February 14, 2025

OECD Tour de Table Includes Information on International Developments Regarding Nanomaterials

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has published the Developments in Delegations on the Safety of Manufactured Nanomaterials and Advanced Materials between July 2023 and June 2024 — Tour de Table (Tour de Table). Below are highlights on international developments from the Tour de Table:...
February 14, 2025

Community and Environmental Groups File TSCA Section 21 Petition Seeking the Phase Out of Hydrogen Fluoride in Domestic Oil Refining

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) announced on February 11, 2025, that community and environmental groups submitted a petition under Section 21 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to prohibit the use of hydrogen fluoride in domestic oil refining “to eliminate the extreme and unreasonable risks this use presents to public health and the environment.” Brought by NRDC, Clean Air Council (CAC), and Communities for a Better...
February 13, 2025

Biden EPA Filed Notice of Appeal of Ruling that Typical Levels of Drinking Water Fluoridation Present an Unreasonable Risk to Health

As reported in our September 30, 2024, blog item, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California ruled in September 2024 that the plaintiffs established by a preponderance of the evidence that the levels of fluoride typical in drinking water in the United States pose an unreasonable risk of injury to the health of the public. Food & Water Watch v. EPA (No. 3:17-cv-02162-EMC). On January 17, 2025, the Biden U.S. Environmental Protection...
February 13, 2025

What Can Happen When Federal Career Employees Are Told “You’re Fired!”

Among the less-noticed, less-reported implications of “firing” federal employees for whatever reason (or no reason) is the process under current law and regulations that applies to reducing or eliminating programs and positions within the U.S. government. Known as a reduction in force (RIF), these procedures are arcane, complicated, and could have many unintended impacts even if imposed to attain targeted reductions in specific parts or programs of the federal workforce. The Executive Order...
February 12, 2025

“Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation” — How Effective Will It Be in Practice?

President Trump, on January 31, 2025, issued Executive Order 14192, “Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation.” This has been referred to as President Trump’s “ten-to-one deregulation initiative” that he spoke about when he was campaigning. If this initiative seems familiar, it may be because you remember Executive Order 13771, “Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs,” issued on February 3, 2017, by President Trump in his first term. That Executive Order called for...
February 7, 2025

OECD Tour de Table Includes Information on U.S. Developments on the Safety of Manufactured Nanomaterials

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has published the Developments in Delegations on the Safety of Manufactured Nanomaterials and Advanced Materials between July 2023 and June 2024 — Tour de Table (Tour de Table). The Tour de Table lists U.S. developments on the human health and environmental safety of nanomaterials. Risk assessment decisions, including the type of nanomaterials assessed, testing recommended, and outcomes of the assessment include: The Tour de...
February 7, 2025

EPA Postpones Addition of Nine PFAS to Toxics Release Inventory for Reporting Year 2025

On February 5, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) delayed until March 21, 2025, the effective date of a January 2025 rule adding nine per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to the list of chemicals subject to toxic chemical release reporting under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) and the Pollution Prevention Act (PPA). 90 Fed. Reg. 9010. As reported in our January 13, 2025, blog item, the January rule updates the regulations...
February 7, 2025

EPA Administrator Zeldin Announces Five Pillar Initiative to Guide EPA; What Does It Mean for OCSPP?

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin on February 4, 2025, announced the “Powering the Great American Comeback Initiative” (PGAC Initiative). It consists of five pillars and is intended to serve as a roadmap to guide EPA’s actions under Administrator Zeldin. The five pillars are:  Administrator Zeldin explained Pillar 3 by stating, “Any business that wants to invest in America should be able to do so without having to face years-long, uncertain, and...
February 6, 2025

EPA Releases Third Triennial Report to Congress on Biofuels and the Environment

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on January 21, 2025, the availability of a final document entitled “Biofuels and the Environment: Third Triennial Report to Congress” (Third Report). 90 Fed. Reg. 7135. The document was prepared by EPA’s Offices of Research and Development (ORD) and Air and Radiation (OAR), in consultation with the U.S. Departments of Agriculture (USDA) and Energy (DOE). The Third Report builds on the first and second triennial reports, released in...
February 5, 2025

Biden USDA Issues Technical Guidelines for Climate-Smart Agriculture Crops Used as Biofuel Feedstocks

On January 17, 2025, the Biden U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued an interim final rule with a request for comment that establishes technical guidelines for quantifying, reporting, and verifying the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with agricultural production of biofuel feedstock commodity crops grown in the United States in the context of environmental service markets. 90 Fed. Reg. 5497. The rule establishes guidelines for the reporting and verification of practices and...