All Knowledge & Insights By Date

On April 11, 2025, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) published a request for information to solicit ideas for deregulation. 90 Fed. Reg. 15481. OMB seeks proposals to rescind or replace regulations “that stifle American businesses and American ingenuity,” including regulations “that are unnecessary, unlawful, unduly burdensome, or unsound.” According to the notice, “comments should address the background of the rule and the reasons for the proposed rescission, with particular...

On April 8, 2025, New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) signed the Per- and Poly-Fluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Protection Act (HB 212). Like Minnesota and Maine, New Mexico will begin phasing out certain consumer products containing intentionally added PFAS, defining PFAS as “a substance in a class of fluorinated organic chemicals containing at least one fully fluorinated carbon atom.” In 2032, New Mexico will prohibit products containing intentionally added PFAS unless the use of...

As reported in our April 1, 2025, blog item, the Maine Board of Environmental Protection (MBEP) was scheduled to consider the Maine Department of Environmental Protection’s (MDEP) December 2024 proposed rule regarding products containing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) during its April 7, 2025, meeting. As reported in our December 31, 2024, memorandum, on December 20, 2024, MDEP published a proposed rule that would establish criteria for currently unavoidable uses (CUU) of...

Congress has approximately one month to use the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to undo qualifying Biden Administration-issued regulations. According to an updated analysis by Bloomberg Government, the estimated period to expedite repeal of Biden Administration rules ends May 8, 2025. This gives Congress approximately four weeks to act on the dozens of pending CRA bills. President Trump’s focus on overturning Biden Administration regulations through the CRA has taken a back seat of late to...

This week I had the pleasure of speaking with Melissa Owen, attorney/owner of Ambiente Legal, about the significant regulatory developments regarding chemical registration in Latin America, including Latin American Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) initiatives and the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS). We discuss Brazil REACH, which requires by law the government to have an implementing regulation issued...

On April 3, 2024, the European Commission’s (EC) Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) began a public consultation on its preliminary opinion on the safety of hydroxyapatite (nano) in oral products. The EC asked SCCS if it considers hydroxyapatite (nano) safe when used in toothpaste up to a maximum concentration of 29.5 percent and in mouthwash up to a maximum concentration of ten percent according to the specifications as reported in the submission, taking into...

On April 3, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced changes on how the data matrix form (EPA Form 8570-35) is submitted to EPA, stating this change is an improvement to simplify the process for how companies submit data to EPA as part of a pesticide registration package. EPA states these improvements also will make EPA’s processing of this information more efficient. Companies are required to submit a data matrix form when their pesticide...

On March 24, 2025, NSF announced the release of NSF Certification Guideline 537: PFAS-Free Products for Nonfood Compounds and Food Equipment Materials (NSF 537). The press release states that to be certified, nonfood compound products “must first be registered under NSF’s Nonfood Compounds Guidelines or certified by NSF to ISO 21469, Safety of Machinery, Lubricants with Incidental Product Contact-Hygiene Requirements.” According to the press release, food equipment materials “must be...

On March 31, 2025, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that it will release obligated funding under the Higher Blends Infrastructure Incentive Program (HBIIP) for 543 projects totaling $537 million in 29 states. According to the press release, USDA is “aggressively exploring additional ways to unleash American energy and incentivize the production and use of homegrown U.S. biofuels, including working alongside the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop Renewable...

Recent press reports tell of rumors of impactful (some fear catastrophic) budget cuts to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Politically, priority on reducing EPA’s climate programs, along with budget and personnel cuts, are not surprising given the election results. Recent rumors include chatter that the EPA Office of Research and Development (ORD) might be eliminated and/or its staff redistributed, with a specific target on the back of ORD’s Integrated Risk Information System...