All Knowledge & Insights By Date

New chemical innovation is not as celebrated as innovation in electronics, materials, software, or other sectors, but it is every bit as important. Many believe, as do we, that new chemical innovation is essential to achieving sustainable development. For this reason, a close look at the 2016 amendments to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) implementation of them offers valuable insights into whether the new U.S. industrial chemical...

The citizen suit provisions of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) are turning out to be a potentially powerful tool for advocates dissatisfied with risk evaluations conducted under TSCA Section 6. What is unclear is whether anyone intended this result. This column discusses the new and somewhat surprising role TSCA Section 21 citizen petitions may play in defining chemical risks under TSCA. The issue involves an interesting TSCA Section 21 petition filed in 2016 that has been the subject of...

Kevin L. Bromberg, Assistant Chief Counsel for Environmental Policy for the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Office of Advocacy, will retire from federal service on January 3, 2020.  Bromberg served two terms in the Office of Advocacy, from 1979 to 1991 and from 1994 to the present.  Prior to rejoining the Office of Advocacy in 1994, Bromberg represented small business trade associations in regulatory matters dealing with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released on December 20, 2019, an updated version of the “Working Approach” document that builds upon EPA’s November 2017 “New Chemicals Decision-Making Framework:  Working Approach to Making Determinations under Section 5 of TSCA.”  EPA discussed the updated document, “TSCA New Chemical Determinations:  A Working Approach for Making Determinations under TSCA Section 5,” at a public meeting on December 10, 2019. ...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published on December 20, 2019, the final list of high-priority chemicals.  These chemicals will be the next 20 chemicals to undergo risk evaluation under the amended Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).  According to EPA, issuing the final list of high-priority chemicals for risk evaluation “represents the final step in the prioritization process outlined in TSCA and marks another major TSCA milestone for EPA in its efforts to ensure...

On November 20, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) signed off on final changes to the risk management program (RMP) rule, most recently amended in January 2017. The regulations were promulgated under Section 112(r) of the Clean Air Act (CAA) when the law was amended in 1990. This section is intended to prevent or minimize the consequences of accidental chemical releases. A need to prevent or minimize the catastrophic consequences of accidental chemical release is a point few...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On December 19, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator, Andrew Wheeler, signed the final rule on the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program, setting the renewable fuel percentages for 2020. Titled Renewable Fuel Standard Program: Standards for 2020 and Biomass-Based Diesel Volume for 2021 and Other Changes, the final rule establishes the annual percentage standards for cellulosic biofuel, biomass-based diesel, advanced biofuel, and total renewable...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released on December 20, 2019, an updated version of the “Working Approach” document that builds upon EPA’s November 2017 “New Chemicals Decision-Making Framework:  Working Approach to Making Determinations under Section 5 of TSCA.”  EPA discussed the updated document, “TSCA New Chemical Determinations:  A Working Approach for Making Determinations under TSCA Section 5,” at a public meeting on December 10, 2019. ...

This week, I sat down with my colleague Christopher Bryant, a Senior Regulatory Consultant here at Bergeson & Campbell. Chris has over 25 years of experience in environmental, health, and safety compliance, and, in particular, hazardous waste management and regulation under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). I asked Chris to the studio to speak with me about RCRA:  what it is, how the law has developed, what is covered under it, and how we might expect -- or hope -- it...

This week, I sat down with my colleague Christopher Bryant, a Senior Regulatory Consultant here at Bergeson & Campbell. Chris has over 25 years of experience in environmental, health, and safety compliance, and, in particular, hazardous waste management and regulation under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). I asked Chris to the studio to speak with me about RCRA:  what it is, how the law has developed, what is covered under it, and how we might expect -- or hope -- it...