May 2, 2017

EPA To Host Public Meeting on Negotiated Rulemaking Process

On May 2, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it would convene a public meeting to clarify and discuss the process of negotiated rulemaking on changes to Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) requirements for inorganic byproducts.  The meeting will be held on May 9, 2017, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (EDT) and on May 10, 2017, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. (EDT), in Washington, D.C. at the Capital Hilton, 1001 16th Street, N.W,...
May 1, 2017

EPA Extends Comment Date for Proposed Rules Banning Certain Uses of TCE, NMP, and Methylene Chloride

On May 1, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a notice in the Federal Register stating it was reopening and extending the comment period for two proposed rules:  (1) to prohibit the use of trichloroethylene (TCE) in vapor degreasing; to require manufacturers (including importers), processors, and distributors, except for retailers, of TCE for any use to provide downstream notification of these prohibitions throughout the supply chain; and to require limited...
April 27, 2017

“TSCA Reform: Key Provisions and Implications” Published In Environmental Quality Management Journal

On April 14, 2017, Lynn L. Bergeson’s article “TSCA Reform: Key Provisions and Implications,” was published in Volume 26, Issue 2, of Environmental Quality Management.  On June 22, 2016, President Obama signed into law the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act which substantially amended the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), and, in so doing, fundamentally altered the domestic management of industrial chemicals — the lifeblood of many manufacturing...
April 25, 2017

EPA Issues TSCA Notices On 28 New Chemical Notifications

On April 25, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued two notices in the Federal Register expressing its determination that 28 new chemical notifications are “not likely to present an unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment.”  82 Fed Reg. 19044 (Statement of Findings for December 2016); 82 Fed. Reg. 19046 (Statements of Findings for February 2017).  The statements of findings list premanufacture notices (PMN) and microbial commercial...
April 21, 2017

Pruitt Administration Starts to Populate the Team

According to press reports, Nancy Beck, Ph.D., DABT has been hired as the Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP).  Dr. Beck holds a doctorate in environmental health from the University of Washington.  For the past five years she served as the Senior Director for Regulatory Science Policy at the American Chemistry Council (ACC).  For a decade prior to ACC, she was an...
April 21, 2017

EPA and SBA to Hold Public Workshop on Methylene Chloride in Furniture Refinishing

On August 18, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it would be holding a public workshop on the use of the paint remover methylene chloride in furniture refinishing on September 12, 2017, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (EDT) at its Region 1 Headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts.  It is holding the workshop in collaboration with the Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Advocacy.  The meeting aims to “facilitate an exchange of information...
April 17, 2017

EPA Announces Third and Fourth Negotiated Rulemaking Committee Meetings

On August 18, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is scheduled to publish a notice in the Federal Register stating that it will be holding the third and fourth committee meetings of the Negotiated Rulemaking Committee (NRC) on September 13, 2017, from 9:00 a.m to 5:00 p.m. (EDT) to September 14, 2017, from 9:00 a.m to 3:00 p.m. (EDT); and on October 25, 2017, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (EDT) to October 26, 2017, from 9:00 a.m....
April 16, 2017

Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. Forms “TSCA New Chemicals Coalition”

On August 14, 2017, Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) announced it would be forming a Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) New Chemicals Coalition.  That the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is now required to make a determination on all new chemicals (or significant new uses of existing chemicals) is at the heart of the changes in EPA’s review of new chemicals, and the new policies and practices that have emerged since June of 2016.  What...
April 7, 2017

Internal EPA Memoranda Outline Approach for Regulatory Deconstruction

A trio of recent internal U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) memoranda are providing insight into how EPA intends to implement President Trump’s review and potential pogrom of EPA regulations.  Virtually no program or regulation appears to be secure from the chopping block.  Many stakeholders in industry and other sectors may be alarmed to see programs that are of benefit to them assigned a slot in the guillotine.  Supporters of these programs, thus, would be wise...
March 31, 2017

Senators Announce Creation of Bipartisan Senate Chemistry Caucus

On March 28, 2017, Senators Chris Coons (D-DE), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Steve Daines (R-MT), and Gary Peters (D-MI) announced that they will serve as co-chairs of the newly formed Senate Chemistry Caucus.  Senators John Boozman (R-AR), Joe Donnelly (D-IN), John Neely Kennedy (R-LA) and Joe Manchin (D-WV) have also agreed to join the Caucus.  Senator Coons’ press release states that the Senate Chemistry Caucus will provide “a bipartisan forum for Senators to work together...