The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on June 1, 2026, that it has filed an administrative complaint against Wego Chemical Group and related companies (Wego) for violations of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). According to EPA, the complaint is the result of Wego’s “years-long” failure to report properly its import and domestic distribution of chemical substances. EPA states that since at least 2016, Wego imported “hundreds of millions of pounds of hundreds of...
As reported in our February 13, 2025, blog item, on January 17, 2025, the Biden U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) filed a notice of appeal in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California’s 2024 decision finding that the Plaintiffs established by a preponderance of the evidence that the levels of fluoride typical in drinking water in the United States pose an unreasonable risk of injury to the health of the public....
On May 15, 2026, the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (CDPR) announced a proposed rulemaking to harmonize its regulation of pesticide-treated seeds with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) regulation of pesticide-treated seeds. The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) grants EPA discretion to exempt from its requirements any pesticide that is of a character that is not requiring regulation under FIFRA. EPA exempts treated articles, including but...
On May 18, 2026, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced two proposed rules. The first proposed rule would uphold the federal drinking water Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCL) for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) while providing an option for drinking water systems to request two additional years to comply with the enforceable limits. The second proposed rule would rescind the regulatory determinations and regulations for perfluorohexane...
Register Now For “TSCA Reform – 10 Years Later” Hybrid Live And Virtual Conference Register now for the tenth annual TSCA Reform Conference to be held on June 10, 2026, in-person at the George Washington University Jack Morton Auditorium and livestreamed on YouTube. The event is free and open to the public, but all attendees must register on the Environmental Law Institute website. Thirty-six distinguished presenters and moderators representing all segments of the stakeholder...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced on May 12, 2026, “two decisive actions focused on food chemical safety.” First, FDA released two final documents for its new proactive food chemical safety post-market assessment program. Second, FDA launched reassessments of butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) and azodicarbonamide (ADA), “chemical additives commonly used in a variety of food products.” As part of the reassessment, FDA issued two requests for information regarding the use and...
The Strengthening Environmental Protection for a Healthier Canada Act (the Act), enacted in 2023 to modernize the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA), requires the creation of a “Watch List” of substances capable of becoming toxic to inform Canadians and businesses of substances that they may wish to avoid. On April 28, 2026, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) announced the publication of the Watch List Approach (the Approach) in the CEPA Registry. The Approach...
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on May 5, 2026, the availability of the final risk evaluation under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for 1,2-dichloroethane (also known as ethylene dichloride (EDC)). 91 Fed. Reg. 24230. EPA notes that the purpose of TSCA risk evaluations is to determine whether a chemical substance presents an unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment under the conditions of use (COU), including unreasonable risk to potentially...
The Chair of the New Mexico Environmental Improvement Board (NMEIB) signed a Final Order and Statement of Reasons on April 17, 2026, regarding the adoption of a rule on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in consumer products. The final rule, scheduled to be published in New Mexico’s Register on May 5, 2026, with the Final Order and Statement of Reasons, includes prohibitions for certain consumer products in 2027 and 2028; reporting due January 1, 2027; a labeling requirement for...
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on April 24, 2026, the release of a publicly accessible list of Confidential Business Information (CBI) claims scheduled to expire under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). EPA states that the list includes claims that will expire between June 22, 2026, and July 31, 2026. According to EPA, to maintain accuracy and provide timely updates, it will refresh the list on a monthly basis as claims continue to approach their expiration dates....
April 21, 2026
EPA Releases Draft Risk Evaluations, Draft Hazard Assessments, and Supporting Documents for Four Chemicals
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on April 10, 2026, that it is advancing its review of four chemicals under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) -- 1,3,4,6,7,8-Hexahydro-4,6,6,7,8,8-hexamethylcyclopenta [g]-2-benzopyran (HHCB), phthalic anhydride, o-dichlorobenzene (oDCB), and p-dichlorobenzene (pDCB) -- by releasing draft documents related to the review of these chemicals and convening a Science Advisory Committee on Chemicals (SACC) peer review meeting. According to...
Richard J. Fehir, Ph.D. Joins Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. And The Acta Group Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) and The Acta Group (Acta®) are pleased to announce that Richard (Rick) J. Fehir, Ph.D. has joined our firms as Senior Chemist/Regulatory Scientist. Dr. Fehir joined B&C and Acta after a distinguished 17-year career at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), during which he provided science and regulatory leadership across three major regulatory frameworks: the...
On April 6, 2026, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released the draft of its sixth Contaminant Candidate List (CCL) issued under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), including for the first time microplastics as a priority contaminant group. 91 Fed. Reg. 17186. Section 1412(b)(1)(B)(i) of SDWA, as amended in 1996, requires that EPA publish the CCL every five years. The contaminants on the List are not regulated under national primary drinking water regulations, but either occur or...
March 31, 2026
RAC and Draft SEAC Opinions Support REACH PFAS Restriction with Targeted Derogations; Comments on Draft SEAC Opinion Due May 25
On March 26, 2026, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) released the final opinion of its Risk Assessment Committee (RAC) and the draft opinion of its Socio-Economic Analysis Committee (SEAC) on the proposal to restrict per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) under the European Union’s (EU) Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) Regulation. According to ECHA, RAC and SEAC “support an EU-wide restriction, subject to specific derogations, on the...
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on March 24, 2026, that it will propose to extend certain compliance dates in the December 2024 final risk management rules for perchloroethylene (PCE) and carbon tetrachloride (CTC) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). According to EPA, it continues to revise the final rules “to ensure they are practical and implementable to protect human health and the environment and maintain uses that power the U.S. economy.” Until EPA...
“TSCA CBI Re-substantiation: When, Why, and How to Prepare,” April 9, 2026, 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. (EDT), via webinar The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) provides critical protections for commercially sensitive information related to a company’s business, processes, and chemicals. The 2016 Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act amendments included a ten-year cap on many confidential business information (CBI) claims, absent a U.S. Environmental Protection...
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) held a webinar on February 26, 2026, on its currently unavoidable use (CUU) rule concepts. Under Minnesota’s per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) statute, beginning January 1, 2032, intentionally added PFAS in almost all products will be prohibited in Minnesota unless MPCA issues a CUU determination for the use of the PFAS. MPCA has posted a recording of the webinar, presentation slides, and a summary of the draft rule concepts. Comments on...
The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW) held a hearing on a discussion draft of S.__, the Toxic Substances Control Act Fee Reauthorization and Improvement Act of 2026 (Discussion Draft) on March 4, 2026. The Committee’s one pager on the Discussion Draft notes that since the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) was enacted 50 years ago, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) “approval process for new chemicals has not been substantively improved. The current...
February 17, 2026
Recent Federal Developments for February 2026
Richard E. Engler, Ph.D., To Speak On TSCA New Chemicals At GlobalChem 2026 Richard E. Engler, Ph.D., Director of Chemistry, Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®), will be joined by Shari Barash, Director of the New Chemicals Division, Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and Caroline Tuckhorn, Associate Director, Chemical Management, American Chemistry Council (ACC), topresent “TSCA New Chemicals: Trends, Challenges, and...
January 30, 2026
EPA Releases Draft Pesticide Registration Notice 2026-NEW: Notifications, Non-Notifications, and Minor Formulation Amendments
On January 5, 2026, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its draft Pesticide Registration (PR) Notice, entitled “Pesticide Registration Notice 2026-NEW: Notifications, Non-Notifications, and Minor Formulation Amendments” (Draft PRN 2026-NEW), and announced a 45-day public comment period. 91 Fed. Reg. 271. Since the January 5, 2026, announcement, a 30-day extension to the comment period has been approved but not yet published. In the Draft PRN 2026-NEW, EPA provides...