All Knowledge & Insights By Date

On February 9, 2017, Inside EPA quoted Acta affiliate Bergeson & Campbell P.C.’s (B&C®) memorandum, “TSCA: EPA Releases Proposed Chemical Risk Evaluation Process under New TSCA,” regarding how a weight of evidence (WoE) approach would impact U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) risk evaluations. And a Jan. 19 Bergeson & Campbell memorandum on the proposal says that while the preamble contains language leading toward codifying an effective WoE approach,...

EPA Updates RCRA Public Participation Manual: For the first time in 20 years, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has revised its Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Public Participation Manual. The revised document, issued by EPA in January 2017, replaces the 1996 version. EPA has updated the document to reflect current regulations, policies, and practices. It also presents new information about technical assistance, environmental...

Representative Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) on February 1, 2017, introduced a resolution (H.J. Res. 59) under the CRA to repeal the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) final rule revising its Risk Management Plan (RMP) program. EPA promulgated the final RMP rule on January 13, 2017, in response to Executive Order 13650, which required EPA and other federal agencies to improve chemical facility safety and security. 82 Fed. Reg. 4594. The CRA allows Congress to pass disapproval resolutions...

On January 26, 2017, the Bloomberg BNA Daily Environment Report quoted James V. Aidala, Vice President, Policy and Government Affairs with Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. and The Acta Group (Acta®), on the Trump administration’s handling of climate change communications. It's no surprise that Trump has de-emphasized climate change in his administration, said Jim Aidala, a consultant with Bergeson & Campbell PC in Washington, D.C., and former head of EPA's chemicals...

On January 19, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued an interpretation of Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Section 14 concerning substantiation of confidential business information (CBI) claims for information submitted to EPA.  82 Fed. Reg. 6522.  Under the interpretation, EPA expresses its view that new TSCA requires substantiation of all non-exempt CBI claims at the time the information claimed as confidential is submitted to EPA.  In the notice, EPA...

On January 24, 2017, comments by Lynn L. Bergeson, President of The Acta Group (Acta®), were included in the Bloomberg BNA Daily Environmental Report Article “White House Ices Energy, Environmental Rules Pending Review.” Attorneys said they were unsure of the memo's impact on an EPA rule (RIN:2070-AJ54) that requires manufacturers, importers and processors to submit information about nanoscale chemicals, including production volumes. This rule was published Jan. 12...

On January 19, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed a process for conducting risk evaluations to determine whether a chemical substance presents an unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment, including an unreasonable risk to a potentially exposed or susceptible subpopulation, under the conditions of use. 82 Fed, Reg. 7562. The process would not consider costs or other non-risk factors. Risk evaluation is the second step, after prioritization, in a new...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed on January 17, 2017, procedures to establish the risk-based screening process and criteria that EPA will use to identify chemical substances under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) as either High-Priority Substances for risk evaluation, or Low-Priority Substances for which risk evaluations are not warranted at the time. 82 Fed. Reg. 4825. The proposed rule describes the processes for identifying potential candidates for...

On January 17, 2017, Bloomberg BNA Daily Environment Report included a quote by Lynn L. Bergeson, President of The Acta Group (Acta®), in the article “EPA Proposes Strategy to Identify, Review Commercial Chemicals.” Lynn Bergeson, managing partner of Bergeson & Campbell PC in Washington, D.C., told Bloomberg BNA, “EPA has done the near impossible in proposing three epic rules. Now the burden is on other stakeholders to define, clarify, and help the process...

On January 17, 2017, the Bloomberg BNA Daily Environment Report Article “Process to Select Chemicals for Risk Review Proposed: EPA” included comments by Lynn L. Bergeson, President of The Acta Group (Acta®), discussing specifics of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed risk rule. Lynn Bergeson, managing partner with the Washington D.C.-based law firm Bergeson & Campbell, PC, said she too would have liked EPA's proposed rule to be clearer as...