Memoranda

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has begun a public consultation on extending the UK Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) submission deadlines for transitional registrations -- the registrations under UK REACH of substances that were registered in the European Union (EU) in accordance with EU REACH on or before December 31, 2020, the end of the Brexit transition period. Defra seeks comment on two options to extend...

As reported in our May 19, 2022, memorandum, the Superfund excise tax on certain chemical substances was reinstated beginning on July 1, 2022, under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The newly reinstated tax has caught many off guard, and most subject to the tax are struggling with computing and reporting the tax. We offer some guidance below and stand ready to assist. Overview There are two separate Superfund chemical excise taxes: a tax on the sale or use of “taxable...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently released draft revisions to the risk determinations for perchloroethylene (PCE) (87 Fed. Reg. 39085), N-methylpyrrolidone (NMP) (87 Fed. Reg. 39511), methylene chloride (87 Fed. Reg. 39824), and trichloroethylene (TCE) (87 Fed. Reg. 40520). Each draft revision to the risk determinations for these chemicals reflects EPA’s announced policy changes to ensure the public is protected from unreasonable risks from chemicals in a way that is...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published on June 29, 2022, the final scope of the risk evaluation to be conducted for Asbestos Part 2: Supplemental Evaluation Including Legacy Uses and Associated Disposals of Asbestos. 87 Fed. Reg. 38746. EPA will evaluate the conditions of use (COU) of asbestos, including other types of asbestos fibers in addition to chrysotile, that EPA had excluded from Part 1 as legacy uses and associated disposals, as well as any COUs of...

On July 2, 2021, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced its modified ten-year regulatory review schedule. 86 Fed. Reg. 35239. FTC reviews its rules and industry guides on a ten-year schedule to ensure they remain relevant and not unduly burdensome. FTC publishes its review schedule each year, with adjustments made in response to public input, changes in the marketplace, and resource demands. FTC, in its discretion, may modify or reorder the schedule in the future to incorporate new...

On June 29, 2022, Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®), the Environmental Law Institute (ELI), and the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health presented “TSCA Reform -- Six Years Later.” This virtual conference marked the sixth Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Annual Conference, reflecting on the accomplishments and challenges since the implementation of the 2016 Lautenberg Amendments and where TSCA stands today. Speakers covered a variety of topics,...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on June 29, 2022, the availability of the final revision to the risk determination for the cyclic aliphatic bromide cluster (HBCD) risk evaluation issued under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). 87 Fed. Reg. 38747. The revision reflects EPA policy changes intended to ensure the public is protected from unreasonable risks from chemicals in a way that is supported by science and the law. EPA states that it determined that “HBCD,...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on June 24, 2022, that it is “conducting a broad outreach effort to describe and discuss with stakeholders how the Agency evaluates data provided for new chemicals submissions and common issues that cause EPA to have to reconduct risk assessments (‘rework’) for these submissions.” According to EPA, its goal is to reduce rework of initial risk assessments for new chemicals submissions that is caused by submitters...

On June 22, 2022, the sixth anniversary of the enactment of the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (Lautenberg Act), the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works held a hearing on “Toxic Substances Control Act Amendments Implementation.” The Committee’s only witness was Michal Freedhoff, Ph.D., Assistant Administrator, Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Freedhoff’s written testimony...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery (ORCR) published a request for information (RFI) on June 9, 2022, seeking information on the end-of-life management of batteries, including their generation, collection, recycling, and reuse, as well as the current labeling standards and requirements for batteries regarding their end-of-life. 87 Fed. Reg. 35202. According to the RFI, EPA is developing best practices with respect to the collection...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on June 6, 2022, that it issued the first in a series of Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) test orders to require companies to conduct and submit testing on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). EPA issued the order as part of its PFAS Strategic Roadmap. When EPA announced the Strategic Roadmap to confront PFAS contamination nationwide, it also released the National PFAS Testing Strategy to help identify...

The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change held a hearing on May 17, 2022, on the fiscal year (FY) 2023 budget for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies held a separate hearing on May 18, 2022. EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan was the only witness at each hearing. The hearings included questions about EPA’s implementation of the...

On November 15, 2021, President Biden signed into law the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), Public Law 117-58, 135 Stat. 429. Section 80201 of the IIJA reinstates the Superfund excise tax on certain chemical substances under Sections 4661 and 4671 of the Internal Revenue Code (Tax Code), effective July 1, 2022. Section 80201(c)(1) of the IIJA modified the method for determining whether a substance is a taxable substance by lowering the required...

As reported in our May 17, 2022, memorandum, on May 12, 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed new and amended requirements concerning the assertion and treatment of confidential business information (CBI) claims for information reported to or otherwise obtained by EPA under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). 87 Fed. Reg. 29078. The Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (Lautenberg Act) amendments to TSCA in 2016 included many new...

On May 12, 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed new and amended requirements concerning the assertion and treatment of confidential business information (CBI) claims for information reported to or otherwise obtained by EPA under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). 87 Fed. Reg. 29078. The Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (Lautenberg Act) amendments to TSCA in 2016 included many new provisions concerning the assertion, EPA review, and...

The European Commission (EC) recently opened a survey focused only on potential reforms to the authorisation and restriction provisions of the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) regulation (No. 1907/2006), as well as the extension of the Generic Risk management Approach (GRA). The EC is revising REACH to reflect the goals in its ambitious Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability (CSS). The survey supports the EC’s impact assessment for the...

On May 6, 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed reporting and recordkeeping requirements for asbestos under Section 8(a) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). 87 Fed. Reg. 27060. EPA proposes to require certain persons that manufactured (including imported) or processed asbestos and asbestos-containing articles (including as an impurity) in the four years prior to the date of publication of the final rule to report electronically certain exposure-related...

On April 29, 2022, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies held a hearing on President Biden’s fiscal year (FY) 2023 budget request for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In his written testimony, EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan notes that “[c]hemicals and toxic substances are ubiquitous in our everyday lives and are often released into the environment from their manufacture, processing use, or disposal.”...

On April 25, 2022, the European Commission (EC) published a Restrictions Roadmap under the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability (Restrictions Roadmap) that provides detailed information on all ongoing work on future restrictions under the European Union (EU) chemical legislation. The Restrictions Roadmap prioritizes group restrictions for the most harmful substances to human health and the environment, as set out in the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability (Strategy)....

On April 20-21, 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) held a virtual public meeting to provide an overview of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) New Chemicals Collaborative Research Program and give stakeholders an opportunity to provide input. As reported in our March 14, 2022, memorandum on the draft document entitled “Modernizing the Process and Bringing Innovative Science to Evaluate New Chemicals Under TSCA,” the Office of Chemical Safety and...