May 17, 2021

Lynn L. Bergeson, “EPA Expands TRI Reporting Rules,” Chemical Processing, May 17, 2021.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on April 29, 2021, that it will be “taking important steps under the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) to advance environmental justice, improve transparency, and increase access to environmental information.” The EPA plans to expand the scope of TRI reporting requirements to cover additional chemicals and facilities, including those not currently reporting ethylene oxide (EtO) releases. The agency also announced enhancements to its TRI...
May 1, 2021

Lynn L. Bergeson, “The TSCA under the Biden administration: what to expect,” Environmental Law & Management, Volume 31, Issue 6, 2019.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP) will be busy in 2021. Implementation of the 2016 amendments to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) will continue to dominate the Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT). In 2021, the EPA will need to complete outstanding risk evaluators of the ‘first 10′ chemicals and begin developing proposals for the section 6 risk management rules necessitated by the risk...
April 21, 2021

Lynn L. Bergeson, “Don’t Ignore Game-Changing EU Environmental Initiatives,” Bloomberg Law Insights, April 21, 2021.

Two developments in the European Union in 2020 involving chemical regulations will almost certainly impact U.S. chemical stakeholders, according to Lynn L. Bergeson, managing partner of Bergeson & Campbell P.C. One initiative restricts certain chemicals in order to comply with the European Green Deal, while the other amends chemical disclosure requirements, she explains....
April 21, 2021

Lynn L. Bergeson, “EPA Eyes Stricter Phosphogypsum Rule,” Chemical Processing, April 21, 2021.

In early April, a Florida pond that sits atop phosphogypsum tailings sprung a leak. State authorities scrambled to keep the pond from collapsing and flooding the surrounding area with millions of gallons of contaminated water. This situation likely wasn’t top of mind on February 8, 2021, when a group of environmental protection advocates prepared and submitted to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) a petition under Section 21 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)....
April 19, 2021

Lynn L. Bergeson, “EC Scientific Committee’s Preliminary Opinions for Certain Gold and Platinum Nanomaterials Open for Comment,” Nanotechnology Now, April 19, 2021.

On April 16, 2021, the European Commission (EC) Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) posted two preliminary opinions for comment: Opinion on Gold (nano), Colloidal Gold (nano), Gold Thioethylamino Hyaluronic Acid (nano) and Acetyl heptapeptide-9 Colloidal gold (nano) and Opinion on Platinum (nano), Colloidal Platinum (nano) and Acetyl tetrapeptide-17 Colloidal Platinum (nano)....
April 16, 2021

Lynn L. Bergeson, “The New Toxic Substances Control Act is Now Five Years Old: A Report Card – It Is a Mixed Bag, but We Are Getting There,” The Debate, from ELI The Environmental Forum , May/June 2021.

June 22 of this year will mark the fifth anniversary since President Obama signed the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act. Popularly still known by the name of the 40-year-old statute it replaced, the new version of the Toxic Substances Control Act had a vision to follow in reforming a system for evaluating and regulating chemicals in commerce that everyone, from industry to green NGOs to government officials, agreed was weak...
March 17, 2021

Lynn L. Bergeson, “The importance of regulatory diligence in funding,” Financier Worldwide, April 2021.

Lawyers counselling companies in the biotechnology, biopesticide and related crop protection and industrial biotechnology areas appreciate the critically important role federal agencies play in ensuring the success of start-up businesses. Federal agencies, including the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), among others, wield enormous power over businesses that require premarket product approval. While we product approval practitioners know...
March 14, 2021

Lynn L. Bergeson, “Better Understand TSCA’s Long Reach,” Chemical Processing, March 14, 2021.

If anyone on planet Earth thinks the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), as amended, is not commercially consequential, think again. The implementation of the 2016 amendments by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is triggering tremendous commercial disruption. The EPA’s March 8, 2021, announcement seeking comment on five final rules for persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic (PBT) chemicals issued on January 6, 2021, and, importantly, granting a rare “No Action Assurance”...
March 10, 2021

Lynn L. Bergeson, “What Might EHS Expect from the Biden EPA?,” EHS Daily Advisor, March 10, 2021.

As a new administration arrives in Washington, D.C., few things are certain except that 2021 is sure to be an eventful year. While underlying partisan jockeying and prospects for bipartisan cooperation will greatly affect what may happen in the more limited context of chemical regulation, the Biden administration has already laid out priorities on the environment that will surely influence the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) positions on climate change, the role of science, and...
February 22, 2021

Richard E. Engler, Ph.D. and Jeffery T. Morris, Ph.D., “Why the US EPA can, and should, evaluate the risk-reducing role a new chemical may play if allowed on the market,” Chemical Watch, February 22, 2021.

In the 21st century, we take as given a continuous stream of new and better products. From electronics to building materials to transportation solutions, the flow of new and better products and applications seems unending. New chemical substances play a fundamental role in creating those products and making existing products better. If the pipeline of new chemicals were closed off, the flow of new products and applications would slow to a trickle and eventually dry...
February 21, 2021

Lynn L. Bergeson, “EPA Orders Testing For Nine Chemicals,” Chemical Processing, February 21, 2021.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on January 15, 2021, that it has issued test orders under Section 4 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to obtain additional data on nine of the next 20 chemicals undergoing risk evaluation. Many in the industrial chemical community expect the EPA to use its TSCA testing authority much more in the coming years. The January orders seem to confirm that expectation. This article discusses the significance...
February 4, 2021

Lynn L. Bergeson, “Environmental Justice: Operationalizing TSCA to Fulfill Its Destiny,” American College of Environmental Lawyers (ACOEL) Blog, February 4, 2021.

The Biden Administration has embraced environmental justice with unprecedented gusto.  In its July 2020 Plan to Secure Environmental Justice and Equitable Economic Opportunity (Plan), the Biden Administration sets out in broad terms how it intends to use an “All-of-Government” approach to “rooting out systemic racism in our laws, policies, institutions, and hearts.”...
February 2, 2021

Lynn L. Bergeson, “OECD Will Hold Webinar on Assessing the Dispersion Stability and Dissolution of Nanomaterials in the Environment,” Nanotechnology Now, February 2, 2021.

On February 25, 2021, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) will hold a webinar on “Assessing the dispersion stability and dissolution (rate) of nanomaterials in the environment” to discuss the scope, content, and use of Test Guideline No. 318: Dispersion Stability of Nanomaterials in Simulated Environmental Media and its accompanying guidance document. ...
December 23, 2020

Lynn L. Bergeson and Lara A. Hall, “M&A activity in the analytical services sector: points to consider,” Financier Worldwide, January 2021.

There has been remarkable consolidation in the analytical services sector in the US and elsewhere globally over the past few years. Make no mistake; the need for analytical and related testing services is growing significantly. Because of the legal and regulatory frameworks that demand such services, however, there is considerable need for attendant technical expertise to staff these laboratories, and the need for specialised expertise is also growing exponentially. This article summarises...
December 16, 2020

Lynn L. Bergeson, “EPA Fee Controversy Continues,” Chemical Processing, December 16, 2020.

The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) authorizes the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to collect fees from chemical manufacturers (including importers) to defray a portion of the costs associated with TSCA implementation efforts. The TSCA fees rule requires payment for eight categories of fee-triggering events under TSCA, including EPA-initiated risk evaluations under TSCA Section 6. The EPA must prepare a preliminary list of manufacturers subject to fee obligations for EPA-initiated...
November 20, 2020

Lynn L. Bergeson, “EPA Announces Carbon Tetrachloride Risks,” Chemical Processing, November 20, 2020.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published the final risk evaluation for carbon tetrachloride on November 4, 2020. The EPA found unreasonable risks to workers and occupational non-users (ONU) for 13 of the 15 conditions of CCl4 use, but no unreasonable risks to the environment. According to the EPA, there are no consumer uses of this chemical. Most agree the findings are not unexpected. This article explains the assessment and the results....
November 2, 2020

Lynn L. Bergeson and Eve C. Gartner, “The essentials of TSCA practice,” ABA Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources Trends, November/December 2020.

The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) is not the arcane federal law it once was. Amended in 2016 in response to a demand so loud and persistent from nongovernmental organizations, consumers, and, eventually, the industrial chemical community that Congress could no longer ignore it, TSCA is now a force with which to be reckoned. While the U.S Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) implementation of the 2016 Lautenberg Act that amended TSCA invites criticism among stakeholders, there...
October 26, 2020

Lynn L. Bergeson, “Pandemic Spurs Enforcement Revisions,” Chemical Processing, October 26, 2020.

The White House Office of Management and Budget’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) issued memorandum M-20-31 on August 31, 2020, on the implementation of Section 6 of Executive Order (EO) 13924, “Executive Order on Regulatory Relief to Support Economic Recovery.” This article explains the guidance, why it may prove useful to know about its content, and how to leverage the guidance successfully in future enforcement actions and adjudications....
September 16, 2020

Lynn L. Bergeson, “EPA Tells Businesses To Pay Up,” Chemical Processing, September 16, 2020.

On August 26, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released the much-anticipated interim final list of businesses subject to risk evaluation fees for the 20 chemicals designated as “high priority” under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Making the interim final list available now gives businesses and other stakeholders an opportunity to review the list for accuracy. It also provides time for businesses to reach out to form consortia to share in fee payments....
September 9, 2020

Lynn L. Bergeson, “Feeling the Pinch: who pays TSCA risk evaluation fees?,” Financier Worldwide, September 2020.

Ordinarily, government fees command little interest in corporate finance and board-level business circles. Newly imposed fees to defray the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) risk evaluation of high-priority chemical substances under Section 6 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) are extraordinary, however, and are commanding significant interest. This article explains why....
August 31, 2020

Lynn L. Bergeson, “Off to the Races—CDR Reporting Begins!,” Washington Watch, Fall 2020.

As the expression goes, it is that time of year again.  Section 8 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) requires manufacturers, including importers, to provide the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with information on the production and use of chemicals in commerce at four-year intervals.  The last reporting cycle for the requirement, known as the Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) requirement, was in 2016, so TSCA stakeholders have been gearing up since then for the...
August 31, 2020

S. Bhandari, P. Delmonte, M. Honigfort, W. Yan, F. Dionisi, M. Fleith, D. Iassonova, L. Bergeson, “Regulatory Changes Affecting the Production and Use of Fats and Oils: Focus on Partially Hydrogenated Oils,” Journal of the American Oil Chemists’ Society, Volume 97, Issue 8, August 2020.

Partially hydrogenated oils (PHO), the products of incomplete catalytic hydrogenation of food oils, have been widely employed by the food industry for more than a century. Their exceptional stability and technologic characteristics made them the preferred choice for the production of several food products including margarines, bakery goods, and frying oils. Some of these highly prized characteristics were provided by the high content in trans fatty acids (TFA), defined as fatty acids...
August 21, 2020

Lynn L. Bergeson, “EPA Eyes Carpet Chemicals,” Chemical Processing, August 21, 2020.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) continues to regulate “forever chemicals,” named such for their persistence and risk to the environment and health. On July 27, 2020, the EPA issued a long-awaited final rule amending significant new use rules (SNUR) issued earlier on such chemicals — one pertinent to certain perfluoroalkyl sulfonate chemical substances and the other on long-chain perfluoroalkyl carboxylate (LCPFAC) chemical substances. To some, the final rule...
August 3, 2020

Lynn L. Bergeson, “EPA Axes Temporary Enforcement Lull,” Chemical Processing, July 22, 2020.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued in March a temporary enforcement policy relaxing certain compliance obligations because of the COVID-19 pandemic. On June 29, the agency announced an “addendum on termination” that aims to end the policy on August 31, 2020. This column discusses the termination memorandum....
July 14, 2020

Lynn L. Bergeson, Charles M. Auer, and Richard E. Engler, Ph.D., “What Lies Ahead for the Next Four Years of TSCA?,” Chemical Watch, July 14, 2020.

The Frank R Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act is four years old. While to some 22 June 2016 seems like yesterday, the past four years have been transformational. The US EPA has worked hard, been timely and done well in thoughtfully implementing the changes.  Anniversaries tend to inspire reflection on the past, and this year was no exception. The Environmental Law Institute, Bergeson & Campbell and the George Washington University Milken Institute...
June 17, 2020

Lynn L. Bergeson, “Understand Chemical Data Reporting Changes,” Chemical Processing, June 17, 2020.

Section 8 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) compels manufacturers (including importers) to provide the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with information on the production and use of chemicals in commerce. The last Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) cycle was in 2016, so TSCA stakeholders have been gearing up for this quadrennial reporting obligation in 2020. This column provides an overview of changes since 2016....
June 1, 2020

Lynn L. Bergeson, “EPA-Initiated TSCA Risk Evaluations: Who Is on the Hook for Fees Has Changed,” Washington Watch, Summer 2020.

Under the amended Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has authority to collect fees from chemical manufacturers and importers to defray a portion of the EPA costs associated with risk evaluation efforts.  The fees are quite substantial and who pays them has been the subject of considerable debate and uncertainty.  This column addresses issues that have caused confusion and anxiety for industry stakeholders regarding the...
May 13, 2020

Lynn L. Bergeson, “Compliance: Talk To Your Supply Chain,” Chemical Processing, May 13, 2020.

Much attention now focuses on COVID-19 and subsequent supply chain disruptions; here, we tackle supply chain communications and ways to optimize them. The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) requires such communications, as do evolving best business practices. Managing supply chain communications effectively, and strategically optimizing the commercial interactions and exchanges of information they elicit are essential business practices....
April 28, 2020

Lynn L. Bergeson, “Effectively Managing Supply Chain Communications Under TSCA,” Bloomberg Environment Insights, April 28, 2020.

The EPA’s amendments to the Toxic Substances Control Act reporting requirements have increased the need for chemical stakeholders to manage actively supply chain communications. Lynn L. Bergeson, owner and managing partner of Bergeson & Campbell P.C., explores the upsides to be realized through these communications and the perils of failing to seize them. Download a PDF of this article here....
March 27, 2020

Lynn L. Bergeson, “Chemical Importers are on the Hook for TSCA Risk Evaluation Fees,” Elements, the Magazine of Chemicals Northwest, Spring 2020.

Is your company potentially liable for a share of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) $1,350,000 fee for developing a Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) risk evaluation? This is a hot topic these days, given EPA’s notice dated January 27, 2020, identifying the “preliminary lists” of manufacturers, including importers, of the 20 chemical substances that EPA has designated as “high-priority” substances for risk evaluation and for which fees will be charged. Stakeholders are...
March 26, 2020

Lynn L. Bergeson and Christopher R. Blunck, “Expert Focus: What Are the Implications of the US EPA’s Expected Final Rule on Persistent, Bioaccumulative and Toxic Chemicals?,” Chemical Watch, March 26, 2020.

PBT chemicals have long been recognised to behave differently in the environment and in biological systems from non-PBT substances. The US Congress acknowledged this when amending TSCA in 2016 by crafting special provisions under the Regulation’s Section 6(h) that were uniquely applicable to PBTs. Last July, the EPA proposed a rule that would implement the section, but this caused much controversy and led to comments from, among others,...
March 20, 2020

Lynn L. Bergeson, “TSCA Fee Controversy Continues,” Chemical Processing, March 20, 2020.

In last month’s column, we reported on the January 27, 2020, notice from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) identifying the preliminary lists of manufacturers, including importers, of the 20 chemical substances the EPA designated as high-priority for risk evaluation and for which fees will be charged. The notice created a firestorm of criticism over the lack of any exemptions from being considered potentially responsible for paying a share of the EPA’s $1,350,000 fee for...
March 1, 2020

Lynn L. Bergeson, “TSCA Risk Evaluation Fees: Who Is on the Hook?,” Washington Watch, Spring 2020.

Is your company potentially liable for a share of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) $1,350,000 fee for developing a Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) risk evaluation?  It may well be.  This is a hot topic these days, given EPA’s Federal Register notice published on January 27, 2020, identifying the “preliminary lists” of manufacturers, including importers, of the 20 chemical substances that EPA has designated as “high-priority” substances for risk evaluation...
February 27, 2020

Lynn L. Bergeson, “The growing spectre of chemical product cancellations, and what to do about it,” Financier Worldwide, February 2020.

Effective 1 January 2022, household cleaning, cosmetic and personal care products containing quantities of 1,4-dioxane over specified trivial levels will be prohibited from sale in the state of New York. The law imposing these restrictions, signed by governor Andrew M. Cuomo on 9 December 2019, is intended to protect drinking water supplies from contamination by the chemical. This product ban falls on the heels of the 15 March 2019 final rule issued by the US...
February 24, 2020

Lynn L. Bergeson, “Toxic Substances: Are You On The List?,” Chemical Processing, February 24, 2020.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published on January 27, 2020, a notice identifying the preliminary lists of manufacturers (including importers) of the 20 chemical substances that the EPA designated as high-priority substances for risk evaluation and for which fees will be charged (85 Fed. Reg. 4661). The list and the EPA’s interpretation of the fee rule caught many off guard. This column explains why....
January 14, 2020

Lynn L. Bergeson, “EPA Revises “Working Approach” Document,” Chemical Processing, January 14, 2020.

On December 20, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released an updated “Working Approach” document that builds upon its November 2017 version. The EPA states that the updated version, “TSCA New Chemical Determinations: A Working Approach for Making Determinations under TSCA Section 5,” explains its approach for making affirmative determinations on new chemical notices under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). This article highlights key changes in the document....
January 3, 2020

Lynn L. Bergeson, “Risk evaluations under TSCA: The state of play,” Specialty Chemicals Magazine, December 2019/January 2020.

Among the changes when the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) was amended by the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act for the 21st Century, also known as Lautenberg or ‘new TSCA’, none is more consequential than the requirement that the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) conduct risk evaluations for ‘high priority’ chemical substances. We are now three years into new TSCA and this is being done, amid spirited debate and, inevitably, litigation....
December 31, 2019

Lynn L. Bergeson and Richard E. Engler, Ph.D., “Chemical Innovation and New TSCA: The Good, the Bad, and the Evolving,” International Chemical Regulatory and Law Review, Volume 2, Issue 4, Winter 2019.

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...
December 31, 2019

Lynn L. Bergeson, “TSCA Citizen Petitions and Risk Evaluations: Are These Critical TSCA Tools Aligned?,” Environmental Quality Management, Volume 29, Issue 2, Winter 2019.

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...
December 20, 2019

Lynn L. Bergeson, “EPA Issues New Accidental Release Rule,” Chemical Processing, December 20, 2019.

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...
October 16, 2019

Lynn L. Bergeson, “SEC Proposes Changes To Reporting Rules,” Chemical Processing, October 16, 2019.

Publicly traded companies must disclose certain legal proceedings and risk factors in registration statements and in annual and quarterly reports. These disclosures significantly help investors in assessing the financial integrity of a publicly traded company; formulating a disclosure precisely is critical to compliance, while at the same time accurately capturing the nature and extent of the potential risks. This article summarizes this Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)...
October 8, 2019

Lynn L. Bergeson, “The Growing Influence of Chemical Risk Evaluation on the M&A Market,” Financier Worldwide, October 2019.

In 2018, the global M&A market achieved a transaction volume of $4.1 trillion, the third highest year ever for M&A volumes. Divestitures, spin-offs and split-offs are essential to defining corporate identity, a key shareholder imperative. This brisk pace is expected to continue. Whatever the motivation, M&A activity demands razor-sharp due diligence. The premise of this article is that due diligence often underestimates or, worse, ignores the impact implementation of revisions to the...
October 1, 2019

Lynn L. Bergeson, “Chemical Restrictions and TSCA’s Growing Commercial Influence,” Environmental Quality Management, Volume 29, Issue 1, Fall 2019.

This past spring, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a first-ever final rule under Section 6(a) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) banning the use of methylene chloride in consumer paint and coating removal products. Although this rule was long in the making, this type of chemical ban of selected products is likely to be seen more routinely in the months and years ahead. This article reflects upon EPA’s broad authority under...
September 18, 2019

Lynn L. Bergeson, “Chemical Compliance: Court Nullifies New York Disclosure Program,” Chemical Processing, September 18, 2019.

In a significant victory for industry, on August 27, 2019, the State of New York Supreme Court invalidated the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (NYDEC) Household Cleansing Product Information Disclosure Program. The program is an example of the newest trend in state “information disclosure” programs intended to force product manufacturers to disclose the ingredients in products sold to consumers. This article discusses the program and explains why the court...
August 27, 2019

Lynn L. Bergeson, “EPA Proposes PBT Chemicals Rule,” Chemical Processing, August 27, 2019.

After many years of study, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), industry stakeholders, and the scientific community at large well know that chemicals that are persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic (PBT) behave differently in the environment and in biological systems than non-PBT chemicals. Congress acknowledged this in updating the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) in 2016 by specifying special provisions under TSCA Section 6(h) for PBT chemicals. In June of this year,...
August 23, 2019

Lynn L. Bergeson, Kathleen M. Roberts, and Richard E. Engler, Ph.D., “Protecting the Value of Health, Safety Studies—Emerging TSCA Issues,” Bloomberg Environment Insights, August 22-23, 2019.

Health and safety studies provide invaluable insights into the hazards posed by chemical substances. The cost of generating these studies is also considerable, and access to them should be commensurate with the intellectual property interests they reflect. This article explores two current challenges under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and offers practical tips for managing these issues....
July 26, 2019

Lynn L. Bergeson, “Expert Focus: TSCA and Liability under the False Claims Act – a Potentially Promising Area,” Chemical Watch, July 26, 2019.

A federal appellate court recently decided a case brought under the FCA’s reverse false claims provision premised on alleged non-compliance with a TSCA reporting obligation. Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP v. BASF Corp. As discussed in this article, while the court dismissed the case, it did so for fact-specific reasons and creative plaintiff lawyers can be expected to rely upon the FCA in the future to bring actions based on other TSCA provisions....
July 16, 2019

Lynn L. Bergeson, “USDA Enhances Biobased Procurement Program,” Chemical Processing, July 16, 2019.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) published a final rule on July 5, 2019, amending its “Guidelines for Designating Biobased Products for Federal Procurement” to include 30 more product categories for biobased products that may receive procurement preference by federal agencies and their contractors. These 30 product categories contain finished products made, in large part, from intermediate ingredients designated for federal procurement preference. This article explains why...