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On May 2, 2018, Bloomberg Environment quoted Lynn L. Bergeson, President, The Acta Group (Acta®), regarding a brief filed by NRDC challenging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) New Chemicals Framework document. The NRDC’s brief did a good job buttressing its argument that the EPA’s framework warranted public notice and comment, Lynn L. Bergeson, managing partner of Bergeson & Campbell, P.C., said. “Not every such procedural challenge is a winner, but...

Washington D.C. May 1, 2018:  Bergeson & Campbell, P.C., Managing Partner and The Acta Group President Lynn L. Bergeson has been named one of the “Top 50:  2018 Women Super Lawyers” by Thompson Reuters’ Super Lawyers Washington, D.C. edition.  Each year, Super Lawyers recognizes top lawyers via a multiphase selection process involving peer nomination, independent research, and peer evaluation.  The lawyers who receive the highest point totals during...

On May 1, 2018, James V. Aidala, Vice President, Policy and Government Affairs with The Acta Group (Acta®), was quoted by Bloomberg Environment regarding an open data policy proposed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).  Jim Aidala, the former head of the EPA’s chemicals office, said the agency can avoid some of these potential pitfalls if it does a thorough job of laying out its reasoning when it issues the final version of this science policy rule....

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT or the Office) has decided to delay its pending reorganization to take and consider staff comments on the revised reorganization. The new plan proposes a six division structure that has separate new and existing chemical risk management divisions complemented by separate new and existing chemical risk assessment divisions. OPPT’s other functions are proposed to be distributed into a...

BRAZIL Update on Status of Regulação de Substâncias Químicas Industriais (Industrial Chemicals Regulation) – The Brazilian Ministério do Meio Ambiente (Ministry of Environment; MMA), held its most recent meeting of the Comisión Nacional de Seguridad Química (National Commission of Chemical Safety; CONASQ) on February 22-23, 2018. The CONASQ meeting continued the previous process of discussing the 801 responses received in the public consultation related to the...

On April 30, 2018, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed the “Strengthening Transparency in Regulatory Science” (Science Rule) that EPA states is intended to “strengthen the transparency of EPA regulatory science.” 83 Fed. Reg. 18768. EPA states in the preamble that “[t]he proposed regulation provides that when EPA develops regulations, including regulations for which the public is likely to bear the cost of compliance, with regard to those scientific...

On April 27, 2018, James V. Aidala, Vice President, Policy and Government Affairs with The Acta Group (Acta®) and Richard E. Engler, Senior Chemist with Acta, were quoted in the Bloomberg Environment article “Pesticide Makers Back Public-Data Plan—But Not for Trade Secrets.” If the agency sticks with the $100 million threshold under the executive order, then the EPA decisions on whether new chemicals can enter commerce would largely be unaffected, as most...

We are pleased to report that on April 20, 2018, the American Chemical Society (ACS) Green Chemistry Institute (GCI) announced the opening of the 2018 Green Chemistry Challenge Awards.  Readers will recall that funding for this essential program was zeroed out in the last several budget proposals advanced by the Trump Administration.  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) enacted budget apparently includes the resources to continue to support the Green Chemistry Challenge...

In the Spring 2018 issue of the American Bar Association (ABA) Natural Resources & Environment (NR&E) Magazine, Joanne L. Dunec reviewed New TSCA: A Guide to the Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act and Its Implementation for the Literary Resources section. Dunec wrote, “[t]he balance of the book, written by 11 authors (including the editors), illuminates and analyzes new TSCA in greater detail. The final chapter provides the legislative history of new TSCA, and...

On April 12, 2018, Bloomberg Environment quoted James V. Aidala, Vice President, Policy and Government Affairs with The Acta Group (Acta®) regarding the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) possible decision to extend registration for dicamba herbicide formulations. “Passing another time-limited registration would give them a heck of a lot of leverage,” said James Aidala, a senior government affairs consultant at Bergeson & Campbell, PC, a Washington-based law...