By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton
 
The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change will hold a hearing on October 27, 2021, on “TSCA and Public Health: Fulfilling the Promise of the Lautenberg Act.” According to the October 20, 2021, press release issued by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Representatives Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Chair of the Committee, and Paul Tonko (D-NY), Chair of the Subcommittee, stated that the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (Lautenberg Act) made “crucial” reforms to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) “that improve how the federal government protects Americans from dangerous chemicals, and now we must ensure those reforms are implemented effectively and honestly.” Pallone and Tonko stated that during the previous administration, “chemical risk evaluations were skewed in favor of industry to the detriment of workers and communities. We must protect consumers from exposure to toxic substances and ensure the Environmental Protection Agency is using the tools Congress granted it to protect public health.” The Subcommittee will discuss the implementation of the Lautenberg Act and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) “efforts to get TSCA back on track.”

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By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton
 
On October 1, 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the availability of the Draft FY 2022-2026 EPA Strategic Plan. 86 Fed. Reg. 54448. The draft Strategic Plan communicates EPA’s priorities and provides the roadmap for achieving its mission to protect human health and the environment. The draft Strategic Plan outlines objectives within the following strategic goals:

• Goal 1: Tackle the Climate Crisis;
• Goal 2: Take Decisive Action to Advance Environmental Justice and Civil Rights;
• Goal 3: Enforce Environmental Laws and Ensure Compliance;
• Goal 4: Ensure Clean and Healthy Air for All Communities;
• Goal 5: Ensure Clean and Safe Water for All Communities;
• Goal 6: Safeguard and Revitalize Communities; and
• Goal 7: Ensure Safety of Chemicals for People and the Environment.

Goal 7 includes two objectives. Objective 7.1, “Ensure Chemical and Pesticide Safety,” is intended to protect the health of families, communities, and ecosystems from the risks posed by chemicals and pesticides. It includes the following long-term goals:

• By September 30, 2026, complete at least eight High Priority Substance (HPS) Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) risk evaluations annually within statutory timelines compared with the fiscal year (FY) 2020 baseline of one;
• By September 30, 2026, review 90 percent of risk mitigation requirements for TSCA new chemical substances compared to the FY 2021 baseline of none;
• By September 30, 2026, renew 40 percent of expiring lead-based paint Renovation, Repair, and Painting (RRP) firm certifications within 30 days compared to the FY 2021 baseline of 36 percent;
• By September 30, 2026, complete 78 pesticide registration review cases;
• By September 30, 2026, consider the effects determinations or protections of federally threatened and endangered species for new active ingredients in 90 percent of the risk assessments supporting pesticide registration decisions for new active ingredients compared to the FY 2020 baseline of 50 percent;
• By September 30, 2026, consider the effects determinations or protections of federally threatened and endangered species in 50 percent of the risk assessments supporting pesticide registration review decisions compared to the FY 2020 baseline of 25 percent; and
• By September 30, 2026, support Agricultural Worker Protection Standard (WPS) pesticide safety training for 20,000 farmworkers annually compared with the FY 2018-2020 annual average baseline of 11,000.

Objective 7.2, “Promote Pollution Prevention,” is intended to encourage the adoption of pollution prevention and other stewardship practices that conserve natural resources, mitigate climate change, and promote environmental sustainability. It includes the following long-term goals:

• By September 30, 2026, reduce a total of 1.5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent released attributed to EPA pollution prevention grants; and
• By September 30, 2026, EPA’s Safer Choice program will certify a total of 2,300 products compared to the FY 2021 baseline of 1,950 total certified products.

According to the notice, EPA is seeking comment from individual citizens, states, tribes, local governments, industry, the academic community, non-governmental organizations (NGO), and all other interested parties. Comments are due November 12, 2021. EPA states that it “anticipates the final Strategic Plan will be submitted to Congress in February 2022.”

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By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton
 
On October 7, 2021, the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) completed its review of a proposed rule on “Regulation of Persistent, Bioaccumulative, and Toxic Chemicals Under TSCA Section 6(h); Phenol, Isopropylated Phosphate (3:1); Further Compliance Date Extension.” The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on September 3, 2021, an extension of certain compliance dates for Phenol, Isopropylated Phosphate (3:1) (PIP (3:1)) to March 8, 2022, “to address the hardships inadvertently created by the original applicable compliance dates in the January 2021 final rule to ensure that supply chains are not disrupted for key consumer and commercial goods.” The proposed rule reviewed by OIRA is expected to propose further extensions to certain article-related compliance dates. More information on EPA’s September 3, 2021, announcement is available in our memorandum, “EPA Plans New Rulemaking for PBTs, Extends Compliance Dates for PIP (3:1) Rule.”

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By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton
 
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on September 24, 2021, that it is extending the submission deadline for manufacturers (including importers) of 50 chemicals to report data from certain unpublished health and safety studies. The deadline for the reporting rule was originally September 27, 2021, and EPA has extended the deadline until December 1, 2021, for 20 of the 50 chemicals and to January 25, 2022, for 30 of the 50 chemicals. The 50 chemicals include:

• Twenty chemicals designated by EPA as high-priority substances and currently undergoing risk evaluation under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The deadline for manufacturers to submit studies on these chemicals will be December 1, 2021. EPA states that this deadline “ensures that health and safety studies will be received in time for use in risk evaluations on these chemical substances.”
   
• Thirty organohalogen flame retardants being evaluated for health risks by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) under the Federal Hazardous Substances Act (FHSA). The deadline for manufacturers to submit studies on these chemicals will be January 25, 2022.

EPA will publish a notice in the Federal Register extending the deadline. A pre-publication version of the notice is available on EPA’s website. EPA has also posted a “historic” question and answer document about reporting under TSCA Section 8(d). Detailed information about the reporting rule is available in our June 29, 2021, memorandum, “Manufacturers and Importers of 20 High-Priority Chemicals and 30 Organohalogen Flame Retardants Must Submit Data to EPA.”

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By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton
 
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will hold a webinar on September 24, 2021, for stakeholders to learn how to access and use the pollution prevention (P2) information collected by the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) Program about projects implemented by companies to eliminate or reduce the creation of chemical waste. According to EPA, community members, local government representatives, facility personnel, and others can access this information through multiple online resources and use it to further the identification and advancement of P2 opportunities. The webinar will include a live demonstration of how to find P2 data for specific facilities, chemicals, and industry sectors, as well as:

• Details on what data facilities are required to report;
• Examples of P2 projects implemented at manufacturing facilities; and
• Resources for and benefits of implementing P2 projects at facilities.

The webinar is also part of a series of webinars to mark the 35th anniversary of the TRI Program. Registration is now open.

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This week's All Things Chemical^® Podcast will be of interest to readers of the TSCAblog^®. A brief description of the episode written by Lynn L. Bergeson is below.
 
This week I sat down with Richard E. Engler, Ph..D., Director of Chemistry with Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C^®) and The Acta Group (Acta^®), to discuss the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) continuing struggle to regulate certain persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic (PBT) chemicals, especially those found in finished products, what EPA refers to as “articles.” The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) has always applied to the products, or articles, that contain chemical substances of interest to EPA under TSCA. While EPA previously used that authority somewhat sparingly, the 2016 Amendments to TSCA have jump-started a new wave of regulations that expressly apply to articles. EPA is required under TSCA to regulate certain PBTs, and EPA issued a final rule earlier this year that inspired chaos in the business community, especially in the electronics sector and its complicated supply chain. Rich and I discuss these PBT rules and help explain what may well be the new normal with regard to the regulation of finished products under TSCA.

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WEBINAR
Thursday, September 9, 2021
11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. (EDT)
Register Now

Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C^®) is pleased to present a complimentary webinar focused on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) regulations on September 9, 2021, 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. (EDT). B&C Managing Partner Lynn L. Bergeson and Director of Chemistry Richard E. Engler, Ph.D., will discuss three actions recently taken by EPA:

• Proposing a rule designed to obtain comprehensive data on more than 1,000 PFAS manufactured in the United States;
• Withdrawing guidance that EPA believes weakened its July 2020 significant new use rule (SNUR) restricting certain long-chain PFAS; and
• Publishing a final rule that incorporates three additional PFAS into the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) maintained under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA).

The proposed rule intended to obtain comprehensive data on PFAS would require all manufacturers (including importers) of PFAS in any year since 2011 to report information related to chemical identity, categories of use, volumes manufactured and processed, byproducts, environmental and health effects, worker exposure, and disposal.
 
As a result of these EPA regulatory actions, companies that never expected to need to know the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) are now finding themselves in EPA’s crosshairs. This webinar will explore the full scope of these potential rules, how entities can determine if they will be subject to reporting, and the specific recordkeeping requirements that have been proposed.

Register for the webinar now
 

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By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton
 
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is now accepting nominations for the 2022 Green Chemistry Challenge Awards from companies or institutions that have developed a new green chemistry process or product that helps protect human health and the environment. EPA states that in support of the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to tackle the climate crisis, it is adding a new award category to recognize technology that reduces or eliminates greenhouse gas emissions. EPA will hold a webinar during Pollution Prevention (P2) Week, on Wednesday, September 22, 2021, from 2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. (EDT), to educate stakeholders on the Green Chemistry Challenge Awards and the nomination process. Nominations are due to EPA by December 10, 2021. According to EPA, an independent panel of technical experts convened by the American Chemical Society Green Chemistry Institute will formally judge the 2022 nominations and make recommendations to EPA for the 2022 winners. EPA anticipates giving awards to outstanding green chemistry technologies in six categories in June 2022.

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By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton
 
The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) announced on July 20, 2021, that it is organizing a series of three virtual listening sessions to hear about issues and concerns related to scientific integrity from members of the public who produce, communicate, and use scientific and technical information. 86 Fed. Reg. 38363. According to OSTP, it will use perspectives gathered during the virtual listening sessions to inform the assessment of federal agencies’ scientific-integrity policies and identification of best practices and lessons learned that the National Science and Technology Council’s Task Force on Scientific Integrity is preparing, pursuant to the January 2021 Presidential Memorandum on Restoring Trust in Government Through Scientific Integrity and Evidence-Based Policymaking.

Each of three listening sessions will be organized around a particular theme and audience:

• Session 1 (Wednesday, July 28, 2021, 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. (EDT)): Communications, including using effective policies and practices to improve the communication of scientific and technological information, including for engagement of federal scientists and contractors with news media and on social media. The target audience includes individuals from news media, science writers, and science communicators;
   
• Session 2 (Thursday, July 29, 2021, 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. (EDT)): Science and Education, including using effective policies and practices to support professional development of scientists and researchers of all genders, races, ethnicities, and backgrounds; to address scientific-integrity issues related to emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, and evolving scientific practices, such as citizen science and community-engaged research; to improve training of scientific staff about scientific integrity; and to handle disagreements about scientific methods and conclusions. The target audience includes scientists, engineers, and educators from the federal and non-federal sectors; and
   
• Session 3 (Friday, July 30, 2021, 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. (EDT)): Use of Scientific and Technical Information, including using the effectiveness of federal scientific integrity policies to promote trust in federal science and address concerns about a lack of scientific integrity impeding the equitable delivery of the federal government’s programs. The target audience includes individuals who use federal scientific and technical information for decision-making or provision of services; individuals from disadvantaged communities; and other consumers of science.

Participants in all sessions may also comment on the predominant challenges they perceive to scientific integrity in federal agencies and effective practices for minimizing political or other inappropriate interference in the conduct, communication, or use of federal science. Speakers will have up to two minutes each to make a comment. As many speakers will be accommodated as the scheduled time allows. Individuals unable to attend the listening sessions or who would like to provide more detailed information may respond to the Request for Information (RFI) to Improve Federal Scientific Integrity Policies. Comments on the RFI are due July 28, 2021. The registration deadline for the virtual listening sessions is July 23, 2021, at 5:00 p.m. (EDT).

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By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton
 
On June 15, 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) appointed nine new members to serve on the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Science Advisory Committee on Chemicals (SACC). Additionally, EPA appointed a new Chair and reappointed seven existing members. In EPA’s July 13, 2021, announcement, EPA notes that members of the TSCA SACC serve staggered terms of appointment, generally of three years. They possess expertise in scientific and technical fields relevant to chemical risk assessment and pollution prevention, including human health and ecological risk assessment and chemical exposure to susceptible life stages and subpopulations. EPA states that in addition to scientific expertise, members also have backgrounds and experiences that will contribute to the diversity of scientific viewpoints, including professional experiences in government, public health, industry, and other groups. According to EPA, TSCA SACC serves as a primary scientific peer review mechanism of EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP) and is structured to provide independent scientific advice and recommendations to EPA on the scientific basis for risk assessments, methodologies, and pollution prevention measures and approaches for chemicals regulated under TSCA.

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