Archive: March 17, 2020

 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 7 11201 Renner Blvd., Lenexa, Kansas 66219   Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Nine Tribal Nations   EPA Continues to Deliver on Commitments under Amended TSCA  Recent accomplishments include final rule to modernize TSCA reporting and align with amended TSCA   Contact Information: [email protected]   Environmental News   FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   (Lenexa, Kan., March 17, 2020) – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is finalizing amendments to the Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) rule that reduce the burden for certain CDR reporters, improve the quality of CDR data collected and align reporting requirements with the Lautenberg Act amendments to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). This action is the latest in a recent series of TSCA accomplishments that further advance EPA’s efforts to ensure chemical safety, increase transparency, and provide clarity for stakeholders.   “Today’s action is a great example of modernizing reporting while maintaining our ability to effectively implement TSCA and protect public health,” said EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler. “EPA’s actions in 2020 under the Lautenberg Act amendments to the Toxic Substances Control Act demonstrate the agency’s commitment to ensuring that Americans are protected from unreasonable risks from chemicals and to continuing to engage with stakeholders and the public in an open and transparent manner.”   Some of the key revisions in the CDR final rule include:   Simplifying reporting, including allowing manufacturers to use certain processing and use data codes already in use by many chemical manufacturers as part of international codes developed through the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD); Changing requirements for making confidentiality claims to align with the requirements in amended TSCA; and Adding reporting exemptions for specific types of byproducts manufactured in certain equipment.   Additionally, EPA is extending the reporting period for CDR data submitters from September 30 to November 30 in order to provide additional time for the regulated community to familiarize themselves with these revisions and to allow time for reporters to familiarize themselves with an updated public version of the reporting tool. EPA will host a webinar on Tuesday, March 31, 2020, to discuss the revised reporting requirements, provide an overview of the 2020 CDR submission period, and to give an introduction to the updated e-CDRweb reporting tool.   In a separate but related action, EPA is working to finalize an amendment to update the size standards definition for small manufacturers for reporting and recordkeeping requirements under TSCA section 8(a) (TSCA 8(a) Small Manufacturer Definition Update Rule. The extended CDR reporting period should allow companies reporting under CDR time to comply with any amendments to the definition of a small manufacturer.     The CDR rule requires manufacturers (including importers) of certain chemical substances listed on the TSCA Chemical Substance Inventory to report data on chemical manufacturing, processing, and use every four years. EPA has been collecting data under the CDR rule since 2012, and today’s action brings this rule in alignment with the Lautenberg Act amendments to TSCA. CDR is an important source of information for the agency’s chemical reviews and a helpful tool for states, tribes, industry, and other stakeholders. EPA uses the data to help assess the potential human health and environmental effects of these chemicals. States, tribes, other agencies, industry, NGOs, and the public can use CDR data to understand chemicals in commerce.    Learn more about CDR, including today’s actions: https://www.epa.gov/chemical-data-reporting.   Other recent TSCA accomplishments include:   On February 19, 2020, EPA released the final process companies must follow to make certain confidential business information (CBI) claims and the agency’s plan for reviewing those claims. EPA’s final rule laying out these new requirements creates an efficient process for fulfilling the CBI requirements under TSCA and provides clarity for affected stakeholders. On February 20, 2020, EPA published a list of 20 chemical substances identified as low-priority, meaning that risk evaluations are not warranted at this time for these chemicals. This action is the result of a rigorous, transparent, and scientifically sound process to ensure chemicals in commerce do not pose unreasonable risks. This final list of low-priority chemicals will allow EPA to focus its risk evaluation efforts on the chemicals that could significantly impact public health and the environment. On February 21, 2020, EPA released the draft risk evaluation for TCE for public comment and peer review. Seeking public input on the draft risk evaluation is the next step in the process outlined by the amended Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for EPA to review the risks associated with this chemical—a process that is designed to review the best available science before taking action to manage any unreasonable risks associated with this chemical. TCE is the eighth of the first ten chemicals to undergo risk evaluation under amended TSCA. On March 5, 2020, EPA finalized a rule to add two strains of microorganisms to the list of microorganisms eligible for an exemption from certain reporting requirements under TSCA. Manufacturers of new intergeneric Trichoderma reesei (strain QM6a) and Bacillus amyloliquefaciens (subspecies amyloliquefaciens) may now be eligible to undergo a streamlined review process under TSCA’s new chemicals review program with reduced TSCA fees. This final rule ensures the safety of human health and the environment while reducing regulatory burden for the biotechnology industry. On March 11, 2020, EPA released the latest update to the TSCA Inventory, a list of all a list of all existing chemical substances manufactured, processed, or imported in the U.S. that do not qualify for an exemption or exclusion under TSCA. This update adds 81 new chemicals, and the Inventory now contains 86,405 chemicals of which 41,484 are active in U.S commerce.   # # # . Learn more about EPA Region 7: https://www.epa.gov/aboutepa/epa-region-7-midwest   Connect with EPA Region 7 on Facebook: www.facebook.com/eparegion7   Follow us on Twitter: @EPARegion7   # # # .

 

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EPA Region 7, 11201 Renner Blvd., Lenexa, KS 66219 United States