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In somewhat of a surprise announcement, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) on June 6, 2018, released its final policy and form for manufacturer disclosures under the Household Cleansing Product Information Disclosure Program. The Disclosure Program is similar to the recently enacted California Cleaning Product Right to Know Act of 2017 which requires the disclosure of cleaning product ingredients by way of website or product label. The Household...

Richard E. Engler, Ph.D., Director of Chemistry at The Acta Group (Acta®) and Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®), will present “New TSCA and Green Chemistry Innovation” in the “Real-World Sustainability Challenges: Incentives and Barriers to the Use of Green Chemistry in Products” session on June 18, 2018, at the 22nd Annual Green Chemistry & Engineering Conference (GC&E) hosted by the American Chemical Society’s (ACS) Green...

On June 1, 2018, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it took “three important steps” intended to ensure chemical safety under the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (Lautenberg Act), which amended the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).  EPA released the following for public comment:  (1) the first ten problem formulation documents, (2) EPA’s systemic review approach document, and (3) a significant new use rule (SNUR)...

On July 4, 2018, Christopher R. Bryant, Senior Regulatory Consultant, Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®), was quoted by Bloomberg Environment regarding the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) new electronic tracking system for hazardous waste shipments called e-Manifest. “There is a ton of confusion and trepidation about how this is all going to work,” Christopher Bryant, senior regulatory consultant for Bergeson & Campbell PC in Washington, told...

The Acta Group (Acta®) and Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) are pleased to announce that Richard E. Engler, Ph.D. has been named Director of Chemistry for our firms. Dr. Engler joined Acta and B&C as Senior Chemist in January 2015 after nearly two decades at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT) and has offered his extensive understanding of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and other...

Monday, June 25, 201811:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. (EDT)Register Today Since enactment on June 22, 2016, of the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has implemented a muscular regulatory program expressing Congress’ intent for a new and improved Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).  The new TSCA framework required significant work and fundamental shifts in regulatory requirements and conceptual approach, but EPA has hit all...

On June 4, 2018, Charles M. Auer, Senior Regulatory and Policy Advisor with Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®), was quoted in the Inside EPA article “Eying 2018 Deadline, EPA Taps New Division Heads For Reorganized OPPT.” The new reorganization plan is winning approval from former officials. Charles Auer, former director of OPPT and now with the law firm of Bergeson & Campbell, wrote in a recent blog post that dividing the offices to focus on new and existing...

On May 31, 2018, Christopher R. Bryant, Senior Regulatory Consultant, Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®), was quoted in the Bloomberg Environment article “EPA Backs Recycling Formerly ‘Hazardous’ Materials, But States Get Final Say.” This quote was also featured as the “Quote of the Day” in Bloomberg Environment’s daily First Move email. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) new definition of solid waste “allows more material—like...

Responding to July 2017 and March 2018 orders issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on May 30, 2018, issued a final rule revising the Definition of Solid Waste (DSW) under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). 83 Fed. Reg. 24664. In a somewhat unusual move, EPA relied upon Section 553 of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) to make the rule immediately effective and dispensed with notice and public...

On May 29, 2018, Richard E. Engler, Ph.D., Director of Chemistry, Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®), was quoted by Bloomberg Environment regarding a proposed rule that would require scientific data be sufficiently available to the public so that interested parties could understand how the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reached its conclusions. “[D]ecisions the EPA makes about whether to allow new chemicals into commerce would largely be unaffected, Richard...

On March 16, 2018, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed to add hazardous waste aerosol cans to the category of “universal wastes” regulated under the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) regulations, codified at Title 40 of the C.F.R., Part 273. 83 Fed. Reg. 11654. According to EPA, this action would benefit the many manufacturing facilities and others that generate and manage large quantities of hazardous waste aerosol cans.

There are approximately three months until the effective date of the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) revisions to its Proposition 65 (Prop 65) Article 6 “clear and reasonable warnings” regulations. By August 30, 2018, companies must comply with the revised regulations for consumer products, occupational, and environmental exposures. Companies that have not already revised warnings to comply with the new requirements must now review their consumer...

On May 23, 2018, Bloomberg Environment quoted Lynn L. Bergeson, Managing Partner, Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) regarding Erik Baptist, senior deputy general counsel, joining EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP) as a deputy assistant administrator and senior counsel.  Other regulatory offices within the EPA have attorneys to help them, Lynn Bergeson, managing partner with the Washington, D.C., office of Bergeson & Campbell, P.C.,...

Any company that plans to submit or has pending a new chemical notification under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) needs to join the TSCA New Chemicals Coalition (TSCA NCC) -- the only coalition focused principally on TSCA Section 5 issues. The TSCA NCC has been relentlessly engaging with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and Congress on identifying and addressing real-world issues arising out of EPA’s...

On May 4, 2018, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) proposed a rule to establish the first ever National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard (NBFDS) mandated by Congress in 2016. This column discusses the proposal, what it intends to achieve, and its implications.

On May 10, 2018, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced several upcoming actions on methylene chloride. Under the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, EPA is required to perform risk evaluations on the uses of ten specific chemicals, including methylene chloride. According to EPA, it is nearing completion of problem formulations for these first ten chemicals. EPA’s announcement states that it will send a final methylene chloride rule to the...

On May 7, 2018, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it is withdrawing certain proposed rules for which EPA no longer intends to issue a final rule.  83 Fed. Reg. 20004. EPA notes that its withdrawal of these proposed rules does not preclude it from initiating the same or a similar rulemaking at a future date. Withdrawing the proposed rules officially terminates the ongoing rulemaking activities, allowing EPA to close out the individual entries for these...

On May 7, 2018, James V. Aidala, Senior Government Affairs Consultant with Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®), was quoted by Inside EPA regarding U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt’s plan to require EPA to only use publicly available material to justify regulatory decisions. Others raise concerns over the document's introduction of a host of new terms, many of which are undefined. For example, the industry law firm Bergeson and...

Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) and The Acta Group (Acta®) are pleased to announce that on May 8, 2018, Lisa M. Campbell, Partner, will moderate the “FIFRA Enforcement & Compliance” panel at the New Developments in Pesticide Law and Policy conference.  This conference is hosted by the American Bar Association (ABA) Section of Environment, Energy and Resources (ABA SEER) and CropLife America, and will cover crop protection issues in the United States and Europe. The New...

On May 3, 2018, text from the March 2018 Global Business Briefing “New TSCA inspires new litigation” written by Lynn L. Bergeson, Managing Partner, Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®), was quoted in the Chemical Watch article “NRDC files opening brief in TSCA new chemicals litigation.” Lynn Bergeson, managing partner at law firm Bergeson & Campbell, wrote in Chemical Watch's Global Business Briefing earlier this year that...