All Knowledge & Insights By Date

As noted in our recent memorandum on the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (S. 697, Lautenberg), Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Ed Markey (D-MA) recently introduced the Alan Reinstein and Trevor Schaefer Toxic Chemical Protection Act (S. 725, Boxer-Markey), which presents their approach to revising the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). We had committed to preparing a review comparing Lautenberg with the new Boxer-Markey bill, and that...

In the article “OMB Clears Proposed Data-Collection Rule by EPA After More Than Four Years of Review,”  Daily Environment Report quoted B&C Managing Partner Lynn L. Bergeson : Bergeson said she has heard that vague terms such as “novel properties” and “trace amounts” have been suggested for inclusion in the proposal as the data collection rule was reviewed by various agencies and federal offices. The use of such unclear terms could pose...

On March 18, 2015, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee held a hearing on the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (S. 697). A detailed analysis of S. 697 is available in our March 13, 2015, memorandum. There were a number of references to the late Senator Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ), who introduced several bills intended to reform the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), and whether the current bill would accomplish his goals....

On Feb. 9, 2015, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published the Enforcement Guidance for the Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) effective June 1, 2015. The Guidance offers important insights into OSHA’s HCS enforcement strategy with regard to mixtures, and is therefore a must-read for stakeholders if they wish to be in the best possible position to avoid enforcement consequences for non-compliance with the HCS....

The increasing share of government investment in understanding the environmental, safety and health implications reflects the rise in the commercialization of nanotechnology and the penetration of nano-enhanced products in industry and the marketplace, nanotechnology law and policy specialists told Bloomberg BNA. ‘‘As the commercial applications of nanotechnology have increased and as the federal government has become more engaged, agencies have been very clear about the need for targeted,...

A February 18, 2015 Daily News feature on InsideEPA.com included comments made by James V. Aidala  as part of a presentation before the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture: In a Feb. 3 presentation to NASDA, Jim Aidala of the Washington, DC, law and consulting firm Bergeson & Campbell PC, said the federal strategy will include strict requirements on pesticide labels that must be followed wherever state plans are not in use. But Aidala said EPA’s...

In a March 9, 2015, decision in Perez v. Mortgage Bankers Ass’n., the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held that an interpretative rule issued by an administrative agency does not require notice and opportunity for comment, even if the interpretative rule construes a substantive (or “legislative”) rule previously issued by the agency and even if the interpretative rule alters a prior interpretation of the same rule. In the Perez decision, the Court explicitly...

Lynn Bergeson, managing partner of Bergeson & Campbell P.C., told Bloomberg BNA in an e-mail that the council’s timetables for developing work plans on chemical risk assessments, SNAcs and SNURs are aggressive. Based on a December webinar the council held, interested parties will be involved in a Web conference, face-to-face meetings and consultations beginning this year and throughout 2016, she said....

Background The Senate over the past several years has considered a number of legislative texts to amend the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). These include the Safer Chemicals Act, several versions of which were introduced by Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), with the most recent in 2013, and the Chemical Safety Improvement Act (S. 1009, CSIA) introduced by Senators Lautenberg and David Vitter (R-LA) in 2013. Senator Lautenberg died shortly after CSIA’s introduction and over time...

Headlines in The New York Times (NYT) describing a cozy relationship between a liberal Democratic Senator from New Mexico and the chemical industry is not a common occurrence. In this case, understanding the coverage reveals the story of an even more sordid and murky world of political infighting, nasty and cutting comments between Senators of the same party, and nuanced comments by interest groups that have to calibrate how much and who to support or how intensely...