A trio of recent internal U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) memoranda are providing insight into how EPA intends to implement President Trump’s review and potential pogrom of EPA regulations. Virtually no program or regulation appears to be secure from the chopping block. Many stakeholders in industry and other sectors may be alarmed to see programs that are of benefit to them assigned a slot in the guillotine. Supporters of these programs, thus, would be wise...
On March 29, 2017, U.S. Environment Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Pruitt signed an order denying the September 2007 petition of the Pesticide Action Network North America (PANNA) and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) requesting that EPA revoke all tolerances and cancel all registrations for the pesticide chlorpyrifos. This is the latest EPA action in a long and contentious battle concerning chlorpyrifos tolerances and registrations, and is likely not the end of this...
On March 9, 2017, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (National Academies) published a report entitled Preparing for Future Products of Biotechnology, prepared by the Committee on Future Biotechnology Products and Opportunities to Enhance Capabilities of the Biotechnology Regulatory System (Committee). Lynn L. Bergeson, Managing Partner of Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®), was an external contributor to the Committee’s deliberations and presented...
President Trump’s February 28, 2017, Executive Order (E.O.) directing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) to rescind and replace the Clean Water Rule (CWR) is the latest development in the attempt to resolve the long-standing question of which surface waters and wetlands may be federally regulated and subjected to permitting under the Clean Water Act (CWA). In the decade since the U.S. Supreme Court issued its fractured opinion...
EPA Updates RCRA Public Participation Manual: For the first time in 20 years, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has revised its Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Public Participation Manual. The revised document, issued by EPA in January 2017, replaces the 1996 version. EPA has updated the document to reflect current regulations, policies, and practices. It also presents new information about technical assistance, environmental justice, social media, and other...
Representative Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) on February 1, 2017, introduced a resolution (H.J. Res. 59) under the CRA to repeal the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) final rule revising its Risk Management Plan (RMP) program. EPA promulgated the final RMP rule on January 13, 2017, in response to Executive Order 13650, which required EPA and other federal agencies to improve chemical facility safety and security. 82 Fed. Reg. 4594. The CRA allows Congress to pass disapproval...
January 26, 2017
TSCA: EPA Issues Interpretation of Statutory Requirements for Substantiation of CBI Claims under TSCA
On January 19, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued an interpretation of Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Section 14 concerning substantiation of confidential business information (CBI) claims for information submitted to EPA. 82 Fed. Reg. 6522. Under the interpretation, EPA expresses its view that new TSCA requires substantiation of all non-exempt CBI claims at the time the information claimed as confidential is submitted to EPA. In the notice, EPA...
On January 19, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed a process for conducting risk evaluations to determine whether a chemical substance presents an unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment, including an unreasonable risk to a potentially exposed or susceptible subpopulation, under the conditions of use. 82 Fed, Reg. 7562. The process would not consider costs or other non-risk factors. Risk evaluation is the second step, after prioritization, in a new...
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed on January 17, 2017, procedures to establish the risk-based screening process and criteria that EPA will use to identify chemical substances under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) as either High-Priority Substances for risk evaluation, or Low-Priority Substances for which risk evaluations are not warranted at the time. 82 Fed. Reg. 4825. The proposed rule describes the processes for identifying potential candidates for...
On January 13, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a proposed rule that would require an electronic notification for chemical substances listed on the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Inventory that were manufactured (including imported) for non-exempt commercial purposes during the ten-year time period ending on June 21, 2016. 82 Fed. Reg. 4255. EPA would also accept such notices for chemical substances that were processed. The recent TSCA amendments require EPA to...