Clean Water Act Hazardous Substance Facility Response Plans: Compliance Date Delay and Changes To Reflect Administration Policy

What it does

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is finalizing an extension to the compliance date for Facility Response Plans (FRPs) required by the Clean Water Act (CWA) addressing potential worst-case discharges of CWA hazardous substances. These requirements apply to onshore non-transportation-related facilities that could reasonably be expected to cause substantial harm to the environment from a CWA hazardous substance worst-case discharge to navigable waters, adjoining shorelines, or the exclusive economic zone. This action is also finalizing language modifications to remove references to climate change and environmental justice in the FRP requirements to align with Executive Order 14148 of January 20, 2025. EPA is revising the compliance deadlines in light of serious concerns that facilities may be unable to comply with the relevant requirements by the existing deadline. These changes are necessary to allow the Agency to consider implementation and compliance assistance tools that regulated facilities may be able to take advantage of when complying with the new requirements, and to ensure proper planning for all communities while promoting a science-based and risk-based approach to planning. EPA also recognizes that a delay would provide time for EPA to consider whether revisions are necessary before facilities must comply.

The Environmental Protection Agency's summary, as published in the Federal Register.

What changed in the regulation

1 part of Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations:

40 CFR 118

Compared with

The Environmental Protection Agency has published 238 final rules in 2026 so far, compared with 263 in all of 2025.

Counted by the Tribune from Federal Register records since Jan. 1, 2025.

Before this

1 earlier Federal Register document under regulation identifier 2050-AH38 since Jan. 1, 2025.

• March 5, 2026 Proposed rule. Clean Water Act Hazardous Substance Facility Response Plans: Compliance Date Delay and Changes To Reflect Administration Policy

What happens next and when

This final rule is effective on December 14, 2026.

The agency's dates, word for word.

Check it yourself

• The document in the Federal Register
• Docket EPA-HQ-OLEM-2021-0585 on Regulations.gov
• Title 40 on eCFR

The record as published

Source: the Federal Register (public domain). The document in the Federal Register