On May 28, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a report entitled EPA Toxic Substances Control Act Consent Orders Need Better Coordination. OIG conducted the evaluation to determine what actions EPA took to verify compliance with the requirements of the 2009 Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Premanufacture Notice Consent Order with DuPont (responsibilities transferred to The Chemours Company in 2015) to prevent the release of...
On May 28, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a report entitled EPA Toxic Substances Control Act Consent Orders Need Better Coordination. OIG conducted the evaluation to determine what actions EPA took to verify compliance with the requirements of the 2009 Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Premanufacture Notice Consent Order with DuPont (responsibilities transferred to The Chemours Company in 2015) to prevent the release of...
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a Federal Register notice on May 28, 2020, extending the comment and reporting period on the preliminary lists of manufacturers (including importers) subject to fees associated with EPA-initiated risk evaluations under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). 85 Fed. Reg. 32036. The new due date is June 15, 2020. EPA states that it is extending the comment period in response to stakeholder feedback and to...
On May 20, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a press release announcing a final agreement with Swix Sport USA (Swix) resolving Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) violations associated with the importation of noncompliant ski wax products containing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). According to the press release, Swix agrees to pay a fine and develop a $1 million educational program to raise awareness in ski communities about PFAS chemicals in...
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently published its 2020 Annual Plan for Chemical Risk Evaluations under TSCA (Annual Plan). Section 26(n) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) requires EPA to publish an annual plan at the beginning of each calendar year that identifies the chemical substances for which EPA expects to initiate or complete risk evaluations that year and the resources necessary for their completion, describes the status of each risk evaluation that has...
May 20, 2020
“TSCA Reform — Four Years Later” Provides a Virtual Update on Where Lautenberg Implementation Stands Today
A virtual day-long symposium presented by the Environmental Law Institute (ELI), Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®), and the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health Free and Open to the PublicWednesday, June 24, 20209:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. (EDT) Register Online B&C, ELI, and the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health are pleased to present "TSCA Reform -- Four Years Later." This complimentary virtual conference...
On May 20, 2020, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee held an oversight hearing on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler was the only witness. During the hearing, Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) questioned Wheeler about the risk evaluations being done under the amended Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), particularly the risk evaluation of asbestos. Wheeler acknowledged that EPA probably will not meet the June 22, 2020, deadline for...
As we noted in our May 15, 2020, blog item “NGOs Ask EPA to Revise Draft Scope Documents to Comply with TSCA and EPA Regulations,” Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), Earthjustice, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), and Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families filed comments on May 13, 2020, stating that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) 20 draft scope documents released on April 9 and April 23, 2020, fail to meet Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and EPA...
Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), Earthjustice, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), and Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families filed comments on May 13, 2020, stating that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) 20 draft scope documents released on April 9 and April 23, 2020, fail to meet Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and EPA regulatory requirements. According to EDF’s May 14, 2020, blog item, the non-governmental organizations (NGO) called on EPA to revise the...
May 13, 2020
New Reporting Procedure for Co-Manufacturers under TSCA CDR Rule May Catch Certain Manufacturers Off Guard
One of several changes to the Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA) Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) Rule, issued in final on April 9, 2020, is that in the 2020 cycle, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has changed the way that toll manufacturing must be reported. In this cycle, EPA will not accept reporting from only the contracting manufacturer in situations where a company contracts with another company (i.e., a toll manufacturer) for the production of chemicals. ...