Among its other requirements and authorities, Section 5 of new TSCA generally requires that a company timely submit to EPA a notice of its intent to manufacture or process a new chemical or significant new use (NC/SNU). EPA is then required to conduct a review of the Section 5(a)(1) notice and make a determination on the NC/SNU and take required additional actions. Questions have been raised as to whether the review period is fixed and requires that EPA determinations and actions be completed within that period, or if the statute can be read to permit a more flexible review period along the lines of how it was interpreted and applied in old TSCA with the use of voluntary suspensions. This article analyzes that question.

On September 2, 2016, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released additional guidance on its implementation of the new Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) in the form of additional questions and answers (Q&As). This column explains the significance of this guidance.

On June 22, 2016, President Obama signed into law the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, ushering in a significantly enhanced, and effective immediately, chemical management law. (See “Grasp the Gravity of the New TSCA.")

The EPA has wasted no time in beginning the challenging process of implementing the law. This first step consists of preparing rulemakings and issuing guidance documents in the form of useful Q&As on a variety of topics.

It is the author’s view that the central failing of old TSCA was its inability to produce the testing needed by EPA to assess and understand the hazards, exposures, and risks of existing chemicals. New TSCA makes important changes to the authority available to EPA to compel industry to generate the information needed by EPA to meet the purposes articulated under the new law. This paper briefly reviews the issues and problems that EPA encountered in using old TSCA for this purpose, discusses the improvements in new TSCA, and discusses why the author believes they offer the potential of future success in the testing area.

The Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, P.L. 114-182, significantly amends the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The Act was signed into law by President Obama on June 22, 2016. The date of signature is both the date of enactment and of entry into force of amended TSCA. New TSCA fundamentally changes the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) approach to evaluating and managing industrial chemicals, including genetically engineered microorganisms. The body of changes, the careful balancing of countless competing needs and interests, and artful drafting yield a statute that has been greatly strengthened and addresses virtually all of the deficiencies that have impeded TSCA's effectiveness over the years.  The changes are consequential, and stakeholders in the industrial biotechnology community could be greatly impacted by them, depending upon how EPA interprets and discharges its new authorities. This article highlights key changes of which stakeholders should be aware, sets forth the law's schedule by which EPA is to implement the changes, and identifies opportunities for stakeholders to engage in rulemaking or other activities to help influence the implementation process to ensure that it is firmly rooted in a clear understanding of the science, and of the risks and benefits offered by products of industrial biotechnology.

The Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act significantly amends the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), particularly with regard to Section 8 record keeping and reporting obligations. This article highlights a number of important changes and deadlines of which companies subject to TSCA should be aware.

The Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act makes seismic changes in domestic industrial chemical management. If you think the extensive revisions to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) enacted on June 22, 2016, don’t impact your business, think again. TSCA reform affects virtually every domestic business sector involving chemicals and manufactured goods containing chemicals, and will continue to do so for years to come.

In-house counsel unfamiliar with the tsunami-like changes in domestic chemical management headed our way soon may wish to read this article. If you think for a second that the extensive revisions to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) expected to be enacted imminently do not impact your legal practice or your client’s business operations, think again. TSCA reform impacts virtually every business sector in the United States, and will continue to do so for years to come. Here are the reasons why you should care.

Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) reform has been a “work in progress” for years. House and Senate passage in 2015 of substantive TSCA reform measures considerably improved the odds that Congress would enact TSCA-reform legislation in 2016. Recent events suggest otherwise, however, and as of this writing in mid-March the fate of TSCA reform remains decidedly uncertain. Momentum has dissipated as a dithering House has been slow to engage with Senate counterparts to reconcile the different approaches contemplated under each bill. The surprisingly harsh Republican response to Associate Supreme Court Justice Scalia’s untimely demise has hardened the partisan divide that threatens to tank Congressional action on any important initiative, let alone legislation as significant and potentially divisive as TSCA reform. It is hoped that cooler heads will prevail and leverage the hard work and momentum that has brought us to this momentous place in history. This Commentary provides an update on the current state of TSCA reform efforts.

Competing proposals are working their way through the House and Senate to amend the Toxic Substances Control Act, the nation’s primary law for managing chemicals in commerce. In this article, former senior Environmental Protection Agency officials Charles Auer and James Aidala and attorney Lynn Bergeson discuss making the bill clearer and how congressional direction can be provided on what EPA is to do with certain new provisions to implement them in the first years of any amended TSCA.

Imagine receiving a certified letter from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announcing that it plans to conduct an audit of your company’s facility in two weeks. The audit will focus on your company’s compliance obligations as a chemical manufacturer under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Would you be prepared or are you unsure of what TSCA is and whether it applies to you? This article explains how TSCA applies to biobased chemicals and how nomenclature and chemical identity can impact commercialization.

On April 28, 2015, the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works held a hearing to consider the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (S. 697). Since then, S. 697 has gained additional backing from both Republicans and Democrats. These events are important because they demonstrate significant bipartisan support for reform of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), and suggest TSCA reform actually may be in our future.

Reform of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) may be a little closer to reality since Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL), Chair of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy, released on February 27, 2014, a much anticipated discussion draft that would update TSCA. The Chemicals in Commerce Act (CICA) keys off of Senate Bill (S.) 1009, the Chemical Safety Improvement Act (CSIA), which was introduced on May 22, 2013, by late Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Sen. David Vitter (R-LA). Under Shimkus’s leadership, the Subcommittee has held five hearings that reviewed core sections of Title I of TSCA and the proposed Senate amendments to those sections. This column provides an overview of the discussion draft of the new, not-yet-numbered House bill, the CICA, and compares its key provisions with the Senate’s approach to TSCA reform under S. 1009.

Whatever window of opportunity exists to reform the Toxic Substances Control Act is closing. This is not only because the mid-term elections are fast approaching, or that there are too few legislative days left this session, or even that Congress is polarized and achieving passage of complicated chemical legislation seems intuitively beyond reach. It is also because of the emergence of international and state chemical management frameworks. This article is from the Environmental Law Institute’s May/June 2014 issue of ELI Forum titled “TSCA Redux: Rejuvenating a Timeworn Statute.” The publication features articles from authors representing a variety of viewpoints on the issue including Lynn L. Bergeson, Managing Partner of Bergeson & Campbell, P.C.; Richard A. Denison, Lead Scientist, Environmental Defense Fund; Kathy Kinsey, Deputy Secretary for Regulatory Programs and Operations, Maryland Department of the Environment; Ann R. Klee, Vice President, Environment, Health & Safety, General Electric; John Shimkus, Chair, House Environment & the Economy Subcommittee; and Tom Udall, Chair, Senate Subcommittee on Superfund, Toxics, and Environmental Health. Visit www.eli.org for more information.

Reform of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) is a little closer to happening since Representative John Shimkus (R-IL), chair of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy, released on February 27, 2014, a discussion draft updating the TSCA. The Chemicals in Commerce Act (CICA) keys off S. 1009, the Chemical Safety Improvement Act (CSIA), which was introduced last May by the late Senator Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Senator David Vitter (R-LA). This column highlights provisions in the discussion draft.

We offer our thoughts on what may be headed our way in 2012 with regard to reform of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and chemical management initiatives from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP).

On April 14, 2011, Senator Lautenberg (D-NJ) introduced the Safe Chemicals Act of 2011 (S. 847) to modernize the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Lautenberg initiated similar legislation, S. 3209, in the 111th Congress. Below is a summary of key differences between Lautenberg's S. 847 and S. 3209.

On April 14, 2011, Senator Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) introduced the Safe Chemicals Act of 2011. The bill is intended to amend and modernize the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to require chemical companies to demonstrate the safety of industrial chemicals and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to evaluate safety based on the best available science. The bill is co-sponsored by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Charles Schumer (D-NY), and Barbara Boxer (D-CA).