On June 18, 2020, the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure passed the Investing in a New Vision for the Environment and Surface Transportation (INVEST) in America Act (H.R. 2). The Committee’s June18, 2020, press release states that the INVEST in America Act marks a significant departure from previous surface transportation reauthorization bills by addressing the maintenance needs and building smarter, safer infrastructure while putting the United States on a path...
During this 90 minute Chemical Watch training webinar Richard E. Engler, Ph.D., Director of Chemistry, Bergeson & Campbell (B&C®), presented a general overview of TSCA – its legislative intent, key components, and role in the management of industrial chemicals.
July 14, 2020
EPA OIG Finds Safer Choice Program Would Benefit from Formal Goals and Additional Oversight
On June 30, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) released a report on its audit to determine whether the Safer Choice program effectively meets its goals and whether the program achieves quality standards through its product qualification, renewal, and required audit processes. OIG states that EPA’s Safer Choice program does not have formal goals included in the fiscal year (FY) 2018-2022 EPA Strategic Plan, and the program has not reported...
The Frank R Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act is four years old. While to some 22 June 2016 seems like yesterday, the past four years have been transformational. The US EPA has worked hard, been timely and done well in thoughtfully implementing the changes. Anniversaries tend to inspire reflection on the past, and this year was no exception. The Environmental Law Institute, Bergeson & Campbell and the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public...
July 14, 2020
ELI Summer School Series 2020: Law & Policy of Products Regulation, July 14, 2020, 12:00 – 2:00 pm (EDT) via webinar
The life cycle of industrial, agricultural, and antimicrobial chemical products, especially those embedded in consumer products, has gained increasing public attention. Regulators are looking at the entire product lifecycle, including post-discard of product at the end of its useful life, as well as toxicity data. Lynn L. Bergeson, Managing Partner, Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®), presented chemical product regulation matters including risk communication, minimizing...
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has begun a public consultation on a draft document entitled “EFSA Guidance on Technical Requirements for Regulated Food and Feed Product Applications to Establish the Presence of Small Particles Including Nanoparticles.” The draft Guidance sets out information requirements for applications in the regulated food and feed product areas and establishes criteria for assessing the presence of a fraction of small particles. EFSA...
July 12, 2020
EPA OIG Finds Additional Internal Controls Would Improve EPA’s System for Electronic Disclosure of Environmental Violations
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) released on June 30, 2022, a report entitled “Additional Internal Controls Would Improve the EPA’s System for Electronic Disclosure of Environmental Violations.” OIG conducted the evaluation to determine whether EPA’s process for screening self-reported violations through its electronic disclosure, or eDisclosure, system is effective and ensures that significant concerns, such as criminal conduct and...
July 10, 2020
Industry Associations Petition EPA to Develop Risk Management Procedural Rule under TSCA Section 6
On June 3, 2020, the American Coatings Association (ACA), National Association of Manufacturers, Toy Association, National Association of Home Builders, and U.S. Chamber of Commerce filed a petition under Section 21 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) requesting that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) develop a risk management procedural rule under TSCA Section 6. According to the petition, such a rule is necessary to implement the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety...
July 9, 2020
EPA Announces Research Studying the Potential Long-Lasting Effectiveness of Disinfectants against SARS-CoV-2
On July 7, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that EPA researchers are evaluating a number of commercially available products for potential long-lasting effectiveness against SARS-CoV-2, the novel human coronavirus that causes COVID-19. This research is being conducted at EPA’s Office of Research and Development's Center for Environmental Solutions and Emergency Response in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, using surfaces that mimic the high...
This week's All Things Chemical™ Podcast will be of interest to readers of the Pesticide Law & Policy Blog®. A brief description of the episode written by Lynn L. Bergeson is below. This week I sat down with James Aidala, B&C’s Senior Government Affairs Consultant, to catch up on what the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) is up to and to get a sense of what we might expect to develop over the remainder of the year. As a...