Memoranda

The Chinese Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE), formerly the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP), released the final Notice on Convergence Matters Related to Environmental Management Registration of New Chemical Substances on October 27, 2020. Different from the draft Notice published in early June, new chemical substance registrations submitted and accepted by MEE before December 31, 2020, will be reviewed and approved under current MEP Order No. 7 until June...

On October 14, 2020, a coalition of non-governmental organizations (NGO) petitioned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under Section 21 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to request that EPA require health and environmental effects testing on 54 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The petition seeks issuance of a rule or order under TSCA Section 4 compelling The Chemours Company (Chemours) to fund and carry out this testing under the direction of a panel of...

The transition period for the United Kingdom’s (UK) exit from the European Union (EU) will end on December 31, 2020. At the end of the transition period, the EU Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) regulation will be brought into UK law under the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 as amended by the European Union (Withdrawal) Agreement 2020. The UK intends to replicate EU REACH, and related legislation, with the necessary changes to make...

On October 14, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a much-anticipated draft guidance that is intended to help companies demonstrate to EPA that their products have “long-lasting” or “residual” effectiveness on surfaces against viruses like SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. EPA has not before now provided guidance on how stakeholders can demonstrate to EPA’s satisfaction that their product remains efficacious for periods of time given...

On October 19, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a final rule establishing the procedures and requirements for how EPA will manage the issuance of guidance documents consistent with Executive Order (EO) 13891, “Promoting the Rule of Law Through Improved Agency Guidance Documents.” 85 Fed. Reg. 66230. The final regulation provides a definition of guidance document for the purposes of this rule, establishes general requirements and procedures for certain...

The Chinese Ministry of Emergency Management (MEM) released the “Law on Safety of Hazardous Chemicals (Draft for Consultation)” (LSHC) on October 2, 2020, to replace the “Regulations on Safe Management of Hazardous Chemicals” (Decree No. 591). The deadline to submit comments to MEM regarding the LSHC is November 1, 2020. Comments can be submitted to MEM via e-mail (yjbzfs@163.com). What Is New? The draft LSHC was first introduced in 2017. This draft revision will replace the...

The European Commission (EC) began a public consultation on September 14, 2020, on the Inception Impact Assessment (Assessment) for a directive on the “Sustainable Products Initiative” (Initiative). According to the EC, this Initiative, which will revise the Ecodesign Directive and propose additional legislative measures as appropriate, intends to make products placed on the European Union (EU) market more sustainable. The EC states that consumers, the environment, and the climate...

The Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) issued memorandum M-20-31 on August 31, 2020, on the implementation of Section 6 of Executive Order (EO) 13924, “Executive Order on Regulatory Relief to Support Economic Recovery.” Section 6 of the EO directs the “heads of all agencies” to “consider the principles of fairness in administrative enforcement and adjudication” enumerated in the EO and to “revise their procedures...

On September 24, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published the final risk evaluation for cyclic aliphatic bromide cluster (HBCD). EPA found unreasonable risks to the environment from six out of 12 conditions of use and unreasonable risks to workers and occupational non-users (ONU) from the processing, use, and disposal of HBCD, largely from building and construction materials. EPA’s website states “EPA did not find unreasonable risks to the general population or...

On September 14, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a pre-publication version of a final rule establishing the procedures and requirements for how EPA will manage the issuance of guidance documents consistent with Executive Order (EO) 13891, “Promoting the Rule of Law Through Improved Agency Guidance Documents.” The final regulation provides a definition of guidance document for the purposes of this rule, establishes general requirements and procedures...

A recent legal challenge may be of interest to some of our clients. The challenge involves a case filed in the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) challenging President Trump’s authority to impose supplemental tariffs on goods from China identified on Lists 3 and 4A and seeking refunds. As our clients know well, some pesticides and cleaning products are listed on List 3 and thus subject to 25% China tariffs. There are two prongs to the argument....

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP) will be reorganizing at the end of September 2020. OCSPP currently consists of the Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT), the Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP), and the Office of Science Coordination and Policy (OSCP). According to reporting in Bloomberg Environmental, EPA is reorganizing within OPPT and OPP, as well as reorganizing at the OCSPP level. EPA has recently...

On August 24, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the issuance of a Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) Section 18 emergency exemption to the state of Texas permitting it to allow American Airlines and Total Orthopedics Sports & Spine to use a new product that is believed to inactivate coronaviruses like the SARS-CoV-2 virus on surfaces for up to seven days.  EPA states that after carefully reviewing the available data and...

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) held a forum on its Agriculture Innovation Agenda (AIA) on August 16, 2020. The forum focused on science-informed policies and programs from government agencies with the shared aim of supporting environmentalism and enhanced productivity. AIA seeks to spur developments in biotechnology and support accessibility in response to modern industry challenges. Stakeholders were given a chance to hear from representatives and participate in a question and answer...

On August 20, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it is seeking to add chitosan to the list of active ingredients allowed for in minimum risk pesticides exempted from pesticide registration requirements under Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) Section 25(b).  A minimum risk product must meet six specific conditions to be exempted from pesticide registration.  One of those conditions is that the active ingredient in the minimum...

The Chinese Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE), formerly the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP), issued the “Measures on the Environmental Management of New Chemical Substances” (MEE Order No. 12) on April 29, 2020, which will replace the current MEP Order No. 7 on January 1, 2021. To implement MEE Order No. 12, the MEE released the “Guidance for Environmental Management Registration of New Chemical Substances (Draft for Consultation)” (Draft Guidance) on August 17,...

On August 11, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published the final risk evaluation for 1-bromopropane (1-BP). After evaluating 25 conditions of use, EPA determined that 16 present an unreasonable risk to workers, occupational non-users (ONU), consumers, and bystanders. EPA found no unreasonable risk to the environment from any conditions of use and no unreasonable risks to the general population. According to EPA, the next step in the process required by the Toxic Substances...

On September 4, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published two Federal Register notices regarding the risk evaluations for the 20 high-priority chemicals designated in December 2019. In the first notice, EPA announced the availability of the final scope documents for the risk evaluations to be conducted under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for the 20 high-priority substances. 85 Fed. Reg. 55281. The scope document for each chemical substance includes...

On July 28, 2020, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change held an oversight hearing entitled “There’s Something in the Water: Reforming Our Nation’s Drinking Water Standards.” The hearing concentrated on the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) and the provisions of its standard-setting process as administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and whether legislative reform is necessary to ensure safe drinking water nation-wide. The...

On July 27, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) promulgated a final significant use rule (SNUR) for long-chain perfluoroalkyl carboxylate (LCPFAC) and perfluoroalkyl sulfonate chemical substances. 85 Fed. Reg. 45109. EPA first proposed a SNUR for LCPFAC and perfluoroalkyl sulfonate chemical substances on January 21, 2015. 80 Fed. Reg. 2885. On March 3, 2020, EPA issued a proposed supplemental SNUR for LCPFAC chemical substances that would make...