Trump administration officials barred experts from warning legislators that they were about to write a major environmental loophole into law, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) staffers alleged in newly revealed internal communications.

Loophole in NDAA

The loophole, arising from a clause in the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), enabled many companies to avoid disclosing releases of toxic “forever chemicals” to the EPA.

Efforts to Inform Congress

Internal EPA correspondence obtained by The Hill shows that career staff members attempted to make Congress aware of the issue, but they believe their efforts were rebuffed by political appointees.

PFAS Reporting

The clause at issue, written by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee (SEPW), said on Jan. 1, 2020, some of the chemicals — also known as PFAS — must be included in the EPA’s reporting database for toxic chemical releases: the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI).

Concerns Raised

Some EPA experts wanted to point out this issue to Senate staffers but said they were blocked from doing so.

Bureaucratic Breakdown

EPA experts from the Toxics Release Inventory Program had recognized the problem nearly a year before — but found themselves talking to a brick wall built by the Trump administration, according to the internal correspondence.

Communication Breakdown

Correspondence from 2019 shows that career EPA staffers made multiple attempts to warn Freedhoff about the loophole.

Outcome

Freedhoff, Turk, and Bushman ended up being correct in their projections that the June 2020 standard chemical listing would lead to minimal PFAS reporting.

Concerns About Delay

Environmental advocates worry the shift will be too little, too late.

Conclusion

Once President Biden took office, it was an immediate priority for both the administration and EPA career staff to designate the TRI-listed PFAS as chemicals of special concern.