Memoranda

The European Union (EU) Biocidal Products Regulation (BPR) has entered into EU law. This legislation changes the way in which biocidal active substances and biocidal products are regulated in the EU. The new EU regulatory system differs from other global regulatory systems for biocidal substances and redefines what are considered biocidal products and treated articles. Companies competing in this space must be aware of and careful to ensure that existing supply chains and biocidal product...

On September 18, 2013, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy convened a hearing on the "Regulation of Existing Chemicals and the Role of Pre-Emption under Sections 6 and 18 of the Toxic Substances Control Act." This was the Subcommittee's third hearing on Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) issues, and was intended to focus "on the existing statutory provisions, regulatory implementation, and 'real world' implications of TSCA section 6 requirements related to...

On August 28, 2013, California's Office of Administrative Law (OAL) approved the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC or Department) Safer Consumer Products Regulations (Regulations). The Regulations will take effect on October 1, 2013. The Regulations are the much anticipated regulatory implementation of California's Green Chemistry Initiative. DTSC's implementing regulations have gone through several iterations, including an initial draft released on June 23, 2010, a...

On August 6, 2013, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) signed its belated final rule establishing the 2013 renewable volume obligations (RVO) for the four fuel categories that are part of the federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) Program under the Clean Air Act (CAA): cellulosic biofuel; biomass-based diesel; advanced biofuel; and total renewable fuel. These standards apply to all gasoline and diesel produced or imported in 2013. The final rule will become effective once it is...

On July 31, 2013, the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works held a hearing on "Strengthening Public Health Protections by Addressing Toxic Chemical Threats." To date, two bills have been introduced in the Senate that would reform the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) -- the Safe Chemicals Act of 2013 (S. 696) (SCA) and the Chemical Safety Improvement Act (S. 1009) (CSIA). The late Senator Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) reintroduced the SCA on April 10, 2013, and more information...

On July 11, 2013, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy held a hearing on "Regulation of New Chemicals, Protection of Confidential Business Information, and Innovation." The Subcommittee held a June 13, 2013, oversight hearing on Title I of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The July 11, 2013, hearing was intended to provide the Subcommittee an opportunity to examine the regulatory implementation and "real world" implications of TSCA Section 5, which...

On June 14, 2013, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a proposed rule to amend the Renewable Fuel Standard. The proposal would allow use of biogas from landfills to meet the obligations imposed on refiners and importers to utilize renewable feedstocks in transportation fuels, and clarify which renewable biofuels can be categorized as cellulosic biofuels. The Renewable Fuel Standard (known as RFS2) was first promulgated in 2010. RFS2 implements requirements for the use of...

On June 19, 2013, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the availability of a fact sheet intended to provide guidance on reporting chemical substances that are or contain different isotopes of the same elements that are already on the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Inventory. Elemental isotopes have the same number of protons and therefore are the "same" element, but differ in molecular weight and possibly other properties because of a differing number of neutrons. EPA...

EPA Publishes Final EDSP Policies And Procedures And Final Second List Of Chemicals And Substances For Tier 1 Screening: On June 14, 2013, EPA published a Federal Register notice describing its final policies and procedures for requiring Tier 1 screening under the Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program (EDSP) of chemicals for which EPA may issue EDSP test orders pursuant to Section 1457 of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) and Section 408(p) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic...

Regulation (EC) No. 1223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of November 30, 2009, on Cosmetic Products will come into force on July 11, 2013, and repeals the Cosmetics Directive Regulation (Directive 76/768/EEC) provisions concerning carcinogenic, mutagenic, or toxic for reproduction (CMR) substances that have applied since December 1, 2010. The European Commission (EC) states that the Cosmetics Directive "until now ensured that products circulate freely whilst...