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March 24, 2023

EPA’s Congressional Justification for FY 2024 Budget Includes Information on Safer Choice, EPP, and Green Chemistry Programs

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has posted the justification for its fiscal year (FY) 2024 appropriation estimates for the Committee on Appropriations (Congressional Justification (CJ)). According to the CJ, work in the Pollution Prevention (P2) Program supports Objective 7.2: Promote Pollution Prevention (P2) under Goal 7: Ensure Safety of Chemicals for People and the Environment. The FY 2024 budget includes $29 million and 69.2 full-time equivalents...
March 24, 2023

EPA’s Congressional Justification for FY 2024 Budget Includes Information on Safer Choice, EPP, and

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton   The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has posted the justification for its fiscal year (FY) 2024 appropriation estimates for the Committee on Appropriations (Congressional Justification (CJ)). According to the CJ, work in the Pollution Prevention (P2) Program supports Objective 7.2: Promote Pollution Prevention (P2) under Goal 7: Ensure Safety of Chemicals for People and the Environment. The FY 2024 budget includes $29 million and 69.2...
March 20, 2023

Senate Committee Will Hold Hearing on EPA’s Proposed FY 2024 Budget

The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works will hold a hearing on March 22, 2023, on the proposed fiscal year (FY) 2024 budget for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The only listed witness is EPA Administrator Michael Regan. As reported in our March 14, 2023, blog item, the budget requests over $12 billion in discretionary budget authority for EPA, a $1.9 billion or 19 percent increase from the FY 2023 enacted level. Highlights of the FY 2024...
March 16, 2023

White House OSTP Releases State of Science Report on PFAS

The National Science and Technology Council announced on March 14, 2023, that the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) released a state of science report on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The report was prepared by the interagency PFAS Strategy Team created by OSTP at the direction of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2021. It provides an analysis of the state of the science of PFAS and information that will...
March 14, 2023

President Biden’s FY 2024 Budget Includes Additional Funding for TSCA and Funding to Address PFAS Pollution

On March 9, 2023, President Biden released his fiscal year (FY) 2024 budget. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) March 9, 2023, press release, the budget requests over $12 billion in discretionary budget authority for EPA in FY 2024, a $1.9 billion or 19 percent increase from the FY 2023 enacted level. Highlights of the FY 2024 budget include: EPA states that it will release the full Congressional Justification and Budget in Brief materials...
March 7, 2023

EPA’s OECA Will Hold Listening Sessions on Potential CERCLA Enforcement Discretion Policy for Addressing PFAS Contamination at Superfund Sites

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on March 2, 2023, that the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) will hold two public listening sessions to receive individual input related to concerns about potential liability under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). According to EPA, it will review and consider the input received in drafting a “CERCLA per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)...
February 23, 2023

Will PFAS Be the End of “Natural” Product Claims?

On January 27, 2023, plaintiffs in the Southern District of New York announced their displeasure with the inconvenient fact that Tom’s Wicked Fresh! mouthwash contains measurable concentrations of PFAS. They channeled their displeasure by bringing a class action suit against Colgate-Palmolive Company and Tom’s of Maine, Inc. for fraud and unjust enrichment based on several state consumer protection laws, the federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, and common law tort. Plaintiffs assert...
February 22, 2023

EPA Will Hold Regional PFAS Community Engagement Sessions in February and March 2023

As reported in our October 19, 2021, memorandum, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published the PFAS Strategic Roadmap in October 2021, “laying out a whole-of-agency approach” to addressing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). As part of the Roadmap, EPA committed to engage with communities in each EPA region to understand better their experiences and challenges in addressing PFAS contamination. To help inform EPA’s ongoing work under the Roadmap, EPA...
February 21, 2023

EPA Seeks Experts to Serve on BOSC Panel to Review Documents Concerning New EPA Transcriptomic Assessment Product

On February 15, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requested nominations for technical experts to serve as Special Government Employees (SGE) on a review panel under the authority of the Board of Scientific Counselors (BOSC), a federal advisory committee to the Office of Research and Development (ORD). 88 Fed. Reg. 9880. EPA states that selected experts will review ORD’s draft documents detailing scientific studies supporting the development of transcriptomic-based...
January 13, 2023

EPA Adds Nine Chemicals and Removes One PFAS from Safer Chemical Ingredients List

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on January 12, 2023, that it is updating the Safer Chemical Ingredients List (SCIL), “a living list of chemicals organized by functional-use class that EPA’s Safer Choice program has evaluated and determined meet Safer Choice criteria.” EPA is adding nine chemicals to the SCIL. EPA states that to expand the number of chemicals and functional-use categories on the SCIL, it encourages manufacturers to submit their safer...