Memoranda

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released on February 20, 2020, a proposed supplemental significant new use rule (SNUR) for long-chain perfluoroalkyl carboxylate (LCPFAC) chemical substances that would make inapplicable the exemption for persons who import a subset of LCPFAC chemical substances as part of surface coatings on articles. Under the proposed supplemental SNUR, issued under Section 5(a)(2) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), this subset of LCPFAC chemical...

On February 19, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a pre-publication version of its final rule on procedures for review of confidential business information (CBI) claims made under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The final rule includes the requirements for regulated entities to substantiate certain CBI claims made under TSCA to protect the specific chemical identities of chemical substances on the confidential portion of the TSCA Inventory, and...

On February 21, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released the draft risk evaluation of trichloroethylene (TCE), “a chemical used as a solvent and an intermediate for refrigerant manufacture in industrial and commercial processes, and with limited consumers uses like as a spot cleaner in dry cleaning facilities.” The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Science Advisory Committee on Chemicals (SACC) will meet on March 24-26, 2020, to peer...

On February 24, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) hosted a conference call to review certain provisions of the final rule on fees for the administration of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), particularly those related to EPA-initiated risk evaluations. EPA published a Federal Register notice on January 27, 2020, identifying the preliminary lists of manufacturers (including importers) of the 20 high-priority chemical substances for risk...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on February 20, 2020, the final list of 20 chemical substances designated as low-priority substances for which risk evaluation under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) is not warranted at this time. EPA has posted a pre-publication version of the Federal Register notice. The notice includes the final designation for each of the chemical substances and instructions on how to access the...

Federal enforcement of chemical product laws is alive and well, despite a broadly held misconception to the contrary. We have seen over the past 18 months or so an uptick in federal enforcement under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). We write to alert you to this fact and focus here on TSCA enforcement, as we believe we will see this trend continue in 2020. We will devote a second client alert to FIFRA enforcement....

On December 10, 2019, the U.S. Senate received and read twice the Sustainable Chemistry Research and Development Act of 2019 (Act). Passed by the U.S. House of Representatives one day prior to the Senate’s review, the Act -- H.R. 2051 -- if approved, will establish an interagency working group led by the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) to coordinate federal programs and activities in support of sustainable chemistry. This is an exciting development and, for sustainable...

On January 24, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released the draft risk evaluation of carbon tetrachloride, “a solvent primarily used in the manufacturing of chlorinated compounds and petrochemicals.” Carbon tetrachloride is the seventh of the first ten chemicals to undergo risk evaluation under the amended Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). EPA published a Federal Register notice on January 27, 2020, announcing the availability of the draft risk...

On January 14, 2020, California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) adopted amendments it proposed on November 16, 2018, and modified on October 4, 2019, to the Proposition 65 (Prop 65) regulations setting forth the circumstances when a “retail seller” is responsible for providing consumer product exposure warnings. The amendments are effective on April 1, 2020. The amendments adopted have not changed since OEHHA’s October 4, 2019,...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released on December 20, 2019, an updated version of the “Working Approach” document that builds upon EPA’s November 2017 “New Chemicals Decision-Making Framework: Working Approach to Making Determinations under Section 5 of TSCA.” EPA states that the updated document, “TSCA New Chemical Determinations: A Working Approach for Making Determinations under TSCA Section 5,” explains its approach for making one of the five affirmative...