September 12, 2017

Revised Data Requirements for China New Chemical Notification Released

The Ministry of Environmental Protection of China (MEP) released on August 31, 2017, the Amendment on Data Requirements to the “Guidance for New Chemical Substance Notification and Registration.”  The revisions are expected to become effective on October 15, 2017.  As explained below, the new requirements reduce the data requirements for registration of low tonnage bands, particularly for the Level 1 regular registration but, as the amendment is in abbreviated table...
September 5, 2017

The September 19th CBI Substantiation Deadline Fast Approaching

As Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) aficionados know well, September 19, 2017, is a banner date.  By then, information that was submitted and claimed as Confidential Business Information (CBI) between June 22, 2016, and March 21, 2017, must be substantiated.  If you have not already done so, the September 19th deadline looms large. Background On January 19, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued an interpretation of TSCA Section 14 concerning...
August 14, 2017

Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. Forms “TSCA New Chemicals Coalition”

TSCA New Chemicals Coalition will give the chemical community greater opportunity to engage with EPA on constructive, helpful, and informed improvements to the new chemicals review process. JOIN NOW BACKGROUND Section 5 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) addresses new chemical notifications and, as such, is chemical innovation’s regulatory gatekeeper.  The Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (Lautenberg) amended Section 5.  The U.S. Environmental...
August 3, 2017

EPA Seeks Comment on Nominations to “Augmented” Science Advisory Committee on Chemicals

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a Federal Register notice on August 3, 2017, providing the names and affiliations of additional candidates currently under consideration for appointment to the Science Advisory Committee on Chemicals (SACC). The notice states that the purpose of the SACC is to provide independent advice and expert consultation at the request of the EPA Administrator with respect to the scientific and technical aspects of risk assessments,...
July 27, 2017

Bergeson & Campbell, P.C.’s Comments on New Category Documents under the New Chemicals Program

Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) appreciates the efforts being made by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to upgrade and update several of the category documents in the New Chemicals Program, encourage EPA’s continued activity in this area, and encourage EPA to engage in a broader effort to solicit public comments.  We recognize the critical role that the new chemicals categories have played in the implementation of the New Chemicals Program.  Over time, however, we...
July 18, 2017

Court Tosses RCRA Verified Recycler Exclusion but Retains Balance of Definition of Solid Waste Rule

On July 7, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit found “unreasonable,” and thus threw out, the “verified recycler” exclusion promulgated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in its 2015 revisions to the definition of solid waste under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).  The court reinstated the “transfer-based” exclusion promulgated by EPA under the Bush Administration.  In the case, American Petroleum Institute v....
July 3, 2017

RCRA Hazardous Waste Generator Improvements Rule Becomes Effective

On May 30, 2017, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Hazardous Waste Generator Improvements Rule became effective. 81 Fed. Reg. 85732 (Nov. 28, 2016). The rule will not become effective in RCRA-authorized states, however, until the states adopt the provisions and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approves those state programs that adopt the rule. Please see our Monthly Update for December 2016 for additional detail on the rule. The potential scope of the...
June 28, 2017

Brazil Inches Forward On Industrial Chemicals Regulation Implementation

The Acta Group (Acta®) has been closely tracking the development of Brazil’s Industrial Chemicals Regulation (Regulação de Substâncias Químicas Industriais, or Regulação), which still only exists in draft form. As discussed in our Global Regulatory Update for June 2017, “on May 22, 2017, it was announced that, due to changes inside the Brazilian Ministry of Environment (Ministério do Meio Ambiente, or MMA), the extraordinary meetings of the National Commission of...
June 26, 2017

EPA Issues Final TSCA Framework Rules

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released on June 22, 2017, the pre-publication Federal Register notices of the final framework actions under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), as revised by the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (new TSCA). The final rules include the prioritization process rule, which establishes EPA’s process and criteria for identifying High-Priority chemicals for risk evaluation and Low-Priority chemicals for which...
June 20, 2017

Minamata Convention on Mercury Achieves Ratification: International Use and Mining of Mercury Targeted for Scale Down

The Minamata Convention on Mercury (Convention), a global treaty aimed at scaling down mercury use and production developed by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), recently surpassed the 50-country threshold required for it to become legally binding for all of its parties.  This occurred on May 18, 2017, when the European Union (EU) and seven of its member states (Bulgaria, Denmark, Hungary, Malta, the Netherlands, Romania, and Sweden) ratified the Convention.  The...
June 7, 2017

President’s FY18 Budget Proposes Historic Cuts to EPA Funding and Staffing

On May 23, 2017, the White House unveiled the full version of President Trump’s proposed budget for fiscal year (FY) 2018 entitled “A New Foundation for American Greatness.”  As signaled in the President’s “skinny budget” released earlier this year, the proposed budget would fund the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) at $5.7 billion — a more than 30 percent decrease from the current funding of nearly eight billion.  EPA’s congressionally enacted budget has...
June 6, 2017

Preparing for the Inventory Reset: It Is Not That Easy

With the recent release of the 2016 Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) dataset and the initial interim list of active substances released with the February 2017 copy of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Inventory (Inventory), the magnitude of effort that will be needed for the Section 8(b)(4) Inventory Reset is becoming clear.  Stakeholders should waste no time in preparing to meet their obligations. Non-confidential Portion of the Inventory Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®)...
June 5, 2017

Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. Suggests New Approaches to EPA in Managing New Chemical Polymers

One of the consequences of the new Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) is the need for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to review and make determinations under Section 5(a)(3)(B) on premanufacture notification (PMN) chemicals submitted to EPA, and then to take required actions.  These requirements raise particular and sometimes challenging issues for new chemical polymers because the way polymers are identified allows for multiple different forms of the polymer to be...
May 31, 2017

Appellate Court Vacates Conditional Nanosilver Registration

On May 30, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit responded to two petitions for review of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) conditional registration of a nanosilver pesticide product and vacated the conditional registration. NRDC v. EPA, No. 15-72308. The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) as well as the Center for Food Safety (CFS) and the International Center for Technology Assessment (ICTA) filed petitions in 2015 asking the court to set aside...
May 16, 2017

EPA Seeks Comment on Draft Guidance for Nanoscale Materials Reporting Rule

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a Federal Register notice on May 16, 2017, announcing the availability of and requesting public comment on a draft guidance document entitled “Guidance on EPA’s Section 8(a) Information Gathering Rule on Nanomaterials in Commerce.” The promised guidance provides answers to questions EPA has received from manufacturers (includes importers) and processors of certain chemical substances when they are manufactured or processed...
May 8, 2017

EPA to Host Meeting and Solicit Comments on Assignment and Application of Unique Identifiers under TSCA Section 14

On May 8, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued in the Federal Register a notification stating that a public meeting will be held to elicit public input on approaches for assigning and applying Unique Identifiers (UID) that are now required whenever it approves a Confidential Business Information (CBI) claim for the specific chemical identity of a chemical substance.  82 Fed. Reg. 21386.  The meeting will be held on May 24, 2017, from 1:00 p.m. to...
April 30, 2017

Senate Bill Seeks To Make America 100 Percent Clean Energy By 2050

On April 27, 2017, Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Edward J. Markey (D-MA) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) introduced legislation that would transition the U.S to 100 percent clean energy by the year 2050. The bill is the first introduced in Congress that fully envisions a transition off of fossil fuels for the U.S. The 100 By ’50 Act (S. 967) bill has seven core components:...
April 26, 2017

Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP): Take Advantage of This Regulatory Reform Advocacy Opportunity

On February 24, 2017, President Trump issued Executive Order (EO) 13777, “Enforcing the Regulatory Reform Agenda.” Issuance of the EO, and the subsequent measures undertaken by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt offer unique opportunities for chemical stakeholders.  This memorandum summarizes EPA’s efforts to date in this regard, and identifies opportunities that stakeholders may wish to pursue to eliminate or amend regulatory...