Earlier this week, U.S. EPA released the agency’s 2020 TRI National Assessment Report, which includes data from first-time reports filed for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).  In releasing the report, EPA indicated that it was concerned by “the seemingly limited scope of PFAS reporting” and that it plans to “enhance PFAS reporting under the TRI by…

While the Covid-19 pandemic caused all sorts of disruptions to society and the economy, at least one area of business has thrived over the last two years:  private plaintiff enforcement of California Proposition 65.  In 2020-2021, over 40% more Prop 65 actions were brought by private plaintiff “bounty hunters” than in the two years prior…

EPA released this past Friday the agency’s draft strategy for examining health and environmental risks in communities that reside near facilities that emit chemicals undergoing TSCA review.  The “fenceline communities screening strategy” is an initial and explicit injection of “environmental justice” principles into the realm of chemical risk evaluation and management.  The Biden Administration has…

Just about an hour ago, the Supreme Court reinstated a nationwide stay of OSHA’s temporary emergency standard related to COVID-19, including the vaccination/testing requirements that were scheduled to be enforced starting in February.  The court, in an unsigned opinion that appears to have been supported by a 6-3 majority (Justices Breyer, Sotomayor and Kagan dissented),…

Almost a year after initially proposing revisions that would substantially curtail use of the popular “short form” warnings under Proposition 65 (see my prior blog post for more details), the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has issued a modified proposal and requested public comment by January 14, 2022. [UPDATE:  OEHHA subsequently…

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) final National Recycling Strategy, released yesterday, includes prominent mention of “extended producer responsibility” (EPR) as a prime example of programs that advance the “circular economy” by increasing “materials recovery at the state and local levels.”  The inclusion is notable in that EPR was not mentioned in earlier drafts of…

As the U.S. EPA embarks on a full review of regulations addressing the sale, distribution and use of five “persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic” (PBT) substances, the agency already is proposing to extend until 2024 the compliance date with the existing rule for one of the five PBTs – phenol, isopropylated phosphate (3:1) (known as “PIP…