On April 10, 2013, the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) released what many believe to be the last revisions to the proposed Safer Consumer Products Regulations (Revised Proposed Regulations). The Revised Proposed Regulations are subject to a 15-day comment period, ending April 25, 2013. Memoranda providing background information are available online. The Revised Proposed Regulations are available online. In summary, DTSC has not made many significant...
On April 10, 2013, Senator Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) reintroduced the Safe Chemicals Act (S. 696), which would reform the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and is identical to legislation (S. 847) reported favorably out of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee on a party-line vote in the 112th Congress. In his April 10, 2013, press release, Senator Lautenberg states that, compared to earlier versions of the legislation, the Safe Chemicals Act of...
On March 27, 2013, as part of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Work Plan, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it will begin assessments on 23 chemicals, with a specific focus on flame retardant chemicals. According to EPA’s press release, EPA will evaluate 20 flame retardant chemicals, conducting full risk assessments for four of the flame retardants, three of which are on the TSCA Work Plan, and one of which was the...
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT) convened an in-person and on-line public forum today to discuss OPPT’s ongoing efforts to develop an interactive public website. The website would integrate a wide range of chemical data collected and EPA assessments conducted under Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) programs, as supplemented by additional EPA resources such as the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) and the Toxics...
Rosemarie Kelley, Director, Waste and Chemical Enforcement Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, announced during a recent industry meeting that one of EPA’s enforcement priorities will be to look at how manufacturers are naming and listing fractions of existing chemicals for Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Inventory purposes. Kelley stated that fractions or “slices” of existing substances could be new...
On March 5, 2013, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published in the Federal Register an important final rule certifying additional fuel pathways that meet the biomass-based diesel, advanced biofuel, or cellulosic biofuel lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction requirements under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) Program. The final rule describes EPA’s evaluation of advanced biofuels produced from camelina (Camelina sativa) oil and energy cane plants, includes an...
On February 25, 2013, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published proposed significant new use rules (SNUR) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for 37 chemical substances that were the subject of premanufacture notices (PMN). In addition, 17 of the chemical substances are subject to TSCA Section 5(e) consent orders issued by EPA. If issued in final, the SNURs would require persons who intend to manufacture, import, or process the chemical substances for an...
February 25, 2013
Court of Appeals Issues Landmark Ruling Vacating Biological Opinion Concerning Effects of Three Pesticides on Salmon Species
On February 21, 2013, a three judge panel of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a unanimous landmark decision in Dow Agrosciences v. National Marine Fisheries Service setting aside a Biological Opinion (BiOp) prepared by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) that found that use of the pesticides chlorpyrifos, diazinon, and malathion could jeopardize the viability of certain species of salmon and their habitat. The decision will have significant implications for the...
February 21, 2013
EPA Issues ICR Concerning Health Effects Research Requirements for Manufacturers of Fuels and Fuel Additives
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published in the February 20, 2013, Federal Register a notice announcing its intent to extend an Information Collection Request (ICR) concerning “Registration of Fuels and Fuel Additives — Health-Effects Research Requirements for Manufacturers.” Manufacturers (including importers) of fuels and additives designated by EPA, including motor-vehicle gasoline, motor-vehicle diesel fuel, and additives for those fuels, are...
Warm spring-like weather welcomed participants to the 4th Annual Next Generation Bio-Based Chemicals Summit at the Hilton San Diego/Del Mar. As a Platinum Sponsor of this premier event, Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C) professionals participated in four major events at the Summit. Attendees from many countries enjoyed the opportunity to become updated on the latest technologies and business developments in a well-organized program consisting of two days of concurrent pre-summit...