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On July 18, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rolled out the “reorganization plan” for its Office of Research and Development (ORD). The plan’s stated goal is to reduce budget expenditures, improve science, and have EPA’s research activities better support the work of EPA’s media offices. The EPA press release refers to the reorganization effort as a continuation of “comprehensive restructuring” that includes a reduction in force (RIF) for the ORD and a...

The European Commission (EC) released on July 7, 2025, a Chemicals Industry Action Plan (Action Plan) to strengthen the competitiveness and modernization of the European Union’s (EU) chemical sector. According to the EC, the Action Plan addresses key challenges, “namely high energy costs, unfair global competition, and weak demand, while promoting investment in innovation and sustainability.” The EC also released a simplification omnibus on chemicals to streamline and simplify further key...

The European Commission (EC) began a public consultation on July 8, 2025, on a draft act that will establish rules for calculating, verifying, and reporting on recycled plastic content in single-use plastic beverage bottles. According to the EC, this will provide legal clarity to European Union (EU) member states “so they can properly implement EU rules on single-use plastics,” helping to increase the use of recycled material in the EU economy and reduce plastic waste incineration and...

Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) and The Acta Group (Acta®) are pleased to announce that Lindsay A. Holden, Ph.D., DABT® has joined our firms as Senior Toxicologist and Regulatory Scientist. Prior to joining our firms, Dr. Holden served as Toxicology Lead for the Chemical and Material Risk Management Program, Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (Energy, Installations, & Environmental), and Chief of the Neuroscience Department Medical Toxicology Research Division,...

The United Kingdom’s (UK) Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) began a public consultation on July 14, 2025, on its proposals to extend the UK REACH transitional registration submission deadlines. UK REACH requires businesses to register with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) chemicals that are placed on the market in Great Britain (GB). According to Defra, when the UK left the European Union (EU), “information on substances on the GB market which had been...

2025 has been a busy year for extended producer responsibility (EPR) policy, especially for packaging and paper products. States have enacted new EPR programs and laws to assess the need for EPR. Existing programs have been altered or updated. Compliance deadlines have come and gone. EPR legislation has been introduced in many states. With so many moving parts, the status of EPR in the United States can be hard to follow. The Acta Group (Acta®) provides the following overview of changes and...

Some truths transcend politics, one being that chemical data holds enduring value and is becoming increasingly essential. In the United States, regardless of which party federally controls the levers of power, it’s clear that chemical manufacturers and their customers must develop and curate robust data portfolios for their chemical inventories. The commercial imperatives driving this are undeniable and gaining traction....

As reported in our April 11, 2025, blog item, applications for currently unavoidable use determinations for products containing intentionally added perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and scheduled to be prohibited in Maine on January 1, 2026, were due June 1, 2025. The agenda for the July 17, 2025, meeting of the Maine Board of Environmental Protection (MBEP) includes a proposed amendment to Chapter 90: Products Containing PFAS. According to...

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) announced recently that it will postpone the Jan. 1, 2026, reporting deadline on products containing intentionally added per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). This is welcome news for businesses that were frantically preparing for the fast-approaching deadline. This column explains the state’s PFAS reporting rule, and summarizes the current, fluid state of play in this state’s evolving PFAS program....

On June 25, 2025, Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®), the Environmental Law Institute (ELI), and the George Washington University (GWU) Milken Institute School of Public Health presented “TSCA Reform -- Nine Years Later.” This virtual conference marked the ninth Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Annual Conference, reflecting on the accomplishments and challenges since the implementation of the 2016 Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (Lautenberg Act) and...