All Knowledge & Insights By Date

Lynn L. Bergeson To Present During The Agricultural Law Section Of IBA 2020’s Virtual Conference: The International Bar Association’s (IBA) 2020 Virtually Together conference, occurring November 2-27, 2020, provides an exciting new way to bring the IBA and the world’s legal community together. Lynn L. Bergeson, Managing Partner at Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®), and Vice Chair of the IBA’s Agricultural Law Section, will present during, “Opting out of climate...

This week, I sat down with Jim Aidala, Senior Government Affairs Consultant at B&C and its consulting affiliate, The Acta Group.  As a former Assistant Administrator in what is now the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, Jim has a keen sense of how EPA prepares for and transitions to changes in Administrations.  As we prepare for the November elections, we thought it would be good to check-in with Jim...

The European Commission (EC) began a public consultation on September 14, 2020, on the Inception Impact Assessment (Assessment) for a directive on the “Sustainable Products Initiative” (Initiative). According to the EC, this Initiative, which will revise the Ecodesign Directive and propose additional legislative measures as appropriate, intends to make products placed on the European Union (EU) market more sustainable. The EC states that consumers, the environment, and the climate...

On September 17, 2020, the European Alliance for Access to Safe Medicines (EAASM) announced the availability of a report entitled Patient Safety and Nanomedicines:  The need for a centralised regulatory procedure.  According to EAASM, “[n]anomedicines and their follow-on products, also referred to as nanosimilars, are complex molecules and so regulatory oversight must be scientifically fit for purpose.”  The report makes three key recommendations intended to...

The Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) issued memorandum M-20-31 on August 31, 2020, on the implementation of Section 6 of Executive Order (EO) 13924, “Executive Order on Regulatory Relief to Support Economic Recovery.” Section 6 of the EO directs the “heads of all agencies” to “consider the principles of fairness in administrative enforcement and adjudication” enumerated in the EO and to “revise their procedures...

Innovations in agricultural chemicals have revolutionized and enhanced food production, but with progress come new challenges.  Agricultural chemicals can have widespread impacts on ecosystems and human health, and marginalized communities — children and farmworkers in particular — can be especially vulnerable.  Manufacturers, regulatory agencies, public health experts, and nonprofit organizations are working to address these challenges head-on by developing new products and...

On September 24, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published the final risk evaluation for cyclic aliphatic bromide cluster (HBCD). EPA found unreasonable risks to the environment from six out of 12 conditions of use and unreasonable risks to workers and occupational non-users (ONU) from the processing, use, and disposal of HBCD, largely from building and construction materials. EPA’s website states “EPA did not find unreasonable risks to the general population or...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on September 24, 2020, the 2020 Safer Choice Partner of the Year award winners.  EPA recognized 18 Safer Choice Partner of the Year award winners across ten states and the District of Columbia for achievement in the design, manufacture, selection, and use of products with safer chemicals that furthers outstanding or innovative source reduction.  EPA states that the Safer Choice program helps consumers and purchasers for...

On September 17, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published final significant new use rules (SNUR) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for chemical substances that were the subject of premanufacture notices (PMN) and are subject to Orders issued by EPA pursuant to TSCA.  85 Fed. Reg. 57968.  The SNURs require persons who intend to manufacture (defined by statute to include import) or process any of these chemical substances for an activity that...