Archives

October 28, 2020

NGOs Petition EPA for TSCA Section 4 Testing of 54 PFAS

On October 14, 2020, a coalition of North Carolina non-governmental organizations (NGO) petitioned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for a Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Section 4 test rule for 54 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) manufactured by The Chemours Company (Chemours) at its chemical production facility in Fayetteville, North Carolina.  The petition, filed under TSCA Section 21, seeks issuance of a rule or order under TSCA Section 4 compelling...
June 10, 2020

OMB Begins Review of Final SNUR on LCPFAC and PFAS Chemical Substances

On June 3, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a final significant new use rule (SNUR) on long-chain perfluoroalkyl carboxylate (LCPFAC) and perfluoroalkyl sulfonate (PFAS) chemical substances.  On March 3, 2020, EPA published a proposed supplemental SNUR for LCPFAC chemical substances that would make inapplicable the exemption for persons who import a subset of LCPFAC chemical substances as part of surface...
May 29, 2020

EPA OIG Finds TSCA Consent Orders Need Better Coordination

On May 28, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a report entitled EPA Toxic Substances Control Act Consent Orders Need Better Coordination.  OIG conducted the evaluation to determine what actions EPA took to verify compliance with the requirements of the 2009 Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Premanufacture Notice Consent Order with DuPont (responsibilities transferred to The Chemours Company in 2015) to prevent the release of...
May 29, 2020

EPA OIG Finds TSCA Consent Orders Need Better Coordination

On May 28, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a report entitled EPA Toxic Substances Control Act Consent Orders Need Better Coordination.  OIG conducted the evaluation to determine what actions EPA took to verify compliance with the requirements of the 2009 Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Premanufacture Notice Consent Order with DuPont (responsibilities transferred to The Chemours Company in 2015) to prevent the release of...
May 27, 2020

EPA Announces Settlement Resolving TSCA Violations Involving PFAS

On May 20, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a press release announcing a final agreement with Swix Sport USA (Swix) resolving Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) violations associated with the importation of noncompliant ski wax products containing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).  According to the press release, Swix agrees to pay a fine and develop a $1 million educational program to raise awareness in ski communities about PFAS chemicals in...
February 19, 2020

OMB Finishes Review of Proposed SNUR on LCPFAC and PFAS Chemical Substances

As reported in our October 1, 2019, blog item, on September 25, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) submitted a proposed significant new use rule (SNUR) on long-chain perfluoroalkyl carboxylate (LCPFAC) and perfluoroalkyl sulfonate (PFAS) chemical substances to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review.  According to OMB’s website, OMB completed its review on February 14, 2020.  EPA has not yet publicly released the proposed rule. According...
February 3, 2020

EPA Seeks Participants for SBAR Panel on TSCA Reporting and Recordkeeping Rule for PFAS

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on February 2, 2022, that it is inviting small businesses, governments, and not-for-profit organizations to participate as Small Entity Representatives (SER) for a Small Business Advocacy Review (SBAR) Panel. The Panel will focus on EPA’s development of a rule that would require reporting and recordkeeping for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from certain persons who have manufactured (including imported) a PFAS in...
October 1, 2019

EPA Submits Proposed SNUR on LCPFAC and PFAS Chemical Substances to OMB for Review

On September 25, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) submitted a proposed significant new use rule (SNUR) on long-chain perfluoroalkyl carboxylate (LCPFAC) and perfluoroalkyl sulfonate (PFAS) chemical substances to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review.  The item on the rulemaking in EPA’s Spring 2019 Regulatory Agenda states that in 2015, EPA proposed amending the SNURs under Section 5(a)(2) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for LCPFAC...
May 24, 2018

Some Takeaways from EPA’s PFAS National Leadership Summit

On May 22-23, 2018, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) hosted a Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) National Leadership Summit (Summit) in Washington, D.C.  The Summit convened federal and state regulators, including representatives from EPA’s Office of Water (OW), EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), a small group of invited industry participants, and...