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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on February 12, 2020, that it is seeking public input on a proposal to incorporate a new nanosilver pesticide product into textiles to combat odors, discoloration, and other signs of wear.  The proposed registration decision is for NSPW Nanosilver, and the proposed pesticide product, Polyguard-NSPW Master Batch (Polyguard), will be incorporated into textiles to suppress bacteria, algae, fungus, mold, and mildew, which cause...

On January 27, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a notification for Project Number OA&E-FY20-0095, announcing that it will begin fieldwork to audit EPA’s adherence to pesticide registration risk assessment regulations, policies, and procedures.  In a memorandum addressed to EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP), OIG stated that its objective is to evaluate EPA’s ability...

Federal enforcement of chemical product laws is alive and well, despite a broadly held misconception to the contrary. We have seen over the past 18 months or so an uptick in federal enforcement under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). We write to alert you to this fact and focus here on TSCA enforcement, as we believe we will see this trend continue in 2020. We...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will host a conference call on February 24, 2020, from 12:30 to 1:00 p.m. (EST) to review certain provisions of the final rule on fees for the administration of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).  In light of the recent publication of the preliminary list of manufacturers/importers subject to risk evaluation fees, as reported in our January 29, 2020, blog item, EPA states that it will give a brief overview of the...

On February 8, 2018, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued the prepublication version of its long-anticipated fees rule under amended Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Section 26(b) entitled User Fees for the Administration of the Toxic Substances Control Act.  EPA states that the proposed rule will set user fees applicable to any person required to submit information to EPA under TSCA Section 4 or a notice, including an exemption or other information, to be reviewed...

The Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) announced on February 6, 2020, that the European Commission (EC) has requested scientific advice on the safety of nanomaterials in cosmetics.  The EC seeks advices on two questions: To avoid conflicting opinions with other bodies, the EC invites SCCS to consult the Scientific Committee on Health, Environmental and Emerging Risks (SCHEER)....

On February 6, 2020, comments by James V. Aidala, Senior Government Affairs Consultant with Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®), were featured in a Washington Post article about Corteva Agriscience’s decision to stop producing the pesticide chlorpyrifos. Jim Aidala, a consultant for Corteva who served as EPA’s associate administrator for pesticides and toxics under Bill Clinton, said in an interview that because the Obama administration made a decision on chlorpyrifos...

By Lynn L. Bergeson The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Pollution Prevention (P2) Grant Program has announced the availability of funds to provide technical assistance (e.g., information, training, tools) to businesses to encourage the development and implementation of source reduction practices. EPA states that source reduction practices can help businesses save money by reducing resource use, expenditures, waste, and liability costs, while at the same time reducing their...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On February 6, 2020, EPA issued its final rule setting 2020 renewable fuel percentage standards under its Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) Program. The final rule established the annual percentage standards for cellulosic biofuel, biomass-based diesel, advanced biofuel, and total renewable fuel that apply to gasoline and diesel transportation fuel produced or imported in 2020. The volume requirements set are below the statutory volume targets. In addition to the 2020 annual...