The spoil belongs to the victor, and surface finishers are certainly hoping that the new federal administration taking office in January will somehow derail the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's current path.
Former congressman Lee Zeldin has been tapped to be the next head of the EPA, and many manufacturing watchdogs hope that he will begin to roll back the more restrictive regulations that the previous administration left in place.
Foremost among them are the rules passed and those proposed for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. It is no secret that when the EPA sent its “Chrome Finishing Industry Data Collection” survey in late 2023 to more than 2,000+ shops in the U.S., more than a few shop owners became a little antsy about all the questions the agency was asking.
The EPA conducting the survey — which the results have not yet been shared — of the metal finishing and electroplating industry as part of its effort to “review and revise, as appropriate, effluent limitations guidelines and standards (ELGs) for these point source categories.”
In a nutshell, the EPA wants to know how to set limits on PFAS in finishing shops and how to create a path to more regulatory enforcement. None of that sounds good when you read it more than once.
So, with the new administration appointing Zeldin as their EPA point person, what can finishers expect when the new year rolls around? How will the administration propose new PFAS rules, and what can shops do to prepare for those changes?
“We’re in this weird space. If you own a company, do you manage PFAS, do you avoid it?” says Bryan Staley, president and CEO of the Environmental Research and Education Foundation, at the Corporate Growth Conference in Chicago, as reported by www.wastedive.com.
“The hedge would be, manage it as if it is more concerning than not,” Staley says. “Then, if it ends up not being concerning, then you can deal with that at a later time.”
What is there to know about Zeldin and the environment? When he voted in Congress for legislation that would have regulated certain PFAS under the National Drinking Water Standard, the EPA eventually set the new PFAS rules in April 2024.
According to www.NewRepublic.com, Zeldin also voted to “cut EPA funding, scrap its chemicals risk assessment program, and block the agency from taking action to restrict carbon pollution” as a member of Congress.
So, which way does the wind blow for this guy?
“We will restore U.S. energy dominance, revitalize our auto industry to bring back American jobs, and make the U.S. the global leader of AI,” Zeldin said when he was announced as the EPA nominee. “We will do so while protecting access to clean air and water.”
Most finishers who have never used PFAS in their processes still worry that they may have contaminated their systems by cleaning customer parts with traces of PFAS. Finishers received no relief from the EPA’s CERCLA designation for PFAS, as they were hoping it would reduce or eliminate their liability and remediation costs.
We will have to see if Lee Zeldin will make a difference in rolling back some of the regulations or killing those in the pipeline. Then, we'll see what another four years brings.
Tim Pennington is Editor-in-Chief of Finishing and Coating, and has covered the industry since 2010. He has traveled extensively throughout North America visiting shops and production facilities, and meeting those who work in the industry. Tim began his career in the newspaper industry, then wound itself between the sports field with the PGA Tour and marketing and communications firms, and finally back into the publishing world in the finishing and coating sector. If you want to reach Tim, just go 
