March 2, 2020

FIFRA Stakeholders: How to Respond to an Enforcement Action or Inquiry

In a recent Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) advisory memorandum, we noted that enforcement activity under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) has been increasing during the last couple of years. That memorandum provides guidance to TSCA stakeholders on how to respond to a typical U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) TSCA inspection letter, and notes that it is often unclear why a particular manufacturer...
March 1, 2020

Global Regulatory Update for March 2020

Acta Affiliate Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. Launches TSCA Tutor™ Online, On-Demand Training Courses: Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) is pleased to announce the release of the complete suite of TSCA Tutor™ regulatory training courses online and on-demand at www.TSCAtutor.com. Professionals seeking expert, efficient, essential training can preview and enroll in on-demand classes to complete at their own pace and...
February 28, 2020

EPA Releases Final Rule on Procedures for Review of CBI Claims for the Identity of Chemicals on the TSCA Inventory

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...
February 28, 2020

Proposed Supplemental SNUR Would Remove Exemption for LCPFAC Chemical Substances Used as Surface Coatings on Articles

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...
February 26, 2020

EPA May Extend March 27 Deadline to Self-Identify as a Manufacturer or Importer of a High-Priority Chemical

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...
February 26, 2020

EPA Releases Draft Risk Evaluation for TCE, Announces SACC Peer Review Meeting

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...
February 25, 2020

EPA Announces Final List of Low-Priority Chemicals under TSCA

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...
February 11, 2020

TSCA Stakeholders Beware: Enforcement Is on the Rise

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....
February 7, 2020

James V. Aidala Quoted by The Washington Post in “Trump has kept this controversial pesticide on the market. Now its biggest manufacturer is stopping production”

On February 6, 2020, comments by James V. Aidala, Senior Government Affairs Consultant with Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®), were featured in a Washington Post article about Corteva Agriscience’s decision to stop producing the pesticide chlorpyrifos. Jim Aidala, a consultant for Corteva who served as EPA’s associate administrator for pesticides and toxics under Bill Clinton, said in an interview that because the Obama administration made a decision on...
January 28, 2020

Senate Refers Sustainable Chemistry Research and Development Act of 2019 to Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

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...