Bloomberg BNA Daily Environment Report quoted Lynn L. Bergeson and B&C affiliate Charles Auer in a Special Report on TSCA Reform published today. “Charles Auer, a consultant who led TSCA implementation throughout most of his 32-year career at the EPA, agreed it will be challenging to resolve the many valid questions that would arise on user fees. It would be unwise, however, to continue to ignore the question of funding in TSCA reform discussions, he said. ‘It’s always been...
June 6, 2014
Chemical Facility Safety and Security Working Group Issues Report Summarizing Progress on Improving
In April 2013, an explosion destroyed a fertilizer plant in West, Texas, killing 15. In response to this and other recent catastrophic and fatal incidents at chemical facilities, President Obama on August 1, 2013, issued Executive Order (EO) 13650 -- Improving Chemical Facility Safety and Security. The purpose of the EO is to enhance the safety and security of chemical facilities and reduce risks associated with hazardous chemicals to facility workers and operators, communities, and...
June 5, 2014
Inside EPA features B&C commentary in “Democrats’ Proposed Amendment Widens Gap In House TSCA Reform Effort.”
“While the Democrats' changes seek to address many concerns Jones and environmentalists have raised, the redline avoids addressing the issue of whether and to what extent a new federal chemicals management law should preempt state regulation of industrial chemicals. The issue has become particularly fraught in the Senate, where Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) has made protection of California's extensive chemical regulations in the Senate bill a...
On May 23, 2014, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) posted its 2014 Regulatory Agenda, which still includes RIN 2070-AJ54, "Nanoscale Materials; Chemical Substances When Manufactured, Imported, or Processed as Nanoscale Materials; Reporting and Recordkeeping Requirements; Significant New Use Rule." See http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/eAgendaViewRule?pubId=201404&RIN=2070-AJ54.
June 4, 2014
TSCA Reform: Democratic Minority Circulates Redline of April 22, 2014, CICA Discussion Draft
The Democratic Minority has circulated a redline version of the April 22, 2014, discussion draft of the Chemicals in Commerce Act (CICA2). A copy of the redline version of CICA2 is available online. The redline version is an interesting mix of substantial rewrites, deletions, and additions. The redline version, which we will refer to as CICA2-D to distinguish it from CICA2 and the original discussion draft, CICA1, proposes changes that favorably respond to numerous non-governmental...
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT) recently noted that it successfully completed the Agency's reorganization process and that the effective date will be sometime after June 9, 2014. The reorganization, which Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) had discussed in its "Predictions" memo, available online, represents a significant shuffle in responsibilities and also reduces the number of OPPT Divisions by one with the...
In late March, EPA and Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) proposed a rule that would dramatically revise and expand the reach of the Clean Water Act’s (CWA) jurisdiction. Unquestionably, determining the scope of the CWA’s jurisdiction, particularly over streams and tributaries, has become confusing and complex following several Supreme Court decisions and various EPA interpretations issued in response to these decisions over the years. For nearly a decade, Congress, state and local officials,...
How to address and manage potential risks posed by pesticide “drift” -- the unintentional movement of some level of pesticide outside of the intended area of application -- has long been a challenging, complex regulatory policy issue. It is difficult to dispute that when applying a pesticide product some small amount may, in some circumstances, move off-site. In other words: “drift happens.” The issue quickly becomes whether, from a risk management perspective, the amount of off-site...
May 29, 2014
Kathleen M. Roberts in Biofuels Digest: “How To Make Friends and Win EPA Approvals: tips for biobased companies.”
On Thursday, May 29, 2014, Biofuels Digest published an article by Biobased and Renewable Products Advocacy Group (BRAG™) Executive Director Kathleen Roberts titled “How to Make Friends and Win EPA Approvals: tips for biobased chemicals.” A copy of the article is available online. The article highlights the B&C© affiliate BRAG™ and the session it co-presented with B&C during the Biotechnology Industry Organization’s World Congress on...
May 29, 2014
“Legal Limit May Drive Novel Voluntary Plan In EPA’s TSCA Fracking Rule” Cites B&C Commentary
An article in the May 30, 2014 edition of Inside EPA, “Legal Limit May Drive Novel Voluntary Plan In EPA’s TSCA Fracking Rule,” featured commentary by B&C on EPA’s advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) to seek comment on the information that should be reported or disclosed for hydraulic fracturing chemical substances and mixtures and the mechanism for obtaining this information. “In a May 20 analysis of the ANPR, the law firm Bergeson & Campbell also flags...