Many Americans today, including many legislators at the federal and state levels, were not yet born when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was created by President Nixon in 1970, or they were too young to appreciate how air and water quality were deteriorating until governments, private companies, and individual citizens stepped up to take action. The EPA Alumni Association, recognizing the importance of current and future generations understanding the history and lessons...
May 16, 2016
2016 Chemical Data Reporting Webinar Recording Available; Analysis of CDR Enforcement Actions Released
To prepare companies for the reporting period for the 2016 Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) rule, June 1 - September 30, 2016, Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) presented a webinar, "2016 Chemical Data Reporting: Don't Despair; Get Prepared!," on May 3, 2016. A recording of the webinar, presentation slides, and a document containing detailed answers to the many questions submitted by webinar participants will be made available to B&C clients and associates who were not able...
In preparation for the opening of the reporting period for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) 2016 Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) rule, Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) conducted a review of recent enforcement actions taken by EPA under the CDR rule. B&C reviewed enforcement action data from May 2007 through September 2014 and found 37 different cases involving an allegation of a violation of the CDR rule. Based on the data collected, B&C highlighted a number of...
On April 29, 2016, Australia's National Industrial Chemicals Notification and Assessment Scheme (NICNAS) published the third consultation paper on its reform initiative. See https://www.nicnas.gov.au/about-nicnas/nicnas-reforms/consultation-paper-3 and https://www.nicnas.gov.au/about-nicnas/nicnas-reforms Under the reforms, the requirements to establish that a new chemical can be classified as being not hazardous to human health or the environment, and therefore falls in Hazard...
On May 11, 2016, the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office (NNCO) will hold a webinar for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME) that will focus on the experiences, successes, and challenges for SMEs working in nanotechnology and on issues of interest to the business community. See http://www.nano.gov/node/160 The National Science Foundation's Center for High-rate Nanomanufacturing, at Northeastern University's College of Engineering in Boston, will host the webinar.
The May 3, 2016, article “Make Chemical Reports to EPA Consistent: Former Official,” by Pat Rizzuto and published by the Bloomberg BNA Daily Environment Report, included comments made by B&C Senior Scientist Richard Engler, Ph.D. during B&C’s recent CDR webinar. […]Under its Next Generation Compliance initiative, the EPA will compare the data it receives from the Chemical Data Reporting, or CDR, rule to information obtained through other regulations, Richard Engler, a...
As we are poised to witness the reauthorization of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) -- the first revision of our domestic chemical management law in 40 years -- stakeholders will need immediately to understand what the "new TSCA" means for their industrial operations and strategically adjust their global operations to the new law. Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) convened a summit to examine generally the anticipated changes to TSCA, the process and implementation issues that the...
On May 2, 2016, Bloomberg BNA Daily Environment Report published “EPA Expands Regions’ Chemical Management Role,” featuring comments from B&C Managing Partner Lynn L. Bergeson and B&C affiliate Charles Auer. The article discussed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) April 29, 2016 action to manage certain chemicals and related issues more than they traditionally have done. […]“The new regional role is a significant change as the regions did not...
Firm clients and friends with interests in perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), and other perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs) are likely aware that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is expected to issue by mid-May or so new guidance on safe drinking water levels for these chemicals. As EPA and a handful of states continue to address elevated levels of lead in drinking water, EPA Administrator McCarthy has made clear in various meetings over the past...
On April 22, 2016, California Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) issued a final notice listing styrene as known to the state to cause cancer under the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 (Prop 65). OEHHA also issued a proposal to adopt a Prop 65 No Significant Risk Level (NSRL) of 27 micrograms per day for styrene. The listing of styrene has been contentious. OEHHA previously attempted to propose...