Memoranda

On June 11, 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) held a meeting on its Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Section 8(a) proposed rule concerning reporting and recordkeeping requirements for certain chemical substances when manufactured or processed at the nanoscale. Jeff Morris, Deputy Director for Programs, Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT), and Jim Alwood, OPPT Chemical Control Division, provided further insight into EPA's goals, directives, and...

The House is scheduled to vote late today, June 23, 2015 (around 6:30 p.m. or 7:00 p.m.), on the TSCA Modernization Act of 2015 (H.R. 2576). The House Committee on Energy and Commerce issued a press release on June 22, 2015, noting that the bill "would bring much-needed reform to the decades-old Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), and is a true bipartisan breakthrough for the committee." According to the press release, support "has poured in for this...

On June 10, 2015, and June 15, 2015, EPA held a webinar entitled "eDisclosure: EPA's Plan to Modernize the Implementation of the Audit Policy and the Small Business Compliance Policy." During the webinar, EPA set forth its plans to release in the fall 2015 a centralized online portal called eDisclosure to allow companies to submit self-disclosures electronically under EPA's Incentives for Self-Policing: Discovery, Disclosure, Correction and Prevention of Violations...

The House Energy and Commerce Committee convened a markup session on June 2 and 3, 2015, to consider a slightly revised version of the TSCA Modernization Act of 2015 as H.R. 2576. As reported in our June 3, 2015, memorandum, the House Committee passed the marked up bill. The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy had considered and passed an earlier discussion draft version of the TSCA Modernization Act (TMA2 DD) in May 2015, while an initial discussion draft...

On June 2-3, 2015, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce held a markup hearing on the TSCA Modernization Act of 2015 (H.R. 2576). Representative John Shimkus (R-IL), Chair of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy, formally introduced the bill on May 26, 2015. On June 2, 2015, the Committee heard opening statements only. Energy and Commerce Committee Vice Chair Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) made the first statement, noting the broad bipartisan support...

On May 29, 2015, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published the "Interim Enforcement Guidance for Hazard Communication 2012 (HCS 2012) June 1, 2015 Effective Date" (Interim Guidance). This is a follow-up document to the February 9, 2015, "Enforcement Guidance for the Hazard Communication Standard's (HCS) June 1, 2015 Effective Date" (Enforcement Guidance). The Interim Guidance offers clarity on a few specific points to manufacturers, importers,...

On May 12, 2015, Representative John Shimkus (R-IL), Chair of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy, released a new (second) draft of the TSCA Modernization Act of 2015 (TMA2 DD). In April, Shimkus released an initial discussion draft of the TSCA Modernization Act of 2015 (TMA1); our memorandum on TMA1 is available online. In the previous Congress, Shimkus introduced first a discussion draft of the Chemicals in Commerce Act (CICA1), and then a...

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) deadline of June 1, 2015, is fast approaching. Below is a brief summary of what is at stake, and what needs to be in place by the deadline. On March 26, 2012, OSHA issued a final rule modifying its HCS to conform to the United Nations' Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS), Revision 3. In the final rule, OSHA drastically modified the...

On May 8, 2015, in El Comite Para El Bienestar De Earlimart v. EPA, a Panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit denied a petition for review filed by several groups that the court describes as “community organizations” who challenged the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) 2012 approval of California State Implementation Plan (SIP) elements under the Clean Air Act (CAA), including its related approval of certain fumigant regulations.  This...

On May 14, 2015, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy held a markup of a revised discussion draft of the TSCA Modernization Act of 2015, prepared by Subcommittee Chair John Shimkus (R-IL) and released on May 12, 2015. The May 12, 2015, press release announcing the revised discussion draft and markup emphasizes the bipartisan nature of the bill, which is supported by Shimkus, Subcommittee Ranking Member Paul Tonko (D-NY), Committee Chair...