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On July 28, 2016, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed changes to the existing regulations governing significant new uses of chemical substances under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to align these regulations with revisions to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Hazard Communications Standard (HCS), as well as changes to the OSHA Respiratory Protection Standard and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) respirator...

On July 15, 2016, Environmental Leader published "What Does the Loss of 'Green Chemistry' Provision from Amended TSCA Mean for Biochemicals?," featuring comments by Lynn L. Bergeson, Managing Partner of Biobased and Renewable Products Advocacy Group (BRAG®) affiliate Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®). Ms. Bergeson expanded on a previous blog post titled "Inside EPA Reports On Loss Of Green Chemistry Provision From TSCA Reform," stating: "While...

The House’s Office of the Law Revision Counsel has posted the U.S. Code version of the Toxic Substances Control Act, as revised by the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st  Century Act, Public Law No. 114-182.  The U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) has not yet posted the official version of the public law, but is expected to soon.  The GPO version of the public law will be available at https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/.

On July 1, 2016, Inside EPA published "Committee Jurisdiction Issues Blocked Green Chemistry From TSCA Reform," an article discussing the passage of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) law and the lack of language from previous versions boosting federal support of green chemistry. The majority of the bill was reviewed by the House Energy and Commerce Committee, but the green chemistry provision would have needed to be reviewed by the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee,...

An Environmental Law Institute Seminar and Webinar, Complimentary for members, $50 for non-members. On June 22, 2016 President Obama signed the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, amending the Toxic Substances Control Act for the first time since its passage in 1976. While environmental organizations, public health advocates, the regulated community, and EPA have all supported updating the law since at least 2009, political challenges seemed destined to prevent...

On July 1, 2016, Inside EPA published "Committee Jurisdiction Issues Blocked Green Chemistry From TSCA Reform," an article discussing the passage of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) law and the lack of language from previous versions boosting federal support of green chemistry. The majority of the bill was reviewed by the House Energy and Commerce Committee, but the green chemistry provision would have needed to be reviewed by the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee,...

On June 22, 2016, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rolled out its new Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act Frequent Questions webpage.  This webpage will be a resource for Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) reform-related updates and implementation plans.  EPA has also posted a summary of key provisions, its six essential principles for reform of chemicals management legislation, the presentation from its informational webinar on June 30,...

On June 30, 2016, from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. (EDT), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) hosted an informational webinar on the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, Public Law No. 114-182.  A link to the presentation is available online. The topics from the webinar included: Major Improvements over Current Law; Specific Requirements for Existing Chemicals; Testing Authority; Confidential Business Information; Source of Funding; and...

On June 22, 2016, President Obama signed H.R. 2576, the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (Lautenberg) during a signing ceremony. Lautenberg represents years of negotiation and is a towering achievement to enhance the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) authority to review industrial and consumer chemicals and provide the public with confidence that chemical products do not pose unreasonable risks. Of particular interest to biobased chemical manufacturers...

In a June 22, 2016, blog post on The Hill's Congress Blog, Lynn L. Bergeson laid out four reasons why the American public has reason to celebrate the signing into law of the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, “a comprehensive and vastly improved domestic chemical management law”: Reformed Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) strikes the requisite balance between Congressional specificity and Agency discretion. Reformed TSCA addresses the law’s most...