Responding to July 2017 and March 2018 orders issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on May 30, 2018, issued a final rule revising the Definition of Solid Waste (DSW) under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). 83 Fed. Reg. 24664. In a somewhat unusual move, EPA relied upon Section 553 of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) to make the rule immediately...
There are approximately three months until the effective date of the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) revisions to its Proposition 65 (Prop 65) Article 6 “clear and reasonable warnings” regulations. By August 30, 2018, companies must comply with the revised regulations for consumer products, occupational, and environmental exposures. Companies that have not already revised warnings to comply with the new requirements must now review their consumer...
On May 10, 2018, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced several upcoming actions on methylene chloride. Under the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, EPA is required to perform risk evaluations on the uses of ten specific chemicals, including methylene chloride. According to EPA, it is nearing completion of problem formulations for these first ten chemicals. EPA’s announcement states that it will send a final methylene chloride rule to the...
On May 7, 2018, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it is withdrawing certain proposed rules for which EPA no longer intends to issue a final rule. 83 Fed. Reg. 20004. EPA notes that its withdrawal of these proposed rules does not preclude it from initiating the same or a similar rulemaking at a future date. Withdrawing the proposed rules officially terminates the ongoing rulemaking activities, allowing EPA to close out the individual entries for...
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT or the Office) has decided to delay its pending reorganization to take and consider staff comments on the revised reorganization. The new plan proposes a six division structure that has separate new and existing chemical risk management divisions complemented by separate new and existing chemical risk assessment divisions. OPPT’s other functions are proposed to be distributed into a...
On April 30, 2018, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed the “Strengthening Transparency in Regulatory Science” (Science Rule) that EPA states is intended to “strengthen the transparency of EPA regulatory science.” 83 Fed. Reg. 18768. EPA states in the preamble that “[t]he proposed regulation provides that when EPA develops regulations, including regulations for which the public is likely to bear the cost of compliance, with regard to those scientific...
We are pleased to report that on April 20, 2018, the American Chemical Society (ACS) Green Chemistry Institute (GCI) announced the opening of the 2018 Green Chemistry Challenge Awards. Readers will recall that funding for this essential program was zeroed out in the last several budget proposals advanced by the Trump Administration. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) enacted budget apparently includes the resources to continue to support the Green Chemistry Challenge...
On April 10, 2018, Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) held a complimentary webinar, “FIFRA Hot Topics.” Co-hosted with Bloomberg BNA, the webinar featured Richard P. Keigwin, Jr., Director, Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP), Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); Daniella Taveau, former International Trade Negotiator for EPA and now Regulatory and Global Trade Strategist, King & Spalding;...
April 4, 2018
EPA Announces Earlier Compliance Date for Formaldehyde Emission Standards for Composite Wood Products
On April 4, 2018, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that the compliance date for emission standards, recordkeeping, and labeling (the manufactured-by date or import-by date) under the Formaldehyde Standards in Composite Wood Products Act (Formaldehyde Act) codified as Title VI of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) has been set for June 1, 2018, instead of December 12, 2018, per order of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of...
March 22, 2018
REACH 2018: Registrants that Initiate Laboratory Testing by March 31, 2018, May Be Granted Extension for Complete Dossier Submission
The European Chemicals Agency’s (ECHA) Directors’ Contact Group (DCG) recently posted guidance for companies that are required to register under the European Union’s (EU) Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) regulation by May 31, 2018. This guidance focuses on specific important issues for companies managing compliance under the 2018 REACH deadline, and should be read in conjunction with DCG’s “Summary Paper on [Four]...
March 19, 2018
Proposition 65: August Deadline Looming for OEHHA’s Amended Proposition 65 Clear and Reasonable Warning Requirements
There are less than five months before the effective date of the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) revisions to its Proposition 65 (Prop 65) Article 6 “clear and reasonable warnings” regulations. By August 30, 2018, companies must comply with the revised regulations for consumer product, occupational, and environmental exposures. While some companies have already revised warning requirements prior to this deadline, and an exception permits...
The South Korean Ministry of Environment (MOE) announced on March 14, 2018, that amendments to the Act for the Registration and Evaluation of Chemicals (K-REACH) will be promulgated on March 20, 2018, and be enforced beginning January 1, 2019. As reported in our January 4, 2018, “Predictions and Outlook for U.S. Federal and International Chemical Regulatory Policy 2018,” MOE proposed changes at the end of 2016 that would drastically alter the current legislation and...
On February 8, 2018, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt signed a proposed rule regarding user fees for the administration of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). As amended by the Frank Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, TSCA provides EPA the authority to levy fees on certain chemical manufacturers, including importers and processors, to “provide a sustainable source of funding to defray resources that are...
January 4, 2018
Predictions and Outlook for U.S. Federal and International Chemical Regulatory Policy 2018
Click here for a PDF brochure of the memorandum Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) and its consulting affiliate The Acta Group (Acta®) are pleased to offer you our Forecast 2018. The document distills key trends in U.S. and global chemical law and regulation, and provides a sneak preview of what our legal, scientific, and regulatory professionals believe we are likely to see in the New Year. Our unique business platform and global team of highly...
December 8, 2017
Proposition 65: OEHHA Amends Proposition 65 Regulations for Clear and Reasonable Warnings
On December 6 2017, the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) issued a notice alerting stakeholders that amendments were approved related to its August 28, 2016, adopted revisions to its Proposition 65 (Prop 65) Article 6 “clear and reasonable warnings” regulations. These amendments, first proposed on July 21, 2017, are intended to clarify and correct certain sections of Article 6 that OEHHA believed “would be beneficial to the regulated community in...
November 27, 2017
December 26, 2017, Deadline Approaching for Comments on EPA’s Proposed Reporting Requirements for TSCA Mercury Inventory
As previously reported in our blog item on October 26, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed triennial electronic reporting requirements pertinent to the supply, use, and trade of mercury in the United States. 82 Fed. Reg. 49564. This memorandum provides more information and an in-depth look into EPA’s proposed rule. The 2016 amendments to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) require EPA to establish periodic mercury reporting requirements for any...
October 30, 2017
CPSC Final Rule Prohibits Children’s Toys and Child Care Articles that Contain Specified Phthalates, Removes Interim Prohibition on Two Phthalates
On October 27, 2017, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued a final rule prohibiting children’s toys and child care articles that contain specified phthalates. The rule caps off almost a decade of effort since Congress passed the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) in 2008, which requires regulatory action on certain phthalates. Under the final rule, children’s toys and child care articles that contain concentrations of more than 0.1...
October 20, 2017
California and New York Require Manufacturers to Disclose Ingredients in Cleaning Products
On October 15, 2017, California Governor Jerry Brown (D) signed the Cleaning Product Right to Know Act of 2017 (S.B. 258). The new law requires manufacturers of cleaning products to disclose certain chemical ingredients on the product label and on the manufacturer’s website. The online disclosure requirements apply to a designated product sold in California on or after January 1, 2020. The product label disclosure requirements would apply to a designated product sold in...
October 19, 2017
Proposition 65: OEHHA Releases Q&A Regarding Proposition 65 Regulations for Clear and Reasonable Warnings
In August 2017, the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) released a Questions and Answers for Businesses (Q&A) document related to its August 28, 2016, adopted revisions to its Proposition 65 (Prop 65) Article 6 regulations covering “clear and reasonable warnings” requirements. Information related to OEHHA’s past actions modifying Prop 65 warning regulations, including the August 28, 2016, adoption and the November 27, 2015, and March 25, 2016,...
October 17, 2017
Prop 65 Amendments Now Effective Regarding Content of Notices of Violation Involving Occupational Exposures
On October 1, 2017, the California Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment’s (OEHHA) regulations amending the content required in Proposition 65 (Prop 65) Notices of Violation involving occupational exposure became effective. The regulations (found at Title 27 of the California Code of Regulations, Section 25903(b)(2)(E)), first proposed on May 19, 2017, are intended to clarify that the “Special Compliance Procedure Proof of...