Memoranda

On August 5, 2010, Senators Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), Chair of the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, and Ranking Member Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) introduced legislation that would amend the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) to clarify that Clean Water Act (CWA) permits are not required for pesticide application in accordance with FIFRA (S. 3735). The Senate legislation is prompted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) June 4, 2010, notice...

The Massachusetts Office of Technical Assistance (MOTA) will post this week a Technology Guidance Document entitled "Nanotechnology -- Considerations for Safe Development," which includes recommendations intended to enhance the safety of nanotechnology. According to MOTA, it is providing the Guidance for "the express purpose of assisting in the development of this technology, as failure to prevent exposures or releases will not just risk harm to health or the environment -- it will also impede...

Charlie Auer submitted testimony today on H.R. 5820, the Toxic Chemicals Safety Act of 2010. As many of you know, Charlie is affiliated with Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C), and we are pleased to share the copy of Charlie’s testimony for your information. The testimony Charlie prepared is offered strictly on his own behalf, and does not reflect anyone’s views other than Charlie’s. That said, given Charlie’s intimate understanding of the Toxic Substances Control Act and...

On Thursday, July 29, 2010, at 10:00 a.m. (EDT), the Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection held a legislative hearing on H.R. 5820, the Toxic Chemicals Safety Act of 2010 (TCSA). Witnesses at the hearing were (in order of testimony): Steve Owens, Assistant Administrator, Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); Richard Denison, Ph.D., Senior Scientist, Environmental Defense Fund; Calvin M. Dooley, President and Chief...

On July 22, 2010, Representatives Bobby Rush (D-IL), Chair of the Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection, and Henry Waxman (D-CA), Chair of the Energy and Commerce Committee, introduced the Toxic Chemicals Safety Act of 2010 (H.R. 5820) (TCSA), which is intended to strengthen the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). On July 27, 2010, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce issued a briefing memo announcing a Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection...

Last evening, Representatives Bobby Rush (D-IL), Chair of the Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection, and Henry Waxman (D-CA), Chair of the Energy and Commerce Committee, introduced the Toxic Chemicals Safety Act of 2010 (H.R. 5820) (TCSA), which is intended to strengthen the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The bill is different in key respects from the House Discussion Draft circulated by Representatives Rush and Waxman on April 15, 2010 -- better in some instances and...

On July 16, 2010, a three judge panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued a unanimous decision in Reckitt Benckiser v. EPA (No. 09-1314), finding that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) May 28, 2008, threat to implement its final risk mitigation decision for ten rodenticides (RMD) by enforcement actions for "misbranding" is "sufficiently final agency action ripe for review." The court states that the U.S. District Court for the...

In the July 13, 2010, Federal Register, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provides guidance on various reporting options that states and local agencies may choose in implementing Sections 311 and 312 of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act of 1986 (EPCRA). In addition, EPA also provides some new interpretations and revises some existing ones "to help facilities comply with certain of the requirements under EPCRA." The effective date of the guidance and...

On July 1, 2010, the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) released its list of "chemicals of high concern." Under the 2009 Toxic Free Kids Act, a "chemical of high concern" is a chemical "identified on the basis of credible scientific evidence by a state, federal, or international agency as being known or suspected with a high degree of probability to": Harm the normal development of a fetus or child or cause other developmental toxicity; Cause cancer, genetic damage, or reproductive harm;...

On Wednesday, June 23, 2010, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) held a public hearing on the draft National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Pesticides General Permit (PGP). This hearing, along with three previous public meetings, was held during the 45-day public comment period (through July 19, 2010) on the draft PGP for point source discharges from the application of pesticides to waters of the U.S. EPA proposed the PGP in response to the 2009 decision by the Sixth...

Lynn L. Bergeson Collaborated on the White Paper We are pleased to announce the release of the final white paper from the October 8-9, 2009, summit entitled "Environmentally Responsible Development of Nanotechnology," which was held by The Research Triangle Environmental Health Collaborative. The charge for summit attendees was to explore issues regarding potential risk across nano-enabled product lifecycles, with the goal of generating a set of recommendations for North Carolina businesses...

On June 23, 2010, Health Canada issued final regulations to set forth new "rules on how the scientific data used to support a pesticide registration is protected from reliance by another applicant or registrant." The regulations are available online. Health Canada states: "These Regulations are designed to provide a legally enforceable and fair process of pesticide data protection. They are intended to benefit pesticide users, particularly in the agricultural sector, by encouraging the...

Taiwan's Council of Labor Affairs of the Executive Yuan (CLA) has developed and released operational guidelines for nominating existing chemical substances for listing on a national Inventory. Through creation of a national Inventory, Taiwan intends to strengthen its control over the manufacture, import, and use of chemicals in Taiwan, thus improving its national chemical management. It is a preparatory process for establishing the National Existing Chemical Substance Inventory. Once completed,...

The California Department of Toxic Substances Control (CDTSC) released on June 23, 2010, the draft regulations for safer consumer product alternatives. CDTSC states that the draft regulations "would prioritize toxic chemicals and products, require manufacturers to seek safer alternatives to toxic chemicals in their products, and create tough governmental responses for lack of compliance." Under the draft regulations, CDTSC would create a list of chemicals that it deems toxic and believes could...

According to a report released today by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) faces challenges in effectively regulating nanomaterials that may be released in air, water, and waste because EPA lacks the technology to monitor and characterize these materials, or the statutes include volume-based regulatory thresholds that may be too high for effectively regulating the production and disposal of nanomaterials. In preparing its report, GAO...

On June 21, 2010, the Supreme Court issued a decision in Monsanto, et al v. Geertson Seed Farms, et al. In the 7-1 decision, the Court reversed a decision by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. The Court held that the District Court that reviewed a decision by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture abused its discretion when it issued an injunction precluding APHIS from allowing any sale or use of Roundup Ready Alfalfa (RRA), a variety of...

On June 22, 2010, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) announced that a new practical guide makes clear that inorganic substances with the same chemical composition but different crystalline forms are regarded as different substances under the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) regulation (EC No. 1907/2006). Practical guide 11: How to address specific substance identification issues (Practical Guide) is available online. The assessment of...

On June 22, 2010, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that employees at facilities regulated under Section 112(r) of the Clean Air Act (CAA) will be invited to participate in government inspections of their worksites. Interim guidance issued by EPA and referenced in its announcement states that "[e]ffective immediately, EPA staff conducting CAA section 112(r) on-site compliance evaluations should offer facility employees and employee representatives the opportunity to...

On June 18, 2010, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it has settled a lawsuit over its 2006 final rule regarding protections for subjects in human research. Under the settlement, EPA agrees to propose amendments to the rule consistent with language negotiated by the groups who challenged it -- Natural Resources Defense Council, Pesticide Action Network North America, Pineros y Campesinos Unidos Del Noroeste, Physicians for Social Responsibility, Farm Labor Organizing...

On June 11, 2010, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) announced the availability of a technical manual for including nanoforms in an International Uniform Chemical Information Database (IUCLID) dossier. The Nanomaterials in IUCLID 5.2 Industry User Manual "gives practical instruction to [Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH)] registrants on how to include information on different forms of a substance in a IUCLID 5.2 dossier." The Manual...