On September 2, 2026, President Trump signed the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2027 (H.R. 6500) that provides continuing fiscal year (FY) 2027 appropriations for federal agencies and extends various expiring programs and authorities. Under the bill, appropriations and funds made available and authority granted pursuant to H.R. 6500 will be available until: The enactment into law of an appropriation for any project or activity provided for in H.R. 6500; The enactment into law of...
News and analysis regarding Lautenberg implementation and related legal and administrative developments
September 8, 2026
EPA Announces Two Scientific Advances Designed to Modernize Safety Reviews of New Chemicals and Pesticides
On August 27, 2026, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced two scientific advancements designed to modernize safety reviews of new chemicals and pesticides while further eliminating the Agency’s reliance on animal testing. According to EPA, the new methods will help it assess the potential inhalation and oral risks of certain chemicals and pesticides faster and with greater human relevance, advancing the Agency's commitments to transparency, regulatory certainty, and the...
September 2, 2026
EDF Blog Item States Country-Specific Exposure, Use Patterns, and Regulatory Requirements Matter More Than Chemical’s Approval Status in Other Countries
The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) posted a blog item on August 27, 2026, entitled “American Chemical Safety Decisions Should Be Based on American Conditions of Use.” As we reported in our January 27, 2026, and March 6, 2026, memoranda, the House and Senate have each held hearings on discussion drafts of legislation that would amend the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). EDF’s blog item explores why the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) experience,...
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) announced on August 4, 2026, that it will begin an evaluation of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Priority Testing List. According to the OIG’s August 4, 2026, memorandum, the evaluation is the result of an OIG Hotline complaint. OIG’s objective is to determine the extent to which (1) the TSCA Interagency Testing Committee (ITC) is updating the Priority Testing List every six months and (2) EPA is...
The World Health Organization (WHO) has published a report entitled Key ingested per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and their health effects: landscape review that presents an overview of a comprehensive landscape review of PFAS. The authors assembled a health effects database comprising approximately 57,000 observations covering 66 individual PFAS, drawn from 48 distinct data sources. In parallel, the authors assembled an occurrence database containing nearly 300,000 observations...
A catalyst used in small quantities in a well-controlled industrial application would seem to be the perfect candidate for a Low Volume Exemption (LVE) notification. In fact, in certain regions, such as the European Union (EU) and Canada, no premarket notification is required for substances manufactured or imported below certain tonnage limits (e.g., one metric tonne in the EU). But in the United States under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), there is no de minimis quantity and the U.S....
On July 3, 2026, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) published the Trump Administration’s 2026 Unified Agenda. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Unified Agenda includes the following rulemakings under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA): Cyclic Aliphatic Bromide Cluster (HBCD); Regulation under TSCA: According to EPA, this rulemaking will address the unreasonable risk of injury to health presented by HBCD. EPA states that TSCA Section 6(a) requires that EPA, when it...
On July 3, 2026, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) published the Trump Administration’s 2026 Unified Agenda. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Unified Agenda includes the following rulemakings regarding per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS): Clean Water Act (CWA) Effluent Limitations Guidelines and Standards for PFAS Manufacturers under the Organic Chemicals, Plastics and Synthetic Fibers Point Source Category: EPA is revising the existing Organic Chemicals,...
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) published a notice of determinations on June 26, 2026, that the list of taxable substances is modified to include the following two substances: chloro-isobutene-isoprene rubber and ethylene-propylene-dicyclopentadiene rubber. 91 Fed. Reg. 38778. Arlanxeo USA LLC and Arlanxeo Canada Inc., importers and exporters of the chemicals, submitted petitions requesting to add the chemicals to the list. The IRS states that according to the petition for...
As reported in our May 22, 2026, blog item, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced on May 18, 2026, that it will hold a hearing on June 18, 2026, on the notice of filing to add methyl methacrylate-ethyl methacrylate-methacrylic acid copolymer in a styrene solution to the list of taxable substances. 91 Fed. Reg. 28759. According to a June 11, 2026, Federal Register notice, the IRS did not receive any requests to testify or outlines of topics. 91 Fed. Reg. 35615. Therefore, the IRS has...
On May 22, 2026, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) extended the reporting deadline for a rule under Section 8(d) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) requiring manufacturers (including importers) of 16 chemicals to report data from unpublished health and safety studies to EPA. 91 Fed. Reg. 30222. The rule applies to manufacturers in the North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) codes for chemical manufacturing (NAICS code 325) and petroleum refineries (NAICS code...
On May 1, 2026, the Office of Administrative Law approved and filed regulations accompanying California’s Senate Bill 54 (SB 54). The regulations were effective as of the May 1 filing date. Also on May 1, CalRecycle published a web page with compliance guidance and information for producers. Due to the effective status of the regulations, producers must take one of the following actions by June 1, 2026: Producers complying with the program through the approved producer responsibility...
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced on May 18, 2026, that it will hold a hearing on June 18, 2026, on the notice of filing to add methyl methacrylate-ethyl methacrylate-methacrylic acid copolymer in a styrene solution to the list of taxable substances. 91 Fed. Reg. 28759. The hearing will be limited to testimony about the notice of filing for methyl methacrylate-ethyl methacrylate-methacrylic acid copolymer in a styrene solution. According to the January 14, 2026, notice announcing that...
The U.S. Department of War (DoW) published a request for information (RFI) on May 12, 2026, seeking information to identify and assess critical applications for DoW and defense industrial base (DIB) that necessitate the use of existing chemicals undergoing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Section 6 risk evaluation process. The RFI is intended to help the Office of the Assistant Secretary of War for Energy, Installations, and Environment...
May 12, 2026
EPA’s FY 2026 Top Management Challenges Include Meeting Statutory Requirements for Ensuring the Safe Use of Chemicals
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) released on May 6, 2026, a report on EPA’s fiscal year (FY) 2026 top management challenges. The report identifies what OIG considers to be the six most serious management and performance challenges facing EPA in FY 2026: Managing contracts, grants, and associated data systems; Meeting statutory requirements for ensuring the safe use of chemicals; Managing information technology modernization; Maintaining mission...
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on April 28, 2026, the availability of an update to the April 16, 2024, interim guidance on the destruction and disposal of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and materials containing PFAS for public comment. 91 Fed. Reg. 22815. According to EPA, the updated guidance “builds on information pertaining to technologies that may be feasible and appropriate for the destruction or disposal of PFAS and PFAS-containing...
The Sound Science Act (S. 4397), introduced by Senator Pete Ricketts (R-NE) on April 27, 2026, would strengthen the science used for risk reviews and improve interagency coordination for chemicals regulated under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). According to Ricketts’s April 27, 2026, press release, “[b]y strengthening the scientific basis for regulation and expediting the existing chemical review process, Americans can have access to updated and safe chemistries.” The press...
TSCA Reform -- 10 Years LaterJune 10, 2026, 9:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. (EDT) An In-Person and Virtual Program In-Person:The George Washington University Virtual livestream details on registration page Complimentary registration:https://www.eli.org/events/tsca-reform-10-years-later Register now to join Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®), the Environmental Law Institute (ELI), and the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health (GWU) for the...
The American Sustainable Business Network (ASBN) announced on April 14, 2026, that it is inviting all businesses, brands, retailers, ingredient suppliers, institutional purchasers, investors, and public health and environmental organizations to join it in expressing strong support for the introduction and enactment of bipartisan legislation to authorize the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Safer Choice Program. According to ASBN, “[a]uthorizing Safer Choice in statute would...
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will hold a webinar on May 6, 2026, at 4:00 p.m. (EDT) to provide information on Confidential Business Information (CBI) claims scheduled to expire under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). According to EPA, the webinar is intended to help companies, stakeholders, and the public better understand regulatory requirements surrounding the lifecycle of CBI claims, how to find out if a CBI claim is expiring, and how to request an extension of an...