreach to the nuclear fuel manufacturer, as well as with DOW, DOE, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to gather information related to this newly identified use of TCE.
In the interim final rule released today, EPA is amending the prohibition compliance date for the use of TCE as a processing aid in the manufacture of nuclear fuel to begin on September 15, 2028, instead of September 15, 2025. Extending the compliance date responds to the new information describing critical national security and energy implications that EPA received after issuing the 2024 final rule. The agency is also amending the prohibition compliance date for the disposal of TCE to wastewater by processors of TCE and processors and industrial and commercial users of TCE as a processing aid to begin on December 18, 2026, instead of September 15, 2025. This modification aligns the compliance date for disposal with the compliance date for the use. EPA is also amending the compliance deadline for downstream notification to allow for 90 days after the publication of the final rule for manufacturers, processors, and distributors in commerce of TCE to make certain changes to the notification.
Upon publication of the Federal Register notice, EPA will accept comments on the rule for 30 days in docket EPA-HQ-OPPT-2020-0642. EPA is not reopening for comment any provisions of the 2024 final rule other than the specific provisions that are expressly amended in this interim final rule.
While EPA will be extending compliance dates through this action, the current deadlines remain effective until modified through this rulemaking. Enforcement of the current deadlines is a low enforcement priority for the agency, and EPA intends to focus its resources on compliance with the new compliance dates that will be established by this rulemaking. However, EPA may take any action necessary to protect human health and the environment.
Learn more about this action and read a prepublication version of the interim final rule.