July 11, 2013

House Subcommittee Holds Second TSCA Hearing

On July 11, 2013, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy held a hearing on "Regulation of New Chemicals, Protection of Confidential Business Information, and Innovation." The Subcommittee held a June 13, 2013, oversight hearing on Title I of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The July 11, 2013, hearing was intended to provide the Subcommittee an opportunity to examine the regulatory implementation and "real world" implications of TSCA Section 5, which...
July 1, 2013

EPA Urged to Work on Compliance Issues For Makers of Biobased, Other Chemicals

The July 1, 2013, issue of Bloomberg BNA Daily Environment Report featured comments from the BNA webinar called “Toxic Substances Control Act Premanufacture Notifications: The New State of Play,” moderated by Lynn L. Bergeson. “The Environmental Protection Agency should work with chemical manufacturers and other parties to address some core issues complicating regulatory compliance for biobased and other chemical manufacturers, an attorney and an expert in chemical...
July 1, 2013

Global Regulatory Update for July 2013

AUSTRALIA NICNAS Changes Registration Structure For Industrial Chemicals: The National Industrial Chemicals Notification and Assessment Scheme (NICNAS) announced that beginning September 1, 2013, it will have four levels of registration, with a new level for commercial introducers (manufacturers or importers) of relevant industrial chemicals with an annual value of less than $100,000. The change means current registrants at...
June 28, 2013

EPA Proposes Amendments to Renewable Fuel Standard

On June 14, 2013, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a proposed rule to amend the Renewable Fuel Standard. The proposal would allow use of biogas from landfills to meet the obligations imposed on refiners and importers to utilize renewable feedstocks in transportation fuels, and clarify which renewable biofuels can be categorized as cellulosic biofuels. The Renewable Fuel Standard (known as RFS2) was first promulgated in 2010. RFS2 implements requirements for the use of...
June 24, 2013

B2PAC Changes Name to BRAG, Conducts Workshops on TSCA

Washington, D.C. (June 24, 2013): The Biobased Products Advocacy Consortium (B2PAC) debuted today a new name, logo, and web address to describe more fully and descriptively the wide range of industrial biotechnology products made by its member companies. The consortium is now known as the Biobased and Renewable Products Advocacy Group, or BRAG. The new name and logo were previewed last week at the 2013 Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) World...
June 20, 2013

EPA Announces Availability of Fact Sheet on Isotopes

On June 19, 2013, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the availability of a fact sheet intended to provide guidance on reporting chemical substances that are or contain different isotopes of the same elements that are already on the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Inventory. Elemental isotopes have the same number of protons and therefore are the "same" element, but differ in molecular weight and possibly other properties because of a differing number of neutrons. EPA...
June 19, 2013

EPA Publishes Final Second List Of Chemicals And Substances For Tier 1 Screening and Draft Paper on Endocrine Disruptors

EPA Publishes Final EDSP Policies And Procedures And Final Second List Of Chemicals And Substances For Tier 1 Screening: On June 14, 2013, EPA published a Federal Register notice describing its final policies and procedures for requiring Tier 1 screening under the Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program (EDSP) of chemicals for which EPA may issue EDSP test orders pursuant to Section 1457 of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) and Section 408(p) of...
June 17, 2013

New EU Cosmetics Regulation Will Enter into Force on July 11, 2013

Regulation (EC) No. 1223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of November 30, 2009, on Cosmetic Products will come into force on July 11, 2013, and repeals the Cosmetics Directive Regulation (Directive 76/768/EEC) provisions concerning carcinogenic, mutagenic, or toxic for reproduction (CMR) substances that have applied since December 1, 2010. The European Commission (EC) states that the Cosmetics Directive "until now ensured that products circulate...
June 14, 2013

House Subcommittee Holds TSCA Oversight Hearing

The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce, Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy, held a June 13, 2013, hearing on "Title I of the Toxic Substances Control Act: Understanding its History and Reviewing its Impact." The oversight hearing was intended to improve the Subcommittee's understanding of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and its implementation. The background memorandum for the hearing notes that Title I authorizes the U.S. Environmental Protection...
June 13, 2013

Kathleen M. Roberts Testimony Before House Subcommittee Featured in Inside EPA

An Inside EPA article reporting on TSCA reform, “Despite States' Rights Push, Key Republican Seeks Preemption Under TSCA,” featured comments made by Kathleen M. Roberts before a House Subcommittee hearing entitled “Title I of the Toxic Substances Control Act: Understanding its History and reviewing its Impact.” “Kathleen Roberts, of the industry law firm Bergeson & Campbell, argued that ‘I would be concerned if there was not a 'least burdensome' aspect in the...