July 24, 2024

Senate Committee Will Hold Hearing on Understanding the Potential Environmental Impacts of 6PPD

The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works will hold a hearing on July 31, 2024, on “Understanding the Potential Environmental Impacts of the Chemical 6PPD.” The scheduled witnesses include: As reported in our November 3, 2023, blog item, on November 2, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) granted a petition filed under Section 21 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to address the use of N-(1,3-Dimethylbutyl)-N′-phenyl-p-phenylenediamine (6PPD) in tires....
July 24, 2024

Lynn L Bergeson, Kelly N Garson, “Loper Bright and TSCA: Will the demise of Chevron matter?,” Chemical Watch, July 22, 2024.

The standard of judicial review for most critical TSCA determinations under section 19 is “substantial evidence in the record taken as a whole”. This is a tough standard, considerably more rigorous than the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) standard under section 706, where agency action will be set aside if it is “arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with law.” The recent Loper...
July 16, 2024

Determining PFAS Content in Your Supply Chain and Expanding Data Collection Practice, July 23, 2024, 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. (EDT), via webinar

Register now to join Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) for “Determining PFAS Content in Your Supply Chain and Expanding Data Collection Practice,” a complimentary webinar covering the basics of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) reporting rule for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). With Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) wrapping up this fall, companies still have time to gather the necessary information regarding PFAS to begin reporting as early as this November....
July 12, 2024

Comments on Canada’s Updated Draft State of PFAS Report and Revised Risk Management Scope Are Due September 11, 2024

The July 13, 2024, Canada Gazette will include a notice announcing the availability of the Updated Draft State of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Report (Updated Draft Report) and Revised Risk Management Scope for Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) (Revised Risk Management Scope). The Updated Draft Report defines PFAS as “fluorinated substances that contain at least one fully fluorinated methyl or methylene carbon atom (without any [hydrogen, chlorine, bromine, or iodine...
July 11, 2024

OIRA Will Offer Training Sessions on Effective Participation in the Public Comment Process

As part of its efforts to strengthen public engagement in the federal regulatory process, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) announced on July 10, 2024, that it will offer training sessions on effective public participation in the public comment process. 89 Fed. Reg. 56777. OIRA states that notice-and-comment rulemaking generally affords any interested individual or organization the opportunity to provide written input on the...
July 10, 2024

Court Vacates TSCA Section 4 Test Order, Grants Vinyl Institute’s Petition for Review

On July 5, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued its decision in Vinyl Institute, Inc. v. EPA (No. 22-1089). As reported in our May 31, 2022, blog item, on May 23, 2022, the Vinyl Institute, Inc. (VI) filed suit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), seeking review of EPA’s March 2022 test order for 1,1,2-trichloroethane (1,1,2-TCA) issued under Section 4(a)(2) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)....
July 9, 2024

House Committee Will Hold EPA Oversight Hearing on July 10, 2024

The House Committee on Oversight and Accountability will hold a full committee hearing on July 10, 2024, on “Oversight of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.” According to the Committee’s July 3, 2024, press release, “[t]he hearing will conduct oversight and gather information from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan on the Biden Administration’s push of excessive environmental regulations and abuse of environmental protection authorities.”...
July 8, 2024

CISA Will Host 2024 Chemical Security Seminars on July 11 and 18, 2024

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is hosting the fully virtual 2024 Chemical Security Seminars on July 11 and 18, 2024, from 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. (EDT). The sessions will cover a range of topics related to the security of dangerous chemicals. The preliminary agenda includes: The seminars are free to attend and open to the public....
July 5, 2024

EPA Postpones Proposed Expansion of the Safer Choice and Design for the Environment Programs

As reported in our July 27, 2023, memorandum, in July 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed an expansion of the Safer Choice and Design for the Environment (DfE) programs to include certification of additional product categories. According to EPA’s website, “EPA thanks the many commenters for their input. EPA reviewed the comments and understands several categories are of interest to stakeholders and Safer Choice partners. With the 2024 decrease in EPA’s funding,...
June 28, 2024

Minnesota Department of Health Highlights Recent Publications on PFAS Bioaccumulation and PFAS in Infant Formula

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) recently noted that Health Risk Assessment scientists at MDH have published two articles in the Journal of Environmental Exposure Assessment related to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS): MDH notes that the work was supported by the Clean Water Fund, funded by the 2008 Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment....