During its spring meeting in April, the Environmental Council of the States (ECOS) adopted several resolutions. ECOS is the national nonprofit, nonpartisan association of state and territorial environmental agency leaders. The resolutions ECOS adopted are:...
SAVE THE DATE TSCA Reform – One Year Later June 27, 2017, 9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. (EDT)George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health, Washington, D.C. Join the Environmental Law Institute and the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health for a day-long conference exploring the federal government’s implementation of the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, which significantly amended...
On April 27, 2017, Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Edward J. Markey (D-MA) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) introduced legislation that would transition the U.S to 100 percent clean energy by the year 2050. The bill is the first introduced in Congress that fully envisions a transition off of fossil fuels for the U.S. The 100 By ’50 Act (S. 967) bill has seven core components:...
April 28, 2017
Dr. Richard E. Engler Makes Presentation Regarding TSCA Reform to the Chemical Society of Washington
On April 27, 2017, Richard E. Engler, Ph.D., Senior Chemist at Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®), presented “Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and TSCA Reform” at the Chemical Society of Washington’s monthly dinner meeting. Dr. Engler discussed TSCA before and after reform by The Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (Lautenberg) and challenges that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and industry face in implementing and complying with...
April 26, 2017
Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP): Take Advantage of This Regulatory Reform Advocacy Opportunity
On February 24, 2017, President Trump issued Executive Order (EO) 13777, “Enforcing the Regulatory Reform Agenda.” Issuance of the EO, and the subsequent measures undertaken by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt offer unique opportunities for chemical stakeholders. This memorandum summarizes EPA’s efforts to date in this regard, and identifies opportunities that stakeholders may wish to pursue to eliminate or amend regulatory...
April 26, 2017
Bloomberg BNA Daily Environment Report Quotes Richard Engler In “No Insights in EPA Notices on 19 New Chemicals on Market”
On April 25, 2017, Bloomberg BNA Daily Environment Report included comments by Richard E. Engler, Ph.D., Senior Chemist at Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®), commenting on the 19 new chemicals that have been given market approval by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) between December 1, 2016, and February 28, 2017. […] The EPA has notified the manufacturers that asked to make the new chemicals of the approvals and announced the decisions on its public...
On April 19, 2017, Inside EPA quoted a post from the TSCA Blog in the article “Suit Over EPA’s Rejection Of Fluoride Ban Claims TSCA Misinterpretation.” “This asserted view, that only a comprehensive risk evaluation considering all conditions of use will suffice, presents a very high threshold for action — and seemingly an impossibly high threshold to move EPA to act,” officials with the law firm Bergeson & Campbell said in a March 7 blog post....
April 14, 2017
Federal Court Invalidates Air Reporting Exemption For Large-Scale Livestock Operations
On April 11, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia issued a decision vacating the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) rule exempting livestock feeding operations from air reporting requirements under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) and the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA). Large-scale animal feeding operations that confine, for example, more than 1,000 cattle, 2,500 hogs, or...
April 14, 2017
Lynn L. Bergeson, “TSCA Targets Mercury: EPA regulation aims to minimize mercury use,” Chemical Processing, April 14, 2017.
On March 29, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its initial inventory report of mercury supply, use and trade in the United States pursuant to the requirements of the amended Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). This article outlines this development in the context of mercury regulation under the TSCA....
April 14, 2017
Lynn L. Bergeson, “TSCA Reform: Key Provisions and Implications,” Environmental Quality Management, Winter 2016.
On June 22, 2016, President Obama signed into law the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act. The text of the law is available at: http://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/2576/text. The law substantially amends the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), and in so doing, fundamentally alters the domestic management of industrial chemicals, the lifeblood of many manufacturing processes. This article summarizes key changes and explains their likely impacts on...