EPA has finalized the removal of a process wastewater emission limit for new major sources that produce PVC and copolymers. The limit covered total non-vinyl chloride organic HAP, and the testing, monitoring, recordkeeping and reporting requirements tied to it are removed as well. A Federal Register notice dated November 9, 2026, publishes the final action on the PVC and copolymer production NESHAP. In the same action, EPA finalized vinyl chloride as the surrogate for non-vinyl chloride organic HAP in this process wastewater.
At a glance
- EPA finalized removal of the total non-vinyl chloride organic HAP process wastewater limit, and its related testing, monitoring, recordkeeping and reporting requirements, for new major PVC and copolymer production sources.
- EPA also finalized vinyl chloride as the surrogate for non-vinyl chloride organic HAP in that wastewater.
- EPA says it is unaware of any new sources currently subject to the rule, and the action does not affect existing sources.
The action follows a proposal that EPA made on November 9, 2020, in response to petitions for reconsideration of the 2012 Final Rule. That proposal reached several parts of the PVC NESHAP, including wastewater limits for both new and existing major sources. The final action described in the notice covers the new major source limit. EPA cited section 112 of the Clean Air Act as its statutory authority.
The 2012 Final Rule defines new sources as those that began construction after May 20, 2011. EPA says it knows of no such source that is currently operating. It also says it is unaware of any new sources currently subject to the rule, and that the action leaves existing sources unaffected. As the notice describes the Clean Air Act, a major source emits, or could emit, 10 tons per year or more of a single HAP, or 25 tons per year or more of any combination of HAP. All other sources are area sources.
EPA explained its surrogate approach in terms of the criteria it believes apply to PVC wastewater. In its reading, both non-vinyl chloride organic HAP and vinyl chloride must be present in the wastewater streams. The vinyl chloride control technology must capture both without distinguishing between them, and steam stripping must be the only way to reduce non-vinyl chloride organic HAP emissions. EPA modeled these criteria on those the D.C. Circuit applied to particulate matter as a surrogate for metal HAP.
Drawing on its document Analysis of HAP in PVC Process Wastewater, EPA concluded that steam stripping is the only technology it knows of that controls these organic HAP emissions to the same extent. It also concluded that biological treatment alone cannot control all such HAP. For 2,2,4-trimethylpentane and hexane, the Fe value, meaning the fraction emitted from biotreatment and collection processes, is 1.00 if the source does not control those emissions another way. EPA says the surrogate lets facilities monitor one representative HAP to show adequate control. It says it lacks enough information to subcategorize process wastewater by resin type, and that one facility may use up to 100 different resin recipes. In EPA's view, monitoring dozens of separate emission limits would be impractical.
EPA states that the action will have no immediate cost or emissions impacts. It also does not expect air quality impacts or changes in total emissions from the PVC and copolymer production source category. EPA ties that expectation to vinyl chloride acting as the surrogate and to its decision not to revise the new major source vinyl chloride emission limit. If a new source were to come online, EPA says it would still have to meet the vinyl chloride limit using steam stripping, which EPA says controls all HAP indiscriminately. In that case, EPA states, the action would not affect process wastewater emissions. EPA also estimates savings for a new major source PVC and copolymer production facility, should one become operational in the future.
The estimate is approximately $2,900 in capital and startup costs per facility, plus approximately $30,000 per facility per year, in 2025 dollars. EPA attributes those savings to the reduced testing, monitoring, recordkeeping and reporting burdens for total non-vinyl chloride organic HAP.