EPA Extends Some Compliance Dates in PCE, CTC Risk Management Rules

A final rule published in late July by EPA extends certain compliance dates in its final risk management rules for perchloroethylene (PCE) and carbon tetrachloride (CTC). Specifically, the new rule extends dates related to workplace chemical protection program (WCPP) requirements for non-federal owners and operators to match those for federal agencies and their contractors. The rule also extends a compliance date related to workplace information and training programs for federal entities.

Under the new final rule, non-federal owners and operators now have until June 21, 2027, to conduct initial monitoring for inhalation exposure to both PCE and CTC. The new compliance date for non-federal entities to meet EPA’s existing chemical exposure limits (ECELs) for both substances as well as comply with requirements to establish regulated areas, provide required respiratory personal protective equipment, and establish respiratory PPE programs is Sept. 20, 2027. EPA’s extensions also allow non-federal entities until Dec. 20, 2027, to establish and implement an exposure control plan for PCE, and federal entities until Sept. 20, 2027, to institute workplace information and training programs for PCE. These changes are intended to address “unanticipated WCPP/ECEL implementation difficulties” related to the agency’s final rules on PCE and CTC, according to a notice in the Federal Register.

“This timeline adjustment does not weaken any existing protection and does not change the ultimate level of protection required,” EPA states in a news release.

The agency is also conducting a “substantive reconsideration” of both rules and invited public comments on all aspects of its PCE and CTC rules last year. EPA’s news release says that it “intends to publish proposed rules later in 2026.”

For more information, see EPA’s news release and the accompanying Federal Register notice.