Blogs

On May 20, 2025, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) announced the release of a report entitled Quadrennial Review of the National Nanotechnology Initiative (2025): Securing U.S. Global Leadership Through Renewed and Expanded Infrastructure. Requested by Congress as part of the 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and Development Act, the report focuses on the infrastructure of the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI). The Committee on the Quadrennial Review...

On May 7, 2025, Representatives Nikki Budzinski (D-IL) and Zach Nunn (R-IA) introduced the Agricultural Biorefinery Innovation and Opportunity Act (Ag BIO Act) (H.R. 3253), a bipartisan bill that would support the biofuel economy. According to Budzinski’s May 8, 2025, press release, the bill would update the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Section 9003 program to expand access to grants, streamline loan guarantees, and provide $100 million in mandatory funding over five years. The...

On May 20, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a proposed rule that would extend certain compliance dates in the final risk management rule for methylene chloride under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) “to ensure long-term compliance with the rule’s requirements.” The proposed rule would extend the Workplace Chemical Protection Program (WCPP) compliance dates for non-federal laboratories by an additional 18 months to align with the dates allowed for federal...

On May 15, 2025, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the launch of “a stronger, more systematic review process for food chemicals already on the market — especially those that concern consumers most.” Over the coming months, FDA will roll out the following key actions: FDA notes that until now, it has conducted post-market reviews “on a case-by-case basis, often in response to citizen petitions or new scientific evidence.” FDA states that the...

Ponder the following existential question: Who does their job less effectively? Members of Congress, or employees of federal agencies? Let’s examine the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) employees versus those responsible for legislating environmental laws. Congress has not been able to reauthorize environmental statutes for years, with some (most) needing significant attention. EPA relies on 1990 Clean Air Act amendments to sort out air pollution issues and address climate change...

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) remain a top concern for regulators and the public alike. While federal regulators continue to lay the groundwork for a comprehensive response, including through the PFAS Strategic Roadmap, states are increasingly positioning themselves as policy innovators in this space. The recent announcement that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will issue additional guidance and extend the compliance deadline for the Toxic Substances Control Act...

On May 5, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Environmental Appeals Board (EAB) issued a consent agreement and final order between EPA and Cytonix, LLC (Cytonix). According to the consent agreement, in 2022, EPA inspectors discovered Cytonix’s potential noncompliance with requirements under Section 5 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for a manufactured chemical substance consisting of short-chain polyfluorinated materials (Chemical A) that was developed as a...

On June 19 to June 20, 2025, the European Union (EU) Horizon Europe projects ACCORDs, iCare, MACRAMÉ, and nanoPASS are hosting a joint summit to address the needs of industry and regulators in assessing the safety and sustainability of advanced materials. The summit will feature discussions, latest method developments, and direct engagement with regulators, scientists, and industry professionals. Key sessions will focus on regulatory challenges, scientific developments, and pathways towards...

As reported in our February 14, 2025, blog item, on February 11, 2025, 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.” On May 12, 2025, EPA denied the petition, stating that the...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently updated its website to include two petitions submitted under Section 21 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) that seek reconsideration of exemption provisions of EPA’s final risk management rule for trichloroethylene (TCE). On March 24, 2025, PPG Industries, Inc. (PPG) submitted a petition seeking an amendment to the December 2024 final rule’s exemption for the industrial and commercial use of TCE as a processing aid for specialty...

On April 24, 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed an unopposed motion in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit for voluntary dismissal of its appeal of an October 2024 decision finding that eBay is immune from liability under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. USA v. eBay, No. 24-3104. As reported in our September 28, 2023, memorandum, in September 2023, DOJ, on behalf of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on April 30, 2025, that it is requesting public comments on candidates who are interested and available to serve as ad hoc reviewers assisting its Science Advisory Committee on Chemicals (SACC) in the peer review of the Agency’s data, methods, models, and approaches for the draft Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) risk evaluations of dibutyl phthalate (DBP), di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), and dicyclohexyl phthalate (DCHP). According...

On May 2, 2025, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin announced the “[n]ext phase of organizational improvements to better integrate science into agency offices.” As part of this reorganization effort, Administrator Zeldin introduced the creation of the Office of Applied Science and Environmental Solutions (OASES) within the Office of the Administrator. According to Zeldin, OASES will “align research and put science at the forefront of the agency’s...

The Maine Department of Environmental Protection (MDEP) updated its web page on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in products on May 2, 2025. The updated page includes links to the April 2025 final rule on products containing PFAS, instructions for submitting a currently unavoidable use (CUU) proposal, and frequently asked questions (FAQ). The FAQs address several questions related to CUU determinations, including: As reported in our April 11, 2025, blog item, CUU proposals are due...

On April 29, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the release of its final Insecticide Strategy (Strategy), available here. EPA states in the Strategy that it is “intended to create a consistent, reasonable, transparent, and understandable approach to assess potential impacts and identify mitigations to reduce potential population-level impacts to listed species from the use of agricultural insecticides.” Specifically, EPA states that the Strategy identifies...

As reported in our March 31, 2025, blog item, on March 21, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit heard oral argument in a case challenging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) May 3, 2024, final rule amending the procedural framework rule for conducting risk evaluations under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union (USW) v....

President Donald Trump’s initial 100 days in office during his second term have marked a significant shift in the United States’ approach to chemical regulation, emphasizing deregulation and industry facilitation over more traditional environmental and public health safeguards. President Trump’s actions, inactions, and policy choices during his first 100 days seem to have come at a cost, as polls show his approval rating has decreased to 39 percent, an 80-year low for a...

On May 2, 2025, a coalition of chemical companies petitioned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for an amendment of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Section 8(a)(7) rule requiring reporting for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Filed under TSCA Section 21 and the February 19, 2025, Executive Order on Ensuring Lawful Governance and Implement the President’s “Department of Government Efficiency” Deregulatory Initiative, the petition states that EPA’s October...

This June marks the ninth anniversary of the enactment of the game-changing Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (Lautenberg) that amended the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). With a new Trump Administration and the relentless pace of regulatory developments related to Lautenberg implementation, there are many issues to consider and problems to solve. Save the date to join Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®), the Environmental Law Institute (ELI), and...

As reported in our April 25, 2025, blog item, the National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology (NSCEB) announced on April 8, 2025, the availability of its final report and action plan, “urging Congressional action to bring the full weight of American innovation to improve and maintain U.S. global leadership in biotechnology.” On April 9, 2025, Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA), an NSCEB Commissioner, and the other three Congressional Commissioners introduced the bipartisan, bicameral...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on April 28, 2025, that it has issued an emergency fuel waiver allowing the sale of gasoline blended with 15 percent ethanol (E15) nationwide in summer 2025. EPA notes that this is consistent with President Trump’s Executive Order (EO) Declaring a National Energy Emergency, directing EPA to consider issuing emergency waivers to allow for year-round E15 sales. According to EPA, currently, in about half of the country, E15...

Register now to join Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) affiliate The Acta Group (Acta®) and EPPA for “PFAS Updates: What’s Happening in the U.S. and EU,” a complimentary webinar offering expert updates on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) regulatory developments. These substances are attracting global legal, regulatory, commercial, and litigation attention as no other “emerging contaminant” has. While the U.S. Administration is new, PFAS regulation continues at a...

On April 17, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) extended the comment period on a draft risk assessment of the potential human health risks associated with the presence of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) in biosolids, also known as sewage sludge. 90 Fed. Reg. 16128. According to EPA, the draft risk assessment “reflects the agency’s latest scientific understanding of the potential risks to human health and the environment posed by the...

The National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology (NSCEB) announced on April 8, 2025, the availability of its final report and action plan, “urging Congressional action to bring the full weight of American innovation to improve and maintain U.S. global leadership in biotechnology.” After an extensive study that included “more than 1,800 stakeholder consultations, a holistic review of unclassified and classified material, site visits across the United States, and meetings with...

On April 25, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the availability of new resources intended to help companies with the requirements described in EPA’s December 2024 final rule governing the review of new chemicals under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). According to EPA, the new materials “provide companies with clear instructions on how to include required data elements in the current system used for new chemical submissions while the agency works to...

On April 18, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced updates to its pesticide registration tracking app, MyPest. EPA states MyPest allows registrants of pesticide products to monitor the status of their pesticide registration submissions in real time. The launch of the latest version of MyPest includes updates to an enhanced dashboard page with information about the registrant’s cases and products, the ability to view detailed information of each application, and the...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has long navigated the complex intersection of science, law, policy, and public trust. Under the Trump Administration, EPA faces renewed scrutiny. The Administration seeks regulatory rollbacks and is pursuing a broader deregulatory strategy that many believe risks sacrificing hard won environmental protections in the name of economic growth. While early promises to reduce bureaucratic red tape struck a chord with a number in industry, implementation...

There are a variety of accounts on the progress and success of the first days of the Trump Administration. Some put special significance on a new administration’s first 100 days, but is this the first 100 days or four years + 100 days? In particular, appearing April 21, 2025, in The Washington Post, there is a report tracing what has happened to the “Five Things” mandate coming from Elon Musk and the DOGE (Department of...

On April 2 and April 3, 2025, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced that petitions have been filed to add the following chemicals to the list of taxable substances: Comments on the petitions are due June 2, 2025. More information on the Superfund excise tax on chemicals is available in our July 13, 2022, memorandum, “Superfund Tax on Chemicals: What You Need to Know to Comply” and our May 19, 2022, memorandum, “Reinstated Superfund Excise...

On April 8, 2025, the European Union (EU) Observatory for Nanomaterials (EUON) published a Nanopinion entitled “A Qualification System to Accelerate Development and Regulatory Implementation of New Approach Methodologies (NAMs)” by Andrea Haase, Ph.D., German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), Shirin M. Usmani, Ph.D., BfR, Irene Cattaneo, European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), Maria Chiara Astuto, EFSA, and Francesco Cubadda, Ph.D., National Institute of Health (ISS). The authors...

On April 2, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it is postponing the effectiveness of certain provisions of its December 17, 2024, final risk management rule for trichloroethylene (TCE) until June 20, 2025. 90 Fed. Reg. 14415. After EPA issued the final rule in December 2024, it received multiple petitions for an administrative stay of the effective date. EPA denied the requests, and the companies submitted renewed petitions to stay the effective...

On April 11, 2025, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) published a request for information to solicit ideas for deregulation. 90 Fed. Reg. 15481. OMB seeks proposals to rescind or replace regulations “that stifle American businesses and American ingenuity,” including regulations “that are unnecessary, unlawful, unduly burdensome, or unsound.” According to the notice, “comments should address the background of the rule and the reasons for the proposed rescission, with particular...

As reported in our April 1, 2025, blog item, the Maine Board of Environmental Protection (MBEP) was scheduled to consider the Maine Department of Environmental Protection’s (MDEP) December 2024 proposed rule regarding products containing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) during its April 7, 2025, meeting. As reported in our December 31, 2024, memorandum, on December 20, 2024, MDEP published a proposed rule that would establish criteria for currently unavoidable uses (CUU) of...

Congress has approximately one month to use the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to undo qualifying Biden Administration-issued regulations. According to an updated analysis by Bloomberg Government, the estimated period to expedite repeal of Biden Administration rules ends May 8, 2025. This gives Congress approximately four weeks to act on the dozens of pending CRA bills. President Trump’s focus on overturning Biden Administration regulations through the CRA has taken a back seat of late to...

On April 3, 2024, the European Commission’s (EC) Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) began a public consultation on its preliminary opinion on the safety of hydroxyapatite (nano) in oral products. The EC asked SCCS if it considers hydroxyapatite (nano) safe when used in toothpaste up to a maximum concentration of 29.5 percent and in mouthwash up to a maximum concentration of ten percent according to the specifications as reported in the submission, taking into...

On April 3, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced changes on how the data matrix form (EPA Form 8570-35) is submitted to EPA, stating this change is an improvement to simplify the process for how companies submit data to EPA as part of a pesticide registration package. EPA states these improvements also will make EPA’s processing of this information more efficient. Companies are required to submit a data matrix form when their pesticide...

On March 24, 2025, NSF announced the release of NSF Certification Guideline 537: PFAS-Free Products for Nonfood Compounds and Food Equipment Materials (NSF 537). The press release states that to be certified, nonfood compound products “must first be registered under NSF’s Nonfood Compounds Guidelines or certified by NSF to ISO 21469, Safety of Machinery, Lubricants with Incidental Product Contact-Hygiene Requirements.” According to the press release, food equipment materials “must be...

On March 31, 2025, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that it will release obligated funding under the Higher Blends Infrastructure Incentive Program (HBIIP) for 543 projects totaling $537 million in 29 states. According to the press release, USDA is “aggressively exploring additional ways to unleash American energy and incentivize the production and use of homegrown U.S. biofuels, including working alongside the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop Renewable...

Recent press reports tell of rumors of impactful (some fear catastrophic) budget cuts to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Politically, priority on reducing EPA’s climate programs, along with budget and personnel cuts, are not surprising given the election results. Recent rumors include chatter that the EPA Office of Research and Development (ORD) might be eliminated and/or its staff redistributed, with a specific target on the back of ORD’s Integrated Risk Information System...

The European Commission (EC) began a public consultation on March 31, 2025, on the upcoming European Union (EU) Bioeconomy Strategy. The EC states in its March 31, 2025, press release that the Strategy “marks a significant step forward in harnessing the opportunities of the bioeconomy to support European businesses and drive progress towards the EU’s environmental, climate and competitiveness objectives.” According to the call for evidence, the Strategy’s main aims include: The EC...

The Maine Board of Environmental Protection (MBEP) will consider the Maine Department of Environmental Protection’s (MDEP) December 2024 proposed rule regarding products containing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) during its April 7, 2025, meeting. As reported in our December 31, 2024, memorandum, on December 20, 2024, MDEP published a proposed rule that would establish criteria for currently unavoidable uses (CUU) of intentionally added PFAS in products and implement sales...

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced on March 27, 2025, that it will no longer use the process it outlined in 2012 for reviewing petitions seeking a determination that a modified plant should not be subject to the regulations for the introduction of organisms altered or produced through genetic engineering (modified organisms) that are plant pests or that there is reason to believe are plant pests. On...

On March 21, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit heard oral argument in a case challenging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) May 3, 2024, final rule amending the procedural framework rule for conducting risk evaluations under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union (USW) v. EPA, Consolidated Case No. 24-1151. If you have a...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a final rule on March 14, 2025, extending the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) compliance reporting deadline for the 2024 compliance year. 90 Fed. Reg. 12109. As reported in our January 8, 2025, blog item, EPA published a proposed rule on December 12, 2024, that would partially waive the 2024 cellulosic biofuel volume requirement and revise the associated percentage standard under the RFS program due to a shortfall in...

On March 24, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provided an update on the effective date of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) final risk management rule for trichloroethylene (TCE). As reported in our January 13, 2025, memorandum, on December 17, 2024, EPA issued a final rule prohibiting all uses of TCE, most of which would be prohibited within one year, including TCE manufacture and processing for most commercial and all consumer products. As...

On March 14, 2025, President Trump signed Executive Order (EO) 14236, rescinding 19 executive actions, including former President Biden’s September 2022 EO 14081, “Advancing Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Innovation for a Sustainable, Safe, and Secure American Bioeconomy.” 90 Fed. Reg. 13037. According to the White House’s March 14, 2025, fact sheet, EO 14081 “funneled Federal resources into radical biotech and biomanufacturing initiatives under the guise of environmental...

On March 14, 2025, Amazon filed suit against the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, challenging CPSC’s July 29, 2024, and January 16, 2025, orders determining that Amazon is “a ‘distributor’ of certain products that are defective or fail to meet federal consumer product safety standards, and therefore bears legal responsibility for their recall.” According to CPSC’s January 17, 2025, announcement, “[m]ore than 400,000...

Current news on the government efficiency and reform front concerns the near-miss of a government shutdown last week (the budget would have lapsed at midnight on March 14, 2025). One reason some cited against allowing a shutdown to occur is how it might encourage or otherwise aid in attempts to eliminate positions if they were deemed “essential” or not. As one who has gone through the “who is essential” exercise in a senior management position...

The Council of the European Union (EU) announced on March 14, 2025, that the Committee of the Permanent Representatives of the Governments of the Member States to the EU (Coreper) endorsed the Council’s negotiating mandate on the regulation on plants obtained by new genomic techniques (NGT) and their food and feed. The regulation proposed by the European Commission (EC) would create two ways for NGT plants to be placed on the market: The proposed regulation...

After President Trump’s address to Congress on Tuesday, March 4, 2025, it is unclear if there will be much desire or willingness on behalf of the Democrats and Republicans to collaborate on legislation during the 119th Congress. President Trump and congressional Republicans are moving toward “one big, beautiful” reconciliation bill (that is possible to enact without Democratic support) that will reflect most of President Trump’s priorities. The question is: what happens after...