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On June 22nd, the EPA marked the first anniversary of the Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act (“LCSA”), commonly known as “TSCA Reform,” by issuing a Federal Register prepublication report. The EPA was obligated by statutory requirement under the TSCA Reform regulation to announce a number of rules by June 22, 2017. The major rule announced was the requirement for reporting of all chemicals manufactured in and imported into the United States in the 10 years preceding June 21, 2016, “TSCA Re-Set,” to create an “Active” TSCA Inventory.
The pre-published rule for the TSCA-Re-Set has simplified the data requirements for the retrospective reporting. No longer will manufacturers or importers be required to provide volume and date information. Submitters will certify upon submission that they meet the reporting requirement. Reporting will be required for any chemical used commercially during the 10 year retrospective time period. The report must be submitted 180 days after the formal publication is issued in the Federal Register.
For the retrospective reporting, the pre-published rule clarified the requirements of processors. Processors will continue to not be required to report. Processors that do not submit data during the initial 180 reporting period will have 420 days after the “Active” TSCA inventory is published from manufacturing and imported data to add chemicals that were not initially added.
The pre-published report also included descriptions of the report form, Notice of Activity Forms (NOA). It included NOA-A for retrospective reporting and NOA-B for forward reporting of chemicals that did not get listed on the “Active” TSCA inventory but were previously listed on TSCA.
Manufacturers and importers that submitted chemicals during the 2012 and 2016 Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) are not required to submit a NOA-A form for chemicals submitted for the 2012 and 2016 CDR periods unless they want to maintain the chemical identity as confidential. NOA-A forms for 2012 and 2016 CDR chemicals that manufacturers want to maintain as Confidential Business Information (CBI) will also need to include substantiation for the request.
All manufacturers and importers of chemicals are required to report even if they presume someone else will report. An exemption from reporting was developed to allow a manufacturer or importer not to be required to report but only if they have documented proof that a NOA-A was filed.
On June 22nd, the EPA also announced the guidance for submitting draft risk evaluations to the EPA from the public. The scope of evaluations for the first 10 priority chemicals under review, established the EPA’s process and criteria for identifying priority chemicals that do not require risk evaluation and to determine whether chemicals present an unreasonable risk to health or the environment.
If you have questions or need help fulfilling these and other regulatory requirements, 3E stands ready to provide comprehensive TSCA support.
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