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The Democratic Minority has circulated a redline version of the April 22, 2014, discussion draft of the Chemicals in Commerce Act (CICA2). A copy of the redline version of CICA2 is available online. The redline version is an interesting mix of substantial rewrites, deletions, and additions. The redline version, which we will refer to as CICA2-D to distinguish it from CICA2 and the original discussion draft, CICA1, proposes changes that favorably respond to numerous non-governmental...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published in the May 19, 2014, Federal Register an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) to seek comment on the information that should be reported or disclosed for hydraulic fracturing chemical substances and mixtures and the mechanism for obtaining this information. According to EPA, this mechanism could be regulatory (under Sections 8(a) and/or 8(d) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)), voluntary, or a combination...

On April 29, 2014, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy held a hearing to review a revised draft of the Chemicals in Commerce Act (CICA2). Representative John Shimkus (R-IL), Chair of the Subcommittee, released CICA2 on April 22, 2014. According to Shimkus, since he first released the discussion draft in March 2014 (CICA1), he has been working on a bipartisan basis to find common ground to reform the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). More information...

On April 22, 2014, Representative John Shimkus (R-IL), Chair of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy, announced that the Subcommittee will hold a hearing on April 29, 2014, to review a revised draft of the Chemicals in Commerce Act (CICA2). According to Shimkus, the revised draft "reflects suggestions from members on both sides of the aisle, as well as stakeholders and the administration." CICA would reform the Toxic Substances Control...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a notice on April 4, 2014, announcing that it issued a testing consent order that incorporates an enforceable consent agreement (ECA) for octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane (D4), a chemical intermediate and component of personal care products. 79 Fed. Reg. 18822. There are two big take away messages here. First, that EPA issued a testing order at all under Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Section 4 is big news as none has been issued in a...

On March 12, 2014, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy held a hearing focused on the discussion draft of the Chemicals in Commerce Act (CICA). On February 27, 2014, Representative John Shimkus (R-IL), Chair of the Subcommittee, released a much anticipated discussion draft that would update the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The March 12 hearing was intended to provide the Subcommittee an opportunity to review the provisions of CICA. An analysis of the...

On February 27, 2014, Representative John Shimkus (R-IL), Chair of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy, released a much anticipated discussion draft that would update the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). According to Shimkus' press release, the Chemicals in Commerce Act (CICA) "keys off" S. 1009, the Chemical Safety Improvement Act (CSIA), which was introduced on May 22, 2013, by the late Senator Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Senator David Vitter...

On February 4, 2014, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy held a hearing entitled "Testing of Chemicals and Reporting and Retention of Information under TSCA Sections 4 and 8." This was the fifth hearing on the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) convened by the Subcommittee. The Subcommittee held oversight hearings on June 13, 2013, July 11, 2013, September 18, 2013, and November 13, 2013, that reviewed several core sections of Title I of TSCA and proposed...

On November 12, 2013, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) decision ordering Respondent Elementis Chromium Inc., f/k/a Elementis Chromium, LP (Elementis or Company), to pay a $2,571,800 civil penalty for violating Section 8(e) and Section 15(3)(B) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The decision is available online. Although the case is highly fact-specific, the decision, if upheld under any potential appeal, may be used...

The Acta Group (Acta) outlines below thoughts on what may be headed our way in 2014 from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP). We also offer a few thoughts on European and Asian developments pertinent to chemical regulatory matters. Although President Obama is well into his second term, the 2014 off-year elections, combined with the bitter partisan atmosphere in Washington, D.C., will result in a continuing use of...

On November 13, 2013, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy held a hearing on the Chemical Safety Improvement Act (S. 1009) (CSIA), which was introduced in May 2013 by the late Senator Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Senator David Vitter (R-LA). Earlier this year, the House Subcommittee held hearings to provide an overview of Title I of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA); examine TSCA Sections 5 and 14, which address the regulation of new chemicals, new...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) signed on September 30, 2013, a final rule amending a significant new use rule (SNUR) for perfluoroalkyl sulfonate (PFAS) chemical substances. The amendment adds PFAS chemical substances that have completed the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) new chemical review process, but have not yet commenced production or import, and designates (for all listed PFAS chemical substances) "processing" as a significant new use. The final rule also includes a...

On September 18, 2013, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy convened a hearing on the "Regulation of Existing Chemicals and the Role of Pre-Emption under Sections 6 and 18 of the Toxic Substances Control Act." This was the Subcommittee's third hearing on Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) issues, and was intended to focus "on the existing statutory provisions, regulatory implementation, and 'real world' implications of TSCA section 6 requirements related to...

On July 31, 2013, the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works held a hearing on "Strengthening Public Health Protections by Addressing Toxic Chemical Threats." To date, two bills have been introduced in the Senate that would reform the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) -- the Safe Chemicals Act of 2013 (S. 696) (SCA) and the Chemical Safety Improvement Act (S. 1009) (CSIA). The late Senator Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) reintroduced the SCA on April 10, 2013, and more information...

On July 11, 2013, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy held a hearing on "Regulation of New Chemicals, Protection of Confidential Business Information, and Innovation." The Subcommittee held a June 13, 2013, oversight hearing on Title I of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The July 11, 2013, hearing was intended to provide the Subcommittee an opportunity to examine the regulatory implementation and "real world" implications of TSCA Section 5, which...

On June 19, 2013, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the availability of a fact sheet intended to provide guidance on reporting chemical substances that are or contain different isotopes of the same elements that are already on the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Inventory. Elemental isotopes have the same number of protons and therefore are the "same" element, but differ in molecular weight and possibly other properties because of a differing number of neutrons. EPA...

The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce, Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy, held a June 13, 2013, hearing on "Title I of the Toxic Substances Control Act: Understanding its History and Reviewing its Impact." The oversight hearing was intended to improve the Subcommittee's understanding of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and its implementation. The background memorandum for the hearing notes that Title I authorizes the U.S. Environmental Protection...

In a stunning bipartisan show of support for reform of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) that few saw coming, Senators David Vitter (R-LA) and Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) (among bipartisan others) introduced on May 22, 2013, the Chemical Safety Improvement Act (CSIA), later designated S. 1009, available online. CSIA provides a new and streamlined approach to reform TSCA that stakeholders may view favorably when compared to prior legislative templates that have been...

Senator David Vitter (R-LA) announced today that he and Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) are the lead co-sponsors on a bill to reauthorize and amend the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The bill, entitled the Chemical Safety Improvement Act (CSIA), is co-sponsored by the following Senators: Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)Mike Crapo (R-ID)Dick Durbin (D-IL)Lamar Alexander (R-TN)Charles Schumer (D-NY)James Inhofe (R-OK)Tom Udall (D-NM)Susan Collins (R-ME)Joe Manchin (D-WV)Marco...

As reported in our May 17, 2022, memorandum, on May 12, 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed new and amended requirements concerning the assertion and treatment of confidential business information (CBI) claims for information reported to or otherwise obtained by EPA under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). 87 Fed. Reg. 29078. The Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (Lautenberg Act) amendments to TSCA in 2016 included many new...

On April 29, 2013, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report entitled Toxic Substances: EPA Has Increased Efforts to Assess and Control Chemicals but Could Strengthen Its Approach, which provides the results of a performance audit conducted by GAO from December 2011 to March 2013. GAO reviewed the extent to which: (1) the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has made progress implementing its new approach for managing toxic chemicals with the goal of...

As reported in our April 11, 2013, memorandum, on April 10, 2013, Senator Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) reintroduced the Safe Chemicals Act of 2013 (S. 696) (SCA 2013), which would reform the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Senator Lautenberg's press release noted that the bill is identical to the Safe Chemicals Act of 2011 (S. 847) (SCA 2011), which was reported favorably out of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee on a party-line vote in the 112th Congress on July 25,...

On April 18, 2013, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed significant new use rules (SNUR) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for eight chemical substances that were the subject of premanufacture notices (PMN) P-11-327, P-11-328, P-11-329, P-11-330, P-11-331, P-11-332, P-12-298, and P-12-299, the first six of which are renewable, biobased chemical substances manufactured by KiOR, Inc. This memorandum explains why the proposed SNURs for the biobased chemical...

On April 10, 2013, Senator Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) reintroduced the Safe Chemicals Act (S. 696), which would reform the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and is identical to legislation (S. 847) reported favorably out of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee on a party-line vote in the 112th Congress. In his April 10, 2013, press release, Senator Lautenberg states that, compared to earlier versions of the legislation, the Safe Chemicals Act of 2013 "includes a number of...

On March 27, 2013, as part of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Work Plan, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it will begin assessments on 23 chemicals, with a specific focus on flame retardant chemicals. According to EPA's press release, EPA will evaluate 20 flame retardant chemicals, conducting full risk assessments for four of the flame retardants, three of which are on the TSCA Work Plan, and one of which was the subject of an Action Plan. In addition to the...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT) convened an in-person and on-line public forum today to discuss OPPT's ongoing efforts to develop an interactive public website. The website would integrate a wide range of chemical data collected and EPA assessments conducted under Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) programs, as supplemented by additional EPA resources such as the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) and the Toxics Release...

Rosemarie Kelley, Director, Waste and Chemical Enforcement Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, announced during a recent industry meeting that one of EPA's enforcement priorities will be to look at how manufacturers are naming and listing fractions of existing chemicals for Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Inventory purposes. Kelley stated that fractions or "slices" of existing substances could be new chemical substances for...

On February 25, 2013, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published proposed significant new use rules (SNUR) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for 37 chemical substances that were the subject of premanufacture notices (PMN). In addition, 17 of the chemical substances are subject to TSCA Section 5(e) consent orders issued by EPA. If issued in final, the SNURs would require persons who intend to manufacture, import, or process the chemical substances for an activity that is...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on January 4, 2013, the availability of the first draft risk assessments developed under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Work Plan. The draft risk assessments are for particular uses of five chemicals found in household products: methylene chloride or dichloromethane (DCM) and N-methylpyrrolidone (NMP) in paint stripper products; trichloroethylene (TCE) as a degreaser and a spray-on protective coating; antimony trioxide (ATO) as a...

The Acta Group's (Acta) thoughts are below on what may be headed our way in 2013 from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP). Although the 2012 Presidential Election is over, environmental issues will continue to be used to make distinctions between the two parties (or between the House and Senate). Speculation is currently rife with what directions a re-elected Obama Administration might take: seek a middle-ground approach to...

Today, Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT) Director Wendy Cleland-Hamnett announced the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) decision to withdraw the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Section 8(d) immediate final rule published on December 3, 2012. According to EPA's letter responding to various entities' request for either withdrawal or an extension of time within which to persuade EPA to remove the listing of cadmium and cadmium compounds from the model 8(d) rule, it...

On November 20, 2012, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) signed off on a direct final rule adding cadmium and cadmium compounds to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Section 8(d) model rule thus requiring manufactures and importers of cadmium and cadmium compounds, including use as part of an article, that have been or are reasonably likely to be incorporated into consumer products, to report health and safety studies to EPA. The prepublication copy of the rule is...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a pre-publication version of a proposed amendment to the significant new use rule (SNUR) for perfluoroalkyl sulfonate (PFAS) chemical substances (available at 40 C.F.R. § 721.9582) to add seven PFAS chemical substances that have completed the new chemical review process under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), but have not yet commenced production or import, and to designate (for all listed PFAS chemical substances) processing as a...

In a largely symbolic vote along party lines, on July 25, 2012, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee by a 10-8 vote passed an amended version of Senator Frank Lautenberg's (D-NJ) Safe Chemicals Act of 2011 (S. 847). Despite the Committee's passage of the bill, the legislation faces a headwind of opposition from Senate Republicans and the chemical industry and is unlikely to be passed this year. Republicans criticized the scheduled markup of the Safe Chemicals Act, particularly in...

The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works and Subcommittee on Superfund, Toxics, and Environmental Health held a joint hearing yesterday entitled "Oversight of EPA Authorities and Actions to Control Exposures to Toxic Chemicals." The hearing examined current initiatives related to flame retardant chemicals as a means of exploring the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) authority over chemical safety under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). During the July 24, 2012,...

On June 27, 2012, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the availability of two sets of final test guidelines: Series 810 -- Product Performance Test Guidelines, specifically public health uses of disinfectants and sanitizers for use on fabrics and textiles (OCSPP 810.2400), air sanitizers (OCSPP 810.2500), and disinfectants and sanitizers for use in water (OCSPP 810.2600); and Series 850 -- Ecological Effects Test Guidelines (Groups B, C, D, and F). These guidelines are...

On June 11, 2012, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) signed a Federal Register notice extending the deadline for Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) submissions from June 30, 2012, to August 13, 2012. According to the pre-publication notice, this is a "one-time extension" only. The CDR regulations require manufacturers and importers of certain chemical substances included on the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Inventory to...

On June 1, 2012, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT) announced an additional 18 chemicals to be assessed under its Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Work Plan initiative. These additional assessments are scheduled to occur in 2013 and 2014, although it is not clear from EPA's announcement which chemicals would be assessed in which year. EPA did announce, however, that it "would welcome the submission of additional relevant information...

Exactly three months from the date the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT) announced its Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Work Plan initiative, EPA on June 1 announced an additional 18 chemicals scheduled for assessment during 2013 and 2014. EPA states that it selected the chemicals for a variety of reasons, similar to those it used to identify the seven Work Plan chemicals to assess...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP) hosted a webinar today concerning a web-based tool that EPA plans to make available to allow submission of Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Section 8(e) notices via the Internet through EPA's Central Data Exchange (CDX) portal. EPA plans to make slides from today's webinar available online. EPA increasingly is seeking submission of notices and reports electronically through the CDX...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released on March 20, 2012, proposed significant new use rules (SNUR) that would require companies to report all new uses of five groups of chemicals, including in domestic and imported products and articles, to give EPA the opportunity, if warranted, to prohibit or limit the activity. The chemicals, which were part of the existing chemical action plans that EPA released in 2009 through 2011, are polybrominated diphenylethers (PBDE),...

On March 16, 2012, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the availability of the long-awaited final test guidelines for Series 810 -- Product Performance Test Guidelines, specifically public health uses of antimicrobial agents (OCSPP 810.2000), sterilants (OCSPP 810.2100), disinfectants (OCSPP 810.2200), and sanitizers (OCSPP 810.2300). These test guidelines are part of a series established by EPA's Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP) for use in testing...

On March 1, 2012, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT) announced a work plan of 83 chemicals for further review under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). EPA identified seven chemicals for risk assessment in 2012, and intends to complete some of these assessments this year and initiate new assessments from the work plan in the coming years. EPA stated that, this Spring, it plans to identify specific chemicals...

If anyone is thinking big penalties under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) are a thing of the past, think again. On February 7, 2012, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that Dover Chemical Corporation has agreed to pay a $1.4 million civil penalty for the unauthorized manufacture of chemical substances at facilities in Dover, Ohio, and Hammond, Indiana. The settlement resolves alleged violations of TSCA premanufacture notice (PMN) obligations for the production of...

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On January 19, 2012, Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C) and B&C Consortia Management, L.L.C. (BCCM) convened a workshop at which invited U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) staff reviewed case studies on reporting obligations for byproduct and recycled materials under the Chemical Data Reporting rule. For those of you who were unable to listen in, the recorded audio for the workshop is available on B&C's website....

In a January 13, 2012, letter to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson, Representatives Fred Upton (R-MI), Chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and John Shimkus (R-IL), Chair of the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy, asked EPA to postpone the Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) implementation and compliance deadlines from February 1, 2012, to align it with the future CDR submission periods...

Thursday, January 19, 2012 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. (EST) Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C) and B&C Consortia Management, L.L.C. (BCCM), affiliates of The Acta Group, L.L.C., have organized a workshop with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to review reporting obligations for byproducts and recycled materials under the Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) rule. The workshop will focus on specific case studies previously submitted to EPA related to the reporting of byproducts or...

The Acta Group, L.L.C.'s (Acta) thoughts are below on what may be headed our way in 2012 from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP). The 2012 Presidential Election cycle will influence any activity by either party or the Administration over the next year. We also offer a few thoughts on Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and Asian chemical...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is scheduled to publish on December 28, 2011, proposed significant new use rules (SNUR) for 17 chemical substances that were the subject of premanufacture notices (PMN). According to EPA, 15 of the substances are subject to consent orders under Section 5(e) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Persons who intend to manufacture, import, or process any of the 17 substances for an activity that is designated as a significant new use by the...