December 21, 2018

Bloomberg Environment Includes Quotes From Christopher R. Bryant In The Article “2019 Outlook: EPA To Ease Companies’ Coal Ash Disposal Rules”

On December 21, 2018, Bloomberg Environment featured comments by Christopher R. Bryant, Senior Regulatory Specialist, The Acta Group (Acta®), regarding the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) plan to update coal ash disposal requirements. The changes are consistent with the agency’s preference for states to take the lead on setting their own disposal requirements, Christopher Bryant, senior regulatory consultant for Bergeson & Campbell PC in Washington, told...
December 20, 2018

Bloomberg Environment Features Comments By Lynn L. Bergeson Regarding Potential Impacts Of A Government Shutdown On The EPA Chemical Program

On December 20, 2018, Bloomberg Environment spoke with Lynn L. Bergeson, President, The Acta Group (Acta®), for the article “‘Calamitous’ Harm Possible for EPA Chemical Program in Shutdown.” Shutting the government down could have particularly severe effects on the EPA’s oversight of chemicals in commerce and further delay the entry of new chemicals onto the market, two attorneys specializing in chemical policy told Bloomberg Environment. “If a shutdown were to...
December 19, 2018

Bloomberg Environment Features Comments By Lynn L. Bergeson Regarding EPA’s 2019 Chemical Rules Outlook

On December 19, 2018, Bloomberg Environment spoke with Lynn L. Bergeson, President, The Acta Group (Acta®), for the article “2019 Outlook: ‘Most Active Year Yet’ Looms on EPA Chemical Rules.” The EPA didn’t reply to a question about how many people are working in its chemicals office but said it was allowed to hire up to 340 in fiscal year 2018, an increase from 311 in the previous year. The agency said it couldn’t comment on how many...
December 18, 2018

Congress Passes Farm Bill Conference Report

On December 12, 2018, the House passed the Conference Report for H.R. 2 (the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, also known as the Farm Bill) to provide for the reform and continuation of agricultural and other programs of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) through fiscal year 2023. The Senate passed the Conference Report on December 11, 2018. Sec. 10101. Specialty crops market news allocation. Sec. 10102. Local agriculture market program. Sec. 10103. Organic...
December 11, 2018

EPA Releases “Waters of the U.S.” (WOTUS) Replacement Rule Proposal

On December 11, 2018, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler announced EPA’s and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (Corps) release of their highly anticipated proposed replacement definition of “Waters of the U.S.” (WOTUS) that defines the scope of waters and wetlands that fall under federal Clean Water Act (CWA) jurisdiction. The 2018 WOTUS rule proposal is currently available in pre-publication format on EPA’s...
December 6, 2018

Proposed Amendments to Prop 65 Retail Seller Responsibilities Section 25600.2 (Responsibility to Provide Consumer Product Exposure Warnings)

On November 16, 2018, California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) proposed amendments to Proposition 65 (Prop 65) regulations setting forth the circumstances when a “retail seller” is required to provide a consumer product exposure warning.  Retail sellers are defined under the regulations as: [A] person or business that sells or otherwise provides consumer products directly to consumers by any means, including via the internet. For purposes of this...
December 1, 2018

Global Regulatory Update for December 2018

ARGENTINA Argentina Continues Inter-agency Coordination on Chemicals and Waste Management: In 2017, the Argentinian government, recognizing that there are multiple authorities and agencies within the country that manage a variety of international conventions (e.g., The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal, The Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in...
November 28, 2018

Inside EPA Features Recent B&C Blog Post in “Former ORD Acting Chief Joins EPA Toxics Office Leadership” Article

On November 28, 2018, Inside EPA included information on Lek Kadeli’s U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) appointment first posted in Bergeson & Campbell, P.C.’s (B&C®) TSCAblogTM post “EPA Announces New Acting Deputy AA at OCSPP.” Lek Kadeli, a top former EPA career official in the research office (ORD), is joining the management team for EPA’s toxics office, bolstering the office as it ramps up to implement the revised Toxic Substances Control Act...
November 26, 2018

Inside EPA References B&C Memorandum On EPA’s First Draft TSCA Risk Evaluation

On November 26, 2018, Inside EPA included information from Bergeson & Campbell, P.C.’s (B&C®) memorandum “EPA Publishes First Draft TSCA Chemical Risk Evaluation” in the article “EPA’s PV29 Assessment Likely to Test Reformed TSCA’s Data Standards.” In a Nov. 16 memo on the draft’s release, the law firm Bergeson and Campbell suggests that there may be little reason to challenge the agency’s finding though it leaves the door open to...
November 16, 2018

EPA Publishes First Draft TSCA Chemical Risk Evaluation

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a Federal Register notice on November 15, 2018, announcing the availability of and seeking public comment on the first draft chemical risk evaluation under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), as amended by the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (Lautenberg).  The draft risk evaluation for Colour Index (C.I.) Pigment Violet 29 is intended to determine whether C.I. Pigment Violet 29...