Navigating the Newly-Overhauled Toxic Substances Control Act
Preparing for TSCA Implementation: Understanding the New Requirements, Deadlines, and the Amendments' Impact on State Regulatory Programs
Course Details
- smart_display Format
On-Demand
- signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level
- work Practice Area
Environmental
- event Date
Wednesday, August 3, 2016
- schedule Time
1:00 PM E.T.
- timer Program Length
90 minutes
-
This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.
-
This CLE course will provide guidance to environmental law counsel on the newly-amended Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The panel will provide insight on the amended law and its new requirements and outline strategies to prepare clients and companies to meet the many new challenges under the law. The panel will examine the key provisions of the amended law, explain how the modifications differ from the 1976 statute, and discuss who will be impacted and how.
The June 2016 amendments to TSCA represent a sweeping overhaul of the Act and its first major update since it was enacted 40 years ago. The amended TSCA vastly expands EPA’s authority over chemical substances in commerce, updates the standard for evaluating potential risks to human health and the environment presented by chemical substances, and establishes criteria for when the Agency must act to restrict the risks presented by a chemical substance. President Obama signed the new law June 22.
The TSCA amendments will change the way importers and manufacturers bring chemical substances, and in some cases, articles, to market, requiring EPA to make affirmative risk determinations and assess the adequacy of supporting data.
The TSCA amendments change how the EPA must handle manufacturers’ confidential business information (CBI). Under the new law, new requirements for substantiating CBI claims will take effect as will time limitations on CBI claims. The law also requires re-substantiation of all prior CBI claims. The status of such claims must be reevaluated every 10 years, or earlier if EPA initiates such a review.
The new law establishes certain restrictions on state regulatory authority but retains state authority in many areas. For example, states will not be able to impose new restrictions on the use of a chemical substance that EPA has determined does not present an unreasonable risk nor require notifications of a significant new use of a chemical when the EPA has already required such notification.
The new law will include key implementation deadlines commencing as early as 180 days following enactment with more coming due in 2017. Companies and their counsel must be prepared to anticipate and meet the new challenges.
Listen as our authoritative panel of practitioners examines the amended statute, identifying key provisions and important changes. The panel will analyze who will be impacted—and how—and address the likely effect on state chemical-regulatory programs. The panel will also provide steps counsel and their clients will need to take in preparation for complying with the new TSCA.
- The overhauled TSCA
- Key provisions
- Changes from 1976 law
- Who will be impacted—and how
- Preemption and state regulation
- Strategies to prepare for TSCA implementation
The panel will review these and other key issues:
- How does the amended TSCA expand EPA’s authority over chemical regulation?
- How does the amended TSCA change state authority over chemicals and products?
- What are the implications for compliance and corporate disclosure under the new law?
- What legal issues are anticipated for companies, for EPA and in the courts?
- What steps should counsel take to prepare clients for the immediate implementation of the amended law?
- How can counsel and their clients ensure that EPA takes their interests into consideration in shaping implementing the law?
