All Knowledge & Insights By Date

TSCA/FIFRA/NTP EPA Proposes Regulation Of TCE Use In Vapor Degreasing Under TSCA Section 6(a): On January 19, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a proposed rule under Section 6(a) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to regulate the use of trichloroethylene (TCE) in vapor degreasing. 82 Fed. Reg. 7432. The proposed rule would prohibit the manufacture (including import), processing, and distribution in commerce of TCE for use in vapor degreasing, prohibit...

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) published a report entitled Alternative Testing Strategies in Risk Assessment of Manufactured Nanomaterials: Current State of Knowledge and Research Needs to Advance Their Use.

We are pleased to announced that Lynn L. Bergeson, Charles M. Auer, and Carla N. Hutton published an article, “Practitioner Insights:  A Review and Analysis of TSCA Reform Provisions Pertinent to Manufacturers and Processors of Nanoscale Materials,” in the January 26, 2017, issue of Bloomberg BNA’s Daily Environment Report.  The article reviews and analyzes the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) as amended by the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act,...

On January 27, 2017, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued in the Federal Register a notice of delay of an effective date of a final rule issued on December 27, 2016 (81 Fed. Reg. 94980).  The final rule announced amendments to CBP regulations regarding the requirement to file a Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) certification when importing into the customs territory of the United States chemicals in bulk form or as part of mixtures and articles containing a chemical or...

On January 19, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a Federal Register notice announcing it will be holding a public meeting to receive public input and information on uses and conditions of use for the initial ten chemicals to be evaluated under Section 6(b)(2)(A) of the amended Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) on February 14, 2017, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. (EST), at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, Polaris Room, 1300...

On January 13, 2017, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) released the 2017 U.S. Energy and Employment Report (USEER), which aims to aid in providing a more complete definition and quantification of energy employment across the economy.  The report presents direct employment data for jobs associated with traditional energy companies, with the production of renewable energy, and with energy efficiency, and an analysis of a supplemental survey sent to 30,000 energy sector employers. ...

On January 26, 2017, EPA published a final rule delaying the effective date of 30 EPA regulations, including the RFS Program:  Standards for 2017 and Biomass-Based Diesel Volume for 2018 final rule.  The rulemaking follows the Presidential directive to postpone for sixty days the effective dates of all regulations that had been published in the Federal Register but had not yet taken effect to give the President’s appointees or designees the...

EPA released RIN generation data for December 2016, reporting that more than 1.8 billion RINs were generated during the month.  More than 16.8 million D3 cellulosic biofuel RINs were generated in December, bringing the total for 2016 to 178 million, including 3.8 million D3 RINs for ethanol, 66.8 million for renewable liquefied natural gas, and 107.5 million for renewable compressed natural gas.  Of the 178 million RINs, nearly 160 million were generated by domestic producers, and...

On January 17, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) wrote to the American Petrochemical and Fuel Manufacturers (AFPM) denying its petition for partial supplemental waiver of the 2016 cellulosic biofuel standard under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).  The letter was sent in response to AFPM’s December 28, 2016, petition for a supplemental waiver on the basis of an inadequate domestic supply of cellulosic biofuel, as reported in the Biobased and Renewable Products...

On June 22, 2016, President Obama signed the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, Pub. L. No. 114-182, and in so doing significantly revised the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for the first time since its enactment in 1976. This article reviews and analyzes TSCA as amended and focuses narrowly on how new TSCA specifically impacts nanoscale materials. Although the new TSCA dramatically changes how the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) evaluates and manages...

On January 26, 2017, the Bloomberg BNA Daily Environment Report quoted James V. Aidala, Senior Government Affairs Consultant with Bergeson & Campbell P.C. (B&C®), on the Trump administration’s handling of climate change communications. It's no surprise that Trump has de-emphasized climate change in his administration, said Jim Aidala, a consultant with Bergeson & Campbell PC in Washington, D.C., and former head of EPA's chemicals division under President Bill...

The Swedish Chemicals Agency (KEMI) is in the process of consulting with stakeholders on a draft regulation that would require companies to provide information on nanomaterials in chemical products to the Swedish products register by February 28, 2019.  According to KEMI, the proposal is the same as presented in its 2015 report.  Although the report is in Swedish, it includes an English summary on page 8, which states: The Swedish Chemicals Agency proposes that...

On January 19, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued an interpretation of Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Section 14 concerning confidential business information (CBI) claims for information submitted to EPA.  82 Fed. Reg. 6522.  Under the interpretation, EPA expresses its view that new TSCA requires substantiation of all non-exempt CBI claims at the time the information claimed as confidential is submitted to EPA.  In the notice, EPA also states that the...

On January 13, 2017, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) sent the draft appendix on recommendations for nanomaterials applicable to the guidance on registration to the Forum, Member State Committee, and Risk Assessment Committee for consultation.  The draft guidance outlines the minimum elements potential registrants need to consider when registering substances that fulfil the European Commission’s (EC) Recommendation for the definition of nanomaterial.  The aim of the...

Last year was full of surprises, two of which will drive much of the agenda in 2017 for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP) of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). First, Congress significantly amended the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Although many thought the chances of successful TSCA legislation were slim, the second surprise event was even more unexpected — the election of Donald Trump as President.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently published three Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) proposed framework rules:  TSCA Inventory Notification (Active-Inactive) Requirements (Jan. 13, 2017); Procedures for Prioritization of Chemicals for Risk Evaluation Under the Toxic Substances Control Act (Jan. 17, 2017); and Procedures for Chemical Risk Evaluation Under the Amended Toxic Substances Control Act (Jan. 19, 2017).  Summaries, insights, and commentary from...

On January 10, 2017, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released the Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO) report, which includes forecasts for 2018.  The report outlines expectations for regular gasoline to average a retail price of $2.38 for 2017, with prices for the first quarter of 2017 to average $2.31.  The finalized RFS volumes that were announced on November 23, 2016, resulted in EIA forecasting that ethanol consumption will average about 940,000 barrels per day...

John Howard, M.D., Director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), authored a January 10, 2017, NIOSH blog item entitled “Occupational Health Issues in the USA.”  Howard shares a recent editorial he wrote in Occupational Medicine, “Occupational health issues in the USA,” that highlights some of the occupational safety and health issues identified as needing attention by the industry sector groups of the National Occupational Research Agenda...

On November 23, 2016, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) issued two landmark judgments in Case C-673/13 P (Commission v Stichting Greenpeace Nederland and Pan Europe) and Case C-442/14 (Bayer CropScience and Stichting De Bijenstichting v College voor de toelating van gewasbeschermingsmiddelen en biociden). In Case C-673/13 P, the associations Stichting Greenpeace Nederland and Pesticide Action Network Europe (PAN Europe) submitted a request to the European Commission (EC)...

On January 13, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a proposed rule that would establish 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 a potentially exposed or susceptible subpopulation, under the conditions of use.  The process would not consider costs or other nonrisk factors.  Risk evaluation is the second step, after...