EPA Adds Clean Air Act Applicability Determinations to Dashboard

The Environmental Protection Agency published a notice of availability in the Federal Register on October 30, 2026, at 91 FR 68510. The notice announces applicability determinations, regulatory interpretations, alternative monitoring decisions, and other determinations that the agency made from June 2025 to July 2026. The agency posted those decisions on the Clean Air Act Section 111, 112, and 129 Applicability Determination Dashboard, or ADD, an online index for stationary source compliance questions. The same notice announces six broadly applicable alternative test method approvals made in 2022, 2024, and 2025.

At a glance

• The document is Federal Register notice 2026-22164, published October 30, 2026, at 91 FR 68510 through 68515, a six page notice of availability.
• The determinations cover the Clean Air Act stationary source programs: the New Source Performance Standards (NSPS), the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP), and the Emission Guidelines and Federal Plan Requirements for existing sources.
• The determinations were made in response to inquiries about compliance and were posted on the CAA Section 111, 112, and 129 Applicability Determination Dashboard.
• The notice lists six broadly applicable alternative test method approvals issued in 2022, 2024, and 2025 in support of the NSPS and the NESHAP.
• The notice carries docket identifiers EPA-HQ-OAR-2026-8350 and EPA-HQ-OAR-2007-1196, plus the Federal Register document number FRL-13631-01-OAR.

What the notice actually announces

The document is an announcement that information is now available, not a new regulation. Its stated action is “Notice of availability.” The agency does not use this document to set a new emission limit, revise a standard, or alter any regulatory requirement. Instead, it gives public notice that determinations made over a period of roughly 13 months can be found on a dashboard the agency maintains for that purpose.

The determinations respond to questions from regulated sources about how the Clean Air Act stationary source programs apply to particular facts. That includes the New Source Performance Standards, which set emission limits for categories of new and modified stationary sources, and the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants, which address hazardous air pollutants from source categories. The Emission Guidelines and Federal Plan Requirements for existing sources are also within scope.

The notice states that the agency posted the decisions on the dashboard. The dashboard is the named location for these materials, and the document does not reproduce the substance of the individual determinations in its own text.

What the six alternative test methods cover

Alongside the dashboard additions, the notice announces six broadly applicable alternative test method approval decisions. Under the Clean Air Act, a test method is the procedure used to measure whether a source meets an emission standard, and the term “alternative” means a method approved for use in place of the method otherwise specified.

The agency describes the six approvals as “broadly applicable,” meaning they are not tied to a single source or a single facility. The notice states that the approvals were made in 2022, 2024, and 2025, and that they were approved in support of the NSPS and the NESHAP. The document does not summarize the technical content of the six methods. It makes the approvals known and identifies the period in which they were issued.

What is established vs. what is alleged

There is no allegation in this document. It is a factual notice of availability published by the Environmental Protection Agency, and it decides no dispute between parties.

What is established by the notice is narrow and specific. The agency made applicability determinations, regulatory interpretations, alternative monitoring decisions, and other determinations between June 2025 and July 2026. The agency posted them on the CAA Section 111, 112, and 129 Applicability Determination Dashboard. The agency took six broadly applicable alternative test method approval actions in 2022, 2024, and 2025.

What is not established is anything about the merits of the individual determinations. The notice does not explain what the agency concluded in any particular matter, which facilities were involved, or what compliance outcome followed. Nothing in the document creates a right, a deadline, or an obligation for a member of the public.

Where the notice stands procedurally

This is a final agency notice, published in the Federal Register on October 30, 2026. It is not a proposed rule. The Federal Register JSON record lists no comment period, with the comment URL and the comments close date both empty, and the regulations.gov docket entries show zero comments as of the record’s last update.

The notice has two docket identifiers. The first is EPA-HQ-OAR-2026-8350, whose docket title matches the notice title and which carries document identifier EPA-HQ-OAR-2026-8350-0001. The second is EPA-HQ-OAR-2007-1196, titled “Recent Postings of Broadly Applicable Alternative Test Methods,” carrying document identifier EPA-HQ-OAR-2007-1196-0019. The document also carries Federal Register document number FRL-13631-01-OAR.

No federal court consolidation applies to this notice. The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) is the body that consolidates related federal cases into an MDL, meaning a multidistrict litigation, and no such step exists in this record. There is no bellwether process either, which is a test trial used to gauge how a group of similar cases may resolve. The document shows no trial date, no appeal, and no enforcement proceeding.

Key dates

• June 2025: the start of the period in which the Environmental Protection Agency made the applicability determinations, regulatory interpretations, alternative monitoring decisions, and other determinations announced in the notice.
• 2022, 2024, and 2025: the years in which the six broadly applicable alternative test method approval decisions were made.
• July 2026: the end of the period covered by the dashboard determinations.
• October 30, 2026: the notice of availability was published at 91 FR 68510, and the regulations.gov docket document timestamps show the same date.

What this does not establish

The notice does not show the full text of any dashboard determination. A reader learns that decisions exist and where they are posted, not what each one says.

The notice does not say how many determinations appear on the dashboard. It describes the covered period but gives no count, no list of the facilities involved, and no breakdown by source category.

The notice does not reopen any determination for comment. The Federal Register record shows no comment period, and the docket entries report zero comments.

The notice does not change the regulatory text of the NSPS, the NESHAP, or the Emission Guidelines. Announcing that determinations are available is not the same as amending a standard.

The notice does not show that any company, facility, or reader has a claim, a defense, or a particular compliance status. It is an informational document only.

Frequently asked questions

What did the Environmental Protection Agency publish on October 30, 2026?

The Environmental Protection Agency published Federal Register notice 2026-22164 at 91 FR 68510 on October 30, 2026, a notice of availability. It announces that applicability determinations and related decisions made from June 2025 to July 2026 are posted on the CAA Section 111, 112, and 129 Applicability Determination Dashboard. It also announces six broadly applicable alternative test method approvals made in 2022, 2024, and 2025. The document does not amend any Clean Air Act standard.

What is the Clean Air Act Applicability Determination Dashboard?

The Clean Air Act Applicability Determination Dashboard, or ADD, is the Environmental Protection Agency’s posting location for applicability determinations, regulatory interpretations, alternative monitoring decisions, and other determinations concerning the stationary source programs. Those programs include the New Source Performance Standards, the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants, and the Emission Guidelines and Federal Plan Requirements for existing sources. The October 30, 2026 notice announces determinations posted there for inquiries received from June 2025 to July 2026.

What is a broadly applicable alternative test method?

A broadly applicable alternative test method is an approved testing procedure that may be used in place of the method otherwise specified, and that applies beyond a single facility. The Environmental Protection Agency announced six such approvals in the October 30, 2026 notice, made in 2022, 2024, and 2025. The agency states that the methods were approved in support of the New Source Performance Standards and the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants. The notice does not reproduce the technical content of the six methods.

Does this notice open a public comment period or create a deadline?

No. The notice of availability published at 91 FR 68510 does not open a comment period, and the Federal Register record shows an empty comments close date. The regulations.gov docket entries for EPA-HQ-OAR-2026-8350 and EPA-HQ-OAR-2007-1196 show zero comments as of the last recorded update. The document sets no compliance deadline for any source.

Is this notice tied to any court case or multidistrict litigation?

No. Federal Register notice 2026-22164 is an informational notice published by the Environmental Protection Agency, and it names no court, no case number, and no multidistrict litigation. The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation consolidates related federal cases into an MDL, and this record shows no such consolidation, no bellwether trial, and no appeal. More background on how courts handle large groups of related environmental claims appears in the AFFF PFAS firefighting foam litigation overview and the asbestos and mesothelioma litigation overview.

Sources

1. Federal Register: “Additions to the Clean Air Act Section 111, 112, and 129 Applicability Determination Dashboard and to the List of Broadly Applicable Alternative Test Methods” (link, accessed 2026-11-02)
2. Federal Register: “All Documents” (API listing) (link, accessed 2026-11-02)
3. Federal Register: “Agencies” (API listing) (link, accessed 2026-11-02)
4. Federal Register: “Documents of type Rule” (API listing) (link, accessed 2026-11-02)
5. Federal Register: “Documents of type Notice” (API listing) (link, accessed 2026-11-02)
6. Federal Register: “Documents of type Proposed Rule” (API listing) (link, accessed 2026-11-02)