Memoranda

The second public meeting on the July 2, 2015, memorandum entitled "Modernizing the Regulatory System for Biotechnology Products" will be held March 9, 2016, from 9:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. (CT) in Dallas, Texas. Registration is now open. To participate in person, registration should be completed by March 4, 2016. Registration is also required to view and participate in a live streaming of the public meeting. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA),...

House Bill Would Delete International Regulatory Provisions From Clean Air Act: Stating that "this assault on our Constitution and states' rights must be stopped," Representative Scott Perry (R-PA) on February 11, 2016, introduced a bill that would deny the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) "the ability to bypass Congress and take control of every states' energy program." The Energy Sovereignty Act (H.R. 4544) seeks to do so by eliminating Section 115 of the Clean Air Act (CAA)....

On January 25, 2016, the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) announced the adoption of final regulations (Regulations) related to the development and maintenance of a website to "provide information to the public regarding exposures to listed chemicals for which warnings are being provided" under Proposition 65 (Prop 65). Final Statement of Reasons (FSOR) at 11. OEHHA states that its intent with these Regulations is to "increase the availability of...

According to a Federal Register notice published on February 5, 2016, 81 Fed. Reg. 6225, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced its intent to "prepare a programmatic environmental impact statement (EIS) in connection with potential changes to the regulations regarding the importation, interstate movement, and environmental release of certain genetically engineered [(GE)] organisms." The notice identifies "reasonable...

On January 21, 2016, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) hosted a presentation on enforcement under the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) Regulation. The topics covered included "Enforcement -- the Actors and the Activities"; "[the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) Forum for Exchange of Information on Enforcement (ECHA Forum)]'s Role and Initiatives"; "Enforcement Targeted to Importers"; and "Enforcement of [Substances of...

On January 7, 2016, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced in the Federal Register the beginning of a 45-day comment period on the peer review draft of the Guidelines for Human Exposure Assessment (draft Guidelines). According to EPA, the draft Guidelines benefit from over two decades of experience with assessments conducted by EPA programs under their respective authorities and constraints, as well as from input from external panels, including the...

On February 1, 2016, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) announced the dates and locations for the second and third public engagement sessions that will discuss the July 2, 2015, memorandum entitled "Modernizing the Regulatory System for Biotechnology Products." The second public meeting will be held on March 9, 2016, at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Region 6 office at 1445 Ross Avenue in Dallas, Texas. The third public meeting will be held...

On January 4, 2016, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a final rule amending its food additive regulations to no longer allow the use of three specific perfluoroalkyl ethyl-containing food contact substances (FCS) as oil and water repellants for paper and paperboard for use in contact with aqueous and fatty foods. All three of the FCSs contain extended perfluorinated alkyl chains greater than or equal to eight carbons in length and as such are long-chain perfluorinated...

Click here for a PDF version of the memorandum. Even if Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) legislation is not enacted, 2016 will be a momentous year. As the curtain closes on eight years of the Obama Administration, there are a number of items expected to be among the "legacy" issues in the chemical and pesticide regulation space. Enhanced protections for farmworkers, more protective assessment policies, and a re-energized toxic chemical assessment program are among the short list of notable...

This analysis reviews the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (S. 697) as passed by the Senate on December 17, 2015, and compares it to the previous version of S. 697 (identified as Lautenberg2 in this analysis), passed by the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee in June 2015. This review also briefly compares S. 697 to H.R. 2576, the [Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)] Modernization Act of 2015, which passed the House of Representatives on...