News & Events

On June 14, 2017, Charles M. Auer, Senior Regulatory and Policy Advisor at The Acta Group (Acta®), was quoted in the Bloomberg BNA Daily Environment Report article “EPA Pledges Long-Term Elimination of New Chemicals Backlog.” […] The percentage of new chemicals the EPA has regulated before and since the [Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act] passed last June jumped from roughly 10 percent to about 70 percent, said Charles Auer, who used...

On June 12, 2017, Bloomberg BNA presented the webinar "Reviewing New Chemicals Under Amended TSCA: Impact on Innovation," featuring Charles M. Auer, Senior Regulatory and Policy Advisor with The Acta Group (Acta®); Richard E. Engler, Ph.D., Senior Chemist with Acta; and Lynn L. Bergeson, President of Acta; as well as Jeffery Morris, Director, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics; Beth Bosley, President, Boron Specialties LLC; and...

On June 7, 2017, the Bloomberg BNA Daily Environment Report quoted “Appellate Court Vacates Conditional Nanosilver Registration” discussing the impacts of the recent 9th Circuit Court ruling. […] In a May 31 blog post, the law firm Bergeson & Campbell P.C., which represents industry clients, says the ruling could prompt the nano industry to press EPA to revisit its position that every pesticide containing nanosilver is a new active ingredient, requiring conditional...

On June 1, 2017, Lynn L. Bergeson, President of The Acta Group (Acta®), was quoted in the Bloomberg BNA Daily Environment Report article “EPA Failed to Justify Nanosilver Pesticide Approval, Court Says.” [...] Lynn Bergeson, managing partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. told Bloomberg BNA the agency will need to issue some sort of stop sale or other order to implement the court's vacatur. EPA will then need to review the record and...

On May 24, 2017, Lynn L. Bergeson, President of The Acta Group (Acta®), presented “TSCA Implementation and Current U.S. Regulatory Environment” at the Nanotechnology Industries Association (NIA) webinar: “Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) implementation and current US regulatory environment.” Ms. Bergeson’s presentation addressed reformed TSCA (Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act) implementation and the current regulatory environment under the...

Monday, June 12, 2017, 12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. (EDT)  This webinar has occurred. Materials and recording provided upon request to Acta clients, associated businesses, and industry members.  Since enactment of the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act last June, a logjam of new chemicals under review at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) unable to enter commerce has developed.  EPA’s Office of Pollution...

On May 23, 2017, Lisa R. Burchi, Senior Regulatory Specialist with The Acta Group (Acta®), presented “The New TSCA: Impact on States and Worker Safety Programs” at ORCHSE Strategies, LLC’s Western Occupational Safety and Health Group meeting. Ms. Burchi’s presentation addressed the new Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) as amended by the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, and its impact on worker safety programs nationwide. Specifically, she...

Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) is pleased to announce the publication of New TSCA: A Guide to the Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act and Its Implementation, released today by the American Bar Association (ABA).  This new book is a comprehensive guide to the substantial revisions to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) occasioned by enactment of the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act on June 22, 2016, to produce “new TSCA,” amending...

On March 18, 2017, Bloomberg BNA Daily Environment Report quoted Charles M. Auer, Senior Regulatory and Policy Advisor with The Acta Group (Acta®), explaining how updates to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) are impacting new chemical regulations. The Environmental Protection Agency has been regulating more new chemicals since the Toxic Substances Control Act was overhauled than it did before, according to a snapshot of its work over the past 11 months....

On May 17, 2017, Richard E. Engler, Ph.D., Senior Chemist at the Acta Group (Acta®), was quoted in the Bloomberg BNA Daily Environment Report article “Pace of EPA New Chemical Reviews Picks Up, Allaying Concerns.” […] The new information, which the agency posted since May 12, shows the EPA has made many more new chemical decisions since TSCA was amended than was publicly known, Richard Engler, a senior chemist with the Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. in Washington...

On May 16, 2017, Bloomberg BNA Daily Environment Report quoted Lynn L. Bergeson, President of the Acta Group (Acta®), on upcoming guidance from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on manufacturing and processing nanoengineered chemicals. […] Lynn Bergeson managing partner of Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. told Bloomberg BNA the EPA's decision to delay the rule's effective date until after it issues the draft guidance mutes the complaint that companies...

On May 4, 2017, Richard E. Engler, Ph.D., Senior Chemist at the Acta Group (Acta®), was quoted by Bloomberg BNA Daily Environment Report discussing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) chemical regulation process in response to efforts by the Society of Chemical Manufacturers & Affiliates (SOCMA) to speed up the process. […] A logjam of nearly 800 new chemicals has developed in the EPA's new chemicals office since the Toxic Substances Control Act...

The Acta Group (Acta®) is pleased to announce the publication of The Year in Review 2016:  Environment, Energy, and Resources Law by the American Bar Association (ABA) Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources (SEER).  The Year in Review provides an annual summary of developments in environmental, energy, and resources law.  Acta President Lynn L. Bergeson and Senior Chemist Richard E. Engler,...

SAVE THE DATETSCA Reform – One Year Later June 27, 2017, 9:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. (EDT)George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health, Washington, D.C. Join the Environmental Law Institute and the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health for a day-long conference exploring the federal government’s implementation of the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical...

On April 27, 2017, Richard E. Engler, Ph.D., Senior Chemist at Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®), presented “Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and TSCA Reform” at the Chemical Society of Washington’s monthly dinner meeting. Dr. Engler discussed TSCA before and after reform by The Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (Lautenberg) and challenges that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and industry face in implementing and complying with...

On April 25, 2017, Bloomberg BNA Daily Environment Report included comments by Richard E. Engler, Ph.D., Senior Chemist at the Acta Group (Acta®), commenting on the 19 new chemicals that have been given market approval by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) between December 1, 2016, and February 28, 2017. […] The EPA has notified the manufacturers that asked to make the new chemicals of the approvals and announced the decisions on its public website,...

On April 19, 2017, Inside EPA quoted a post from the TSCA Blog in the article “Suit Over EPA's Rejection Of Fluoride Ban Claims TSCA Misinterpretation.” “This asserted view, that only a comprehensive risk evaluation considering all conditions of use will suffice, presents a very high threshold for action -- and seemingly an impossibly high threshold to move EPA to act," officials with the law firm Bergeson & Campbell said in a March 7 blog post. […]...

The Acta Group (Acta®), a global scientific and business consulting firm offering a full range of support services for the process of obtaining approvals to market industrial chemicals, biocides, and chemical products, with offices in Washington, D.C., Beijing, China, and Manchester, UK,  has been named winner of the Chemicals Northwest 2017 “Supply Chains Award.”  Chemicals Northwest Awards are presented in ten categories, all of which recognize excellence in the chemical and chemical...

On March 28, 2017, Sheryl Lindros Dolan, Senior Regulatory Consultant at Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®), presented “Protecting Trade Secrets Around the World Part 1: Comparing CBI Requirements under New TSCA and OSHA HCS 2012” at the Society for Chemical Hazard Communication (SCHC) Spring Meeting. Ms. Dolan’s presentation reviewed the requirements for confidential business information (CBI) protection under the new Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), compared these...

On March 29, 2017, the Bloomberg BNA Daily Environment Report included comments from James Aidala, Vice President, Policy and Government Affairs with The Acta Group (Acta®), in the article “Trump Administration to Make Tough Decision on Dow Chemical.” […]But undoing the underpinnings that justify a near-ban will take more than political will, said Jim Aidala, a senior consultant with Bergeson & Campbell PC. A decision that favors the manufacturer, Dow...

On March 29, 2017, Charles Auer, Senior Regulatory and Policy Advisor with The Acta Group (Acta®), was quoted by the Bloomberg BNA Daily Environment Report explaining possible impacts of a mercury inventory under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The updated chemicals law also calls for the EPA to develop a regulation by June 2018 that will require companies that use mercury or mercury compounds to provide the agency with information about those uses....

On March 20, 2017, James Aidala, Vice President, Policy and Government Affairs with The Acta Group (Acta®), was quoted by the Bloomberg BNA Daily Environment Report on the recently released report on the health risks posed by glyphosate. […]“My overall reaction to the report was that it was really uninformative,” Jim Aidala, a consultant with Bergeson & Campbell PC who served as the EPA's chemical office chief under President Bill Clinton, told Bloomberg BNA....

On March 17, 2017, Lynn L. Bergeson, President of The Acta Group (Acta®), and James Aidala, Vice President, Policy and Government Affairs with Acta, were quoted in an Inside EPA article on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s denial of a Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) petition to ban Flouride. […]But Lynn Bergeson of the law firm Bergeson & Campbell told Inside EPA in a March 10 email that de novo review "would pose...

On March 6, 2017, James V. Aidala, Vice President, Policy and Government Affairs with The Acta Group (Acta®), was quoted by the Bloomberg BNA Daily Environment Report laying out responses that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) may have to proposed budget cuts. There's a long process ahead before Congress decides what EPA's budget and staffing levels will be, Jim Aidala, who served under President Bill Clinton and now is a senior government affairs consultant...

On March 6, 2017, Bloomberg BNA Daily Environment Report quoted Lynn L. Bergeson, President of The Acta Group (Acta®), on how B&C will handle the implementation of TSCA Reform. Four law firms contacted by Bloomberg BNA say they are able to file the comments they are preparing without hiring additional staff or contractors. Others say other aspects of TSCA's implementation has prompted them to seek new hires. Lynn Bergeson, managing partner of Bergeson & Campbell...

On March 3, 2017, Lynn L. Bergeson, President of The Acta Group (Acta®), was quoted by the Bloomberg BNA Daily Environment Report on how proposed EPA budget cuts could impact the chemical and pesticides program. Lynn Bergeson, managing partner of Bergeson & Campbell PC, a Washington, D.C.-based law firm that specializes in chemical and pesticide regulations, told Bloomberg BNA this is good news for the EPA's Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention Office,...

In the February 28, 2017, Bloomberg BNA Daily Environment Report, James V. Aidala, Vice President, Policy and Government Affairs with The Acta Group (Acta®), was quoted in the article “As Budget Cuts Loom, Industry Seeks to Save Some EPA Programs.” Staff already has grappled with smaller conference travel budgets, cuts in discretionary expenses, and less contractor support to assist with reducing environmental and health risks, said Jim Aidala, former EPA assistant...

On February 23, 2017, Karin Baron, MSPH, Senior Regulatory Consultant with Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) and The Acta Group (Acta®), presented “South Korean and China Regulations and Other Asian Market Regulations & Opportunities” at Exporting Chemicals and Hazardous Materials: Major Global Markets Regulatory Compliance. Ms. Baron’s presentation covered chemical control legislation approaches and hazard communications in China, South Korea,...

Lynn L. Bergeson Quoted By Bloomberg BNA Daily Environment Report Regarding How Manufacturers Should Participate in EPA Rulemaking On February 10, 2017, Managing Partner of Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. and President of the Acta Group (Acta®), Lynn L. Bergeson, was quoted in the Bloomberg BNA Daily Environment Report article “Vehicle, Furniture Makers Urged to Increase Role in Toxics Law.” Lynn Bergeson, managing partner of the Washington, D.C.,...

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,...

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 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 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...

REGISTER TODAY Thursday, February 16, 2017, 2:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time The Central and South American chemical regulatory environment continues to be one that is challenging to understand, navigate, and manage from a business perspective.  These challenges most often stem from one of three aspects:  a lack of knowledge concerning the regulatory and governmental authority structure; a challenge in determining which...

On January 13, 2017, slides from the B&C® Consortia Management’s (BC-CM) NMP Producers Group Meeting with the Office of Management and Budget were discussed in the Inside EPA article “Chemical Makers Cite TSCA Listing In Call For EPA To Drop NMP Proposal.” […] But representatives from Bergeson & Campbell on behalf of NMP producers in a Dec. 5 meeting with EPA and OMB officials ahead of the proposal's release argued that the rulemaking does not...

The attorneys, scientists, policy experts, and regulatory advisors of Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®), The Acta Group (Acta®), and B&C® Consortia Management, L.L.C. (BCCM) endeavor year-round to keep you informed on key developments as they happen, and prepared for looming changes and deadlines, to help you maintain compliance and competitive advantage as you market your products throughout the world. As the new year begins, we offer you this look back at the top stories of 2016...

On January 10, 2017, Bloomberg BNA Daily Environment Report quoted The Acta Group (Acta®) Vice President of Policy and Government Affairs Consultant James V. Aidala regarding a recent U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) risk assessment. The risk assessment also could be a sign of how the EPA will address the suite of organophosphate pesticides slated for review later this year, including chlorpyrifos and malathion. Industry groups are concerned this could...

On January 9, 2017, Richard E. Engler, Ph.D., Senior Chemist with The Acta Group (Acta®), was quoted in “The Chemical Industry’s Having a Bad Reaction to New Regs.” As a result, some chemists feel like they must dial back their ambitions to pass review. “New chemicals are taking significantly longer to get through the EPA process now,” says Rich Engler, a chemical consultant with environmental law firm Bergeson & Campbell. “If I were advising a client I would tell them to...

On January 5, 2017, the Bloomberg BNA Daily Environment Report Article, “Outlook 2017: Amended Chemicals Law Implementation Top Priority,” quoted Charles M. Auer, Senior Regulatory and Policy Advisor with Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®), regarding how Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) Rule information will be used in the future to help prioritize risk evaluations and other chemical regulatory activities. The EPA's Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution...

The Product Stewardship Society recently released Stewardship 2016, an eBook looking back on the highlights of Stewardship 2016. Lynn L. Bergeson, President of The Acta Group (Acta®), was quoted discussing the U.S. regulatory framework for nanotechnology as well as potential legal and stewardship issues that nanochemicals face. Lynn Bergeson, managing partner at Bergeson & Campbell, started working with nanotechnology a decade ago, when it was unclear how the U.S....

On November 28, 2016, the Hazardous Waste Export-Import Revisions rule was published in the Federal Register and is effective as of December 31, 2016. This rule impacts thousands of entities that export and/or import shipments of hazardous wastes. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is strengthening its standards to comport with requirements in place for Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries, to respond to...

The Acta Group (Acta®) President Lynn L. Bergeson contributed a chapter to the recently published book Nanotechnology: Delivering on the Promise, a two-volume American Chemical Society (ACS) symposium report that discusses advances in nanotechnology and the value of precautionary risk management. These volumes cover advances nanotechnology has made with materials, energy, electronic devices, agriculture, and biomedicine, as well as the regulatory response to these new technologies.  Ms....

On December 7, 2016, the Bloomberg BNA Daily Environment Report quoted Oscar Hernandez, Ph.D., Senior Regulatory Chemist with The Acta Group (Acta®), and Jim Aidala, Vice President, Policy and Government Affairs with Acta, regarding how the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will handle the new toxics law. Typically, the agency takes action on chemicals whose risks range between 1 in 10,000 excess cancer cases to 1 in 1 million excess cases. “They'd have...

On December 2, 2016, Lynn L. Bergeson, President of The Acta Group (Acta®), was quoted in the Bloomberg BNA Daily Environmental Report on how proposed changes to significant new use regulations would change the way confidential business information is handled by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The Bergeson & Campbell P.C. law firm summarized a position voiced throughout the trade association comments. “As currently drafted, the proposed...

On November 30, 2016, the Bloomberg BNA Daily Environmental Report included comments by Charles M. Auer, Senior Regulatory and Policy Advisor with The Acta Group (Acta®), and Lynn L. Bergeson, President of The Acta Group, in the article “Groans Heard About Pace EPA's New Chemical Reviews.” The EPA appears to be making changes to the new chemicals program beyond what the law mandated, Charles Auer, former director of the EPA's Office of Pollution Prevention and...

On November 30, 2016, Bloomberg BNA Daily Environment Report quoted Jim Aidala, Vice President, Policy and Government Affairs with The Acta Group (Acta®), Charles M. Auer, Senior Regulatory and Policy Advisor with Acta, and Lynn L. Bergeson, President of Acta, on impacts the Trump Administration may have on chemical laws. “It's very hard to know what the thinking is other than on big issues,” such as energy and water, Jim Aidala, a senior government affairs...

Thursday, November 17, 2016, 2:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time  REGISTER TODAY The Mexican and Central and South American chemical regulatory environment is challenging to understand, with relatively little consistency, even among neighboring countries.  The region is home to two major trading blocs, MERCOSUR (Mercado Común Del Sur) and the Andean Community of Nations (Comunidad Andina). Similar in basic concept to the European Union, these blocs...

Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) and The Acta Group (Acta®) are very pleased to announce that Charles M. Auer has joined our teams as Senior Regulatory and Policy Advisor. For more than three decades, Mr. Auer has provided sagacious, informed, and deeply insightful guidance on legal, policy, and scientific matters related to the regulation of chemicals under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and related domestic and international chemical control laws. Mr. Auer's experience...

On August 25, 2016, Acta affiliate Bergeson & Campbell, P.C.’s (B&C®) memoranda “TSCA Reform: Proposed Changes to SNUR Procedures Would, Perhaps Inadvertently, Result in Disclosure of CBI to Third Parties/Possible Competitors” and “TSCA: Proposed Revisions to Significant New Use Rules Reflect Current Occupational Safety and Health Standards,” were discussed in an Inside EPA article on how Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Reform may violate trade...