April 10, 2019

House Subcommittee Holds Hearing on EPA’s FY 2020 Budget

On April 9, 2019, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change held a hearing on the fiscal year (FY) 2020 budget for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The April 5, 2019, memorandum from Representative Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Chair of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, states that President Trump’s FY 2020 budget requests $6.068 billion for EPA, a $2.76 billion (31 percent)...
April 9, 2019

FIFRA Hot Topics in Pesticide, Biocides, and Other Agricultural Chemicals Regulation and Litigation

Wednesday, April 24, 20191:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. (EDT)Register Today Throughout the first few months of 2019, Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) issues have been dynamic, complicated, and controversial with regard to both individual pesticides (example: chlorpyrifos), as well as continued debates about larger state, national, and international policies.  March in particular roared in like a lion -- the “Pesticide Registration Improvement Extension...
April 2, 2019

EPA Releases Draft Guidance for Pesticide Registrants on Plant Regulator Label Claims, Including Plant Biostimulants

On March 25, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finally weighed-in on the murky and often misunderstood topic of label claims for plant regulators and plant biostimulants in posting its Draft Guidance for Plant Regulator Label Claims, Including Plant Biostimulants in Docket # EPA-HQ-OPP-2018-0258.  EPA issued the notice of availability in the Federal Register on March 27, 2019.  84 Fed. Reg. 11538.  EPA...
April 1, 2019

Global Regulatory Update for April 2019

WEBINAR -- Preserving Cosmetics On A Global Scale: It Is Harder Than You Think, May 22, 2019, 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. (EDT): Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) and The Acta Group (Acta®) are pleased to present the complimentary webinar “Preserving Cosmetics on a Global Scale: It is Harder than You Think.” The regulatory framework addressing what cosmetic product manufacturers must adhere to in incorporating preservatives in their products and what claims...
April 1, 2019

Final SNURs Will Break New Ground under Amended TSCA

On March 27, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) posted a signed final rule that will establish final significant new use rules (SNUR) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for 13 chemical substances that are the subject of premanufacture notices (PMN). The final rule is significant because the 13 chemical substances are not also subject to consent orders. During the review, EPA identified certain reasonably foreseen conditions of use that it designated as...
March 28, 2019

House Subcommittees Hold Hearing on EPA’s IRIS Program

On March 27, 2019, the House Science, Space, and Technology Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight and Subcommittee on Environment held a hearing on “EPA’s IRIS Program:  Reviewing its Progress and Roadblocks Ahead.”  The hearing focused on issues with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) Program, as described in two recent reports issued by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), Chemical...
March 22, 2019

EPA Releases List of 40 Chemicals Undergoing Prioritization for Risk Evaluation

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released on March 20, 2019, a list of 40 chemicals for which EPA is initiating the prioritization process for risk evaluation. Section 6(b)(2)(B) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) requires that, as of three and a half years after enactment (by December 22, 2019), at least 20 high-priority chemicals be undergoing risk evaluations and at least 20 low-priority chemicals be designated by EPA. In a March 21,...
March 20, 2019

Bloomberg Environment Features Comments by Kathleen M. Roberts Regarding EPA’s High Priority Chemical Determinations

On March 20, 2019, Bloomberg Environment spoke with Kathleen M. Roberts, Senior Regulatory Consultant, Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) and vice president of B&C® Consortia Management LLC (BC-CM), for the article “Industry Advisers Back EPA Strategy on Chemical Vetting.” Looking at several chemicals that serve a similar commercial function can help industry provide the EPA with what it needs to sort the 40 chemicals into the two categories […] For...
March 20, 2019

EPA Bans Consumer Sales of Methylene Chloride Paint Removers, Seeks Comment on Program for Commercial Uses

On March 15, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a signed final rule that prohibits the manufacture (including import), processing, and distribution of methylene chloride for consumer paint and coating removal. EPA states that it “determined that the use of methylene chloride in consumer paint and coating removal presents an unreasonable risk of injury to health due to acute human lethality.” Under the final rule, paint removal products containing...
March 19, 2019

EPA Releases New Tools to Help Companies Meet July 1 Mercury Reporting Requirements

On March 18, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released new tools intended to help companies, organizations, and individuals fulfill their reporting requirements under the mercury reporting requirements rule. Those required to report under the mercury rule can now do so online through the Mercury Electronic Reporting (MER) application accessed through EPA’s Central Data Exchange (CDX). EPA states that it designed this reporting tool “to be user-friendly, with drop-down...