Memoranda

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) 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 was published in the April 6, 2015, Federal Register. EPA proposes to require persons that manufacture or process these chemical substances to report electronically to EPA certain information, including the specific chemical identity,...

On April 6, 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Section 8(a) proposed rule concerning reporting and recordkeeping requirements for certain chemical substances when manufactured (including imported) or processed at the nanoscale. EPA proposes to require persons that manufacture or process these chemical substances to report electronically to EPA certain information, including the specific chemical identity, production volume, methods...

House Bill Would Block EPA From Vetoing Dredge And Fill Permits Issued By Army Corps Of Engineers: On March 3, 2015, West Virginia's entire House of Representatives delegation re-introduced a bill that is intended "to stop the federal Environmental Protection Agency's unprecedented overreach," according to the bill's sponsor, David McKinley (R-WV). The bill (H.R. 1203) would amend the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) authority to revoke permits issued...

ECHA Publishes List Of Pending Article 95 Applications:The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) announced in a March 31, 2015 press release, that to increase transparency ahead of the September 1, 2015, deadline for the compliance with Biocidal Products Regulation (BPR) Article 95, it has published a list of all pending Article 95 applications. The list contains applications for which the ECHA has not yet taken a decision, and ECHA will update it...

OEHHA Proposes MADL For BPA (Dermal Exposure From Solid Materials): On March 25, 2016, the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) proposed a maximum allowable dose level (MADL) for bisphenol A (BPA) (dermal exposure from solid materials) of three micrograms per day. OEHHA states that it reviewed the transcript of the May 7, 2015, meeting of the Developmental and Reproductive Toxicant Identification Committee (DARTIC) and the hazard...

As noted in our recent memorandum on the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (S. 697, Lautenberg), Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Ed Markey (D-MA) recently introduced the Alan Reinstein and Trevor Schaefer Toxic Chemical Protection Act (S. 725, Boxer-Markey), which presents their approach to revising the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). We had committed to preparing a review comparing Lautenberg with the new Boxer-Markey bill, and that...

On March 18, 2015, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee held a hearing on the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (S. 697). A detailed analysis of S. 697 is available in our March 13, 2015, memorandum. There were a number of references to the late Senator Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ), who introduced several bills intended to reform the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), and whether the current bill would accomplish his goals. Throughout the...

In a March 9, 2015, decision in Perez v. Mortgage Bankers Ass'n., the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held that an interpretative rule issued by an administrative agency does not require notice and opportunity for comment, even if the interpretative rule construes a substantive (or "legislative") rule previously issued by the agency and even if the interpretative rule alters a prior interpretation of the same rule. In the Perez decision, the Court explicitly...

Background The Senate over the past several years has considered a number of legislative texts to amend the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). These include the Safer Chemicals Act, several versions of which were introduced by Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), with the most recent in 2013, and the Chemical Safety Improvement Act (S. 1009, CSIA) introduced by Senators Lautenberg and David Vitter (R-LA) in 2013. Senator Lautenberg died shortly after CSIA's introduction and over...

New York Times (March 6, 2015)" data-title="TSCA Reform: "Tom Udall's Unlikely Alliance With the Chemical Industry" New York Times (March 6, 2015)"> Headlines in The New York Times (NYT) describing a cozy relationship between a liberal Democratic Senator from New Mexico and the chemical industry is not a common occurrence. In this case, understanding the coverage reveals the story of an even more sordid and murky world of political infighting, nasty and...