On January 7, 2016, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced in the Federal Register the beginning of a 45-day comment period on the peer review draft of the Guidelines for Human Exposure Assessment (draft Guidelines). According to EPA, the draft Guidelines benefit from over two decades of experience with assessments conducted by EPA programs under their respective authorities and constraints, as well as from input from external panels, including the...
February 2, 2016
OSTP Announces Second and Third Public Engagement Sessions for Modernizing the Regulatory System for Biotechnology Products
On February 1, 2016, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) announced the dates and locations for the second and third public engagement sessions that will discuss the July 2, 2015, memorandum entitled "Modernizing the Regulatory System for Biotechnology Products." The second public meeting will be held on March 9, 2016, at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Region 6 office at 1445 Ross Avenue in Dallas, Texas. The third public meeting will be held...
February 1, 2016
Richard E. Engler, Ph.D. Interviewed In Nature Biotechnology Article “A face-lift for biotech rules
The December 2015 issue of Nature Biotechnology included comments by Richard E. Engler, Ph.D. on keeping biotech rules current with scientific progress in the article “A face-lift for biotech rules begins.” To stay up to date with technology, Richard Engler, a senior chemist at the environmental law firm Bergeson & Campbell in Washington, DC, suggested that technology stewards be embedded in each of the relevant federal agencies. Their role would be to monitor...
January 26, 2016
Susan M. Kirsch Joins Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. and The Acta Group as Government Affairs Advisor
Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) and The Acta Group (Acta®) are pleased to announce that Susan M. Kirsch has joined our teams as Government Affairs Advisor. Ms. Kirsch brings substantial regulatory and technical policy expertise at the local, state, and federal levels, with experience at the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, the U.S. Department of Justice, Environmental and Natural Resource Division, and most recently the Association of Clean Water...
On January 4, 2016, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a final rule amending its food additive regulations to no longer allow the use of three specific perfluoroalkyl ethyl-containing food contact substances (FCS) as oil and water repellants for paper and paperboard for use in contact with aqueous and fatty foods. All three of the FCSs contain extended perfluorinated alkyl chains greater than or equal to eight carbons in length and as such are long-chain perfluorinated...
January 5, 2016
Predictions and Outlook for EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP) 2016
Click here for a PDF version of the memorandum. Even if Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) legislation is not enacted, 2016 will be a momentous year. As the curtain closes on eight years of the Obama Administration, there are a number of items expected to be among the "legacy" issues in the chemical and pesticide regulation space. Enhanced protections for farmworkers, more protective assessment policies, and a re-energized toxic chemical assessment program are among the short list of notable...
In October, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced proposed changes to its regulations under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) regarding the export and import for recovery operations of hazardous wastes from and into the United States.
This analysis reviews the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (S. 697) as passed by the Senate on December 17, 2015, and compares it to the previous version of S. 697 (identified as Lautenberg2 in this analysis), passed by the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee in June 2015. This review also briefly compares S. 697 to H.R. 2576, the [Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)] Modernization Act of 2015, which passed the House of Representatives on...
December 17, 2015
Congressional Negotiators Reach Deal on LWCF Reauthorization and Include Language Concerning Labeling Guidelines for GE Salmon
On December 16, 2015, the House Appropriations Committee released the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016. The 2,009-page bill includes full appropriations legislation and funding for the 12 annual appropriations bills through the end of fiscal year (FY) 2016. The bill would reauthorize the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), which expired on September 30, 2015. This reauthorization is likely what prompted Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) to inform Senate Majority Leader Mitch...
December 16, 2015
Lynn L. Bergeson, “OSHA Issues New Field Operations Manual,” Chemical Processing, December 16, 2015.
On October 1, 2015, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released a revised Field Operations Manual (FOM), Directive Number CPL 02-00-159, available here. The FOM aims to “provide OSHA offices, State Plan programs and federal agencies with policy and procedures concerning the enforcement of occupational safety and health standards.” Because OSHA can impose higher penalties as a result of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, the document is a must-read for...