Data / Federal rules / 2026-20849

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

The Environmental Protection Agency published this final rule in the Federal Register on October 13, 2026. It takes effect on December 14, 2026.

SpecStream is the live web data engine for teams and agents. It reads every rule and proposed rule in the Federal Register each morning, and this page is that reading. Name your industry once and new rules, comment deadlines and effective dates arrive in your sheet, CRM, Slack or agent as they are published.

Get new rules for your industry

What the agency says

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.

Key facts

Document number: 2026-20849
Type: Final rule
Action: Final rule
Agency: Environmental Protection Agency
Published: October 13, 2026
Takes effect: December 14, 2026
Dates: This final rule is effective on December 14, 2026.
Docket: EPA-HQ-OLEM-2021-0585; FRL-7881.1-02-OLEM
Regulation ID (RIN): 2050-AH38
Code of Federal Regulations: 40 CFR 118
Topics: Environmental protection; Hazardous substances; Reporting and recordkeeping requirements; Water pollution control
Pages: 7

The document on federalregister.gov PDF

Other documents from the Environmental Protection Agency

Document	Type	Published
Virginia: Approval of State Coal Combustion Residuals Permit Program 2026-21622	Final rule	Oct 22
Utah Underground Injection Control Program; Class VI Primacy 2026-21618	Proposed rule	Oct 22
Nevada: Codification and Incorporation by Reference of Approved Underground Storage Tank Program 2026-21603	Final rule	Oct 22
New Source Performance Standards and National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants; Delegation of Authority to Northwest Clean Air Agency, Washington State 2026-21383	Proposed rule	Oct 19
Air Quality Plan; Arizona; Agricultural Best Management Practices Rules for the West Pinal County PM10 Nonattainment Area 2026-21289	Proposed rule	Oct 19
Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans-Pinal County (Part); West Pinal, AZ PM10 Nonattainment Area; Moderate Area, Serious Area, and Section 189(d) Plan for Attainment of the 24-Hour PM10 Standard 2026-21288	Proposed rule	Oct 19
Air Quality Plan; Arizona; Pinal County Air Quality Control District; West Pinal County PM10 Nonattainment Area; Fugitive Dust Rules 2026-21287	Proposed rule	Oct 19
Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; Arizona; Revisions to the Cleaner Burning Gasoline, Winter Oxygenated Fuel, and Gasoline Set-Aside Programs 2026-21268	Final rule	Oct 19

Everything from the Environmental Protection Agency · Rules on environmental protection · Rules on hazardous substances · Rules on reporting and recordkeeping requirements · Published in October 2026

Read from the Federal Register API, last updated 2026-10-24. The document on federalregister.gov is the official record; dates and dockets can change through later corrections. Free to reuse with credit to SpecStream under CC BY 4.0.