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On May 1, 2018, James V. Aidala, Senior Government Affairs Consultant with Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®), was quoted by Bloomberg Environment regarding an open data policy proposed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).  Jim Aidala, the former head of the EPA’s chemicals office, said the agency can avoid some of these potential pitfalls if it does a thorough job of laying out its reasoning when it issues the final version of this science policy rule....

Changes to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) occasioned by enactment of the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act have fundamentally changed the way the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reviews new and assesses existing chemical substances in surprising and subtle ways. Our 26-professionals TSCA practice in Washington, D.C. has been “doing TSCA” for a very long time. We offer our European colleagues practical insights into the new law and EPA’s...

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced on March 2, 2018, that it will begin enforcing certain requirements of the 2017 final rule on occupational exposure to beryllium in general industry, construction, and shipyards on May 11, 2018, and that it will delay enforcement of certain other standards. This column discusses the final rule and OSHA’s recent enforcement policy. 

On April 30, 2018, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed the "Strengthening Transparency in Regulatory Science" (Science Rule) that EPA states is intended to “strengthen the transparency of EPA regulatory science.” 83 Fed. Reg. 18768. EPA states in the preamble that “[t]he proposed regulation provides that when EPA develops regulations, including regulations for which the public is likely to bear the cost of compliance, with regard to those scientific studies that...

On April 27, 2018, James V. Aidala, Senior Government Affairs Consultant with Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) and Richard E. Engler, Senior Chemist with B&C, were quoted in the Bloomberg Environment article “Pesticide Makers Back Public-Data Plan—But Not for Trade Secrets.” If the agency sticks with the $100 million threshold under the executive order, then the EPA decisions on whether new chemicals can enter commerce would largely be unaffected, as most...

In the Spring 2018 issue of the American Bar Association (ABA) Natural Resources & Environment (NR&E) Magazine, Joanne L. Dunec reviewed New TSCA: A Guide to the Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act and Its Implementation for the Literary Resources section. Dunec wrote, “[t]he balance of the book, written by 11 authors (including the editors), illuminates and analyzes new TSCA in greater detail. The final chapter provides the legislative history of new TSCA, and...

We are pleased to report that on April 20, 2018, the American Chemical Society (ACS) Green Chemistry Institute (GCI) announced the opening of the 2018 Green Chemistry Challenge Awards.  Readers will recall that funding for this essential program was zeroed out in the last several budget proposals advanced by the Trump Administration.  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) enacted budget apparently includes the resources to continue to support the Green Chemistry Challenge...

We all knew it was coming, and the proposal has finally arrived. On February 8, 2018, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt signed a proposed rule regarding user fees for the administration of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). As amended by the Frank Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, TSCA provides the EPA the authority to levy fees on certain chemical manufacturers, including importers and processors, to “provide a...

In just a few short months, on August 30, 2018, the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) revisions to its Proposition 65 (Prop 65) Article 6 “clear and reasonable warnings” regulations will come into force. By then, companies must be compliant with the revised regulations for consumer product, occupational and environmental exposures.

On April 12, 2018, Bloomberg Environment quoted James V. Aidala, Senior Government Affairs Consultant with Bergeson & Campbell, P.C.(B&C®) regarding the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) possible decision to extend registration for dicamba herbicide formulations. “Passing another time-limited registration would give them a heck of a lot of leverage,” said James Aidala, a senior government affairs consultant at Bergeson & Campbell, PC, a...