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...
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...
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,...
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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....
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...
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...
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...