On November 21, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the release of the National Strategy to Prevent Plastic Pollution: Part Three of a Series on Building a Circular Economy for All. According to EPA, together with EPA’s “National Recycling Strategy” and the “National Strategy for Reducing Food Loss and Waste and Recycling Organics,” the “National Strategy to Prevent Plastic Pollution” presents opportunities for voluntary and regulatory actions by...
On November 18, 2024, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) requested comments on planned rules governing reporting and fees paid by manufacturers upon submission of required information about products containing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). MPCA notes that “[a]t this stage, we do not have a draft rule; we want your feedback to inform us about the ideas described under the Subject of Rules section.” Instead, the purpose of the current request for comments (RFC)...
On August 1, 2023, Earthjustice filed a petition under Section 21 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) asking the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish regulations prohibiting the manufacturing, processing, use, and distribution of the chemical N-(1,3-Dimethylbutyl)-N′-phenyl-p-phenylenediamine (6PPD) for and in tires. Earthjustice filed the petition on behalf of the Yurok Tribe, the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe, and the Puyallup Tribe of Indians, and EPA granted the...
On October 31, 2024, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael S. Regan signed a final rule revising the regulations for decabromodiphenyl ether (decaBDE) and phenol, isopropylated phosphate (3:1) (PIP (3:1)), two of the five persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic (PBT) chemicals addressed in final rules issued under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) in January 2021. According to the pre-publication version of the final rule (which is only available on EPA’s...
On October 9, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it has issued its fifth Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) test order requiring testing on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) under its National PFAS Testing Strategy. The order requires Innovative Chemical Technologies, The Chemours Company, Daikin America, Inc., Sumitomo Corporation of Americas, and E.I. Du Pont de Nemours and Company to conduct and submit testing on...
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed on October 8, 2024, to add 16 individual per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and 15 PFAS categories representing more than 100 individual PFAS to the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) list of toxic chemicals subject to reporting under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) and the Pollution Prevention Act (PPA) to comply with the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (NDAA). 89 Fed. Reg. 81776....
On October 5, 2024, Canada released three significant documents that move it closer to implementing the 2023 amendments to the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA). The 2023 legislation, Strengthening Environmental Protection for a Healthier Canada Act (Bill S-5), requires that decisions made under CEPA respect the right to a healthy environment. Canada has released a draft implementation framework setting out how the Minister of the Environment and the Minister of Health (the...
October 9, 2024
EPA Seeks Public Comment on Manufacture of Certain PFAS during Fluorination of HDPE and Other Plastic Containers
On September 30, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requested public comment on the manufacture of certain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), including perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), and perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA), during the fluorination of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and other plastic containers to inform regulations as appropriate under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). 89 Fed. Reg. 79581. EPA notes that this request for...
On September 26, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released the final risk evaluation for Tris(2-chloroethyl) phosphate (TCEP), a flame retardant and plasticizer. 89 Fed. Reg. 78868. EPA states that it determined that TCEP poses an unreasonable risk of injury to human health and the environment. According to EPA’s September 23, 2024, press release, TCEP “has the potential to cause kidney cancer, damage the nervous system and kidneys, and harm fertility.” EPA notes that...
The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) announced on September 3, 2024, the release of its Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Federal Research and Development Strategic Plan (Strategic Plan). Prepared by the Joint Subcommittee on Environment, Innovation, and Public Health PFAS Strategy Team (PFAS ST) of the National Science and Technology Council, the Strategic Plan provides a federal strategy and implementation plan for addressing the strategic areas identified in...