July 13, 2017

EPA Issues Direct Final Rule on SNURs for 29 Chemicals

On July 10, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a prepublication version of a direct final rule, Significant New Use Rule on Certain Chemical Substances, noting the  issuance of  significant new use rules (SNUR) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for 29 chemical substances that were the subject of premanufacture notices (PMN) and subject to consent orders under TSCA Section 5(e).  These are the first rules with consent orders negotiated...
July 7, 2017

EPA Publishes Notice of Availability of Scope Documents

On July 7, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a notice in the Federal Register announcing the availability of the scope documents for the risk evaluations of the first ten chemicals that it will be conducting under the amended Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).  82 Fed. Reg. 31592.  The notice states that each scope document includes “the hazards, exposures, conditions of use, and the potentially exposed or susceptible subpopulations the EPA expects to...
June 27, 2017

B&C Issues Memorandum on Final TSCA Framework Rules

On June 26, 2017, Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) issued a summary and analysis of the three final Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) framework rules released by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on June 22, 2017, EPA Issues Final TSCA Framework Rules.  The final rules include the prioritization process rule, which establishes EPA’s process and criteria for identifying High-Priority chemicals for risk evaluation and Low-Priority chemicals for which risk...
June 22, 2017

EPA Issues Much Anticipated Three Final TSCA Framework Rules, Guidance on Draft Risk Evaluations, and Scoping Documents on Risk Evaluations of First Ten Chemicals under Revised TSCA

As required by the amended Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), on June 22, 2017, one year after passage of the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued the three framework rules in final.  EPA also released draft guidance to assist in developing and submitting draft risk evaluations.  The final rules are: EPA also released scoping documents of the risk evaluations and supplemental resources on the...
June 21, 2017

EPA Opens Comment Period on Risk Evaluations for First Ten Chemicals under Revised TSCA

On June 19, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency posted a memo authorizing the opening of comment periods for the public to comment on the risk evaluation process for the first ten chemicals it is evaluating under the revised Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to determine whether they “present an unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment.”  Specifically, EPA states it is interested in “information from the public that could be useful to the...
June 15, 2017

EPA Submits Guidance on Draft Risk Evaluations under TSCA to OMB

On June 13, 2017, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) received a notice from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) submitting its draft Guidance to Assist Interested Persons in Developing and Submitting Draft Risk Evaluations Under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) (RIN 2070-ZA18) for review and approval.  Under Section 26(l)(5), EPA is required, “[n]ot later than 1 year after the date of enactment … [to] develop guidance to assist interested...
June 8, 2017

EPA To Promulgate SNURs for 37 Chemical Substances

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released a pre-publication version of its direct final rule signed on April 5, 2017, which states that EPA will be promulgating significant new use rules (SNUR) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for 37 chemical substances which were the subject of premanufacture notices (PMN).  This action will require persons who intend to manufacture or process any of these 37 chemical substances for an activity that is designated as...
June 5, 2017

EPA Submits Final Rulemaking on Procedures for Evaluating Existing Chemical Risks under TSCA to OMB for Review and Approval

On June 1, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) submitted its final rulemaking on the Procedures for Evaluating Existing Chemical Risks under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval.   EPA’s proposed rule describes a process for conducting risk evaluations to determine whether a chemical substance presents an unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment, including an unreasonable risk to...
June 1, 2017

EPA Issues Notice on the Establishment of the Negotiated Rulemaking Committee and Sets Public Meeting Dates

On June 5, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is scheduled to publish in the Federal Register a notice of public meetings and a notice regarding the establishment of the Negotiated Rulemaking Committee (NRC).  The NRC’s objective is to “negotiate a proposed rule that would limit chemical data reporting requirements under Section 8(a) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), [as amended], for manufacturers of any inorganic byproduct chemical substances...
May 25, 2017

EPA Submits Final Rulemaking on Procedures to Prioritize Chemicals for Risk Evaluation under TSCA to OMB for Review and Approval

On May 23, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) submitted its final rulemaking on the Procedures for Prioritization of Chemicals for Risk Evaluation Under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval.  In the proposed rule, EPA describes the processes for identifying potential candidates for prioritization, selecting a candidate, screening that candidate against certain criteria, formally initiating the...