Toy Association Comments on Proposed Changes to EPA Rules for Chemical Substance Fees and PFAS Reporting
January 24, 2023 | The Toy Association joined the Ad Hoc Downstream Users Coalition (DUC) in submitting two comment letters to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding recent rulemaking changes for chemical substance reporting and fees. The coalition is made up of trade associations representing a significant portion of U.S. industry.
Under the Fees for the Administration of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), the EPA has the authority to collect fees from chemical manufacturers and importers. The EPA has proposed revisions to this rule and accepted public comments on the modifications. The coalition’s letter supports the EPA’s proposal for the fee requirements to have a greater focus on chemical manufacturers rather than importers. The letter also supports the EPA’s proposal to exempt manufacturers from paying fees if they import articles already containing a chemical substance, produce a chemical that is present as a byproduct or impurity, or produce less than 2,500 pounds of a covered chemical per year.
The coalition also requested the EPA to consider additional modifications to the proposed rule change, including simplified compliance requirements and to update the proposed allocation structure to ensure consistent application of the fees.
“While we are encouraged to see the EPA recognize that the effective application of the TSCA fees requirements lies with the manufacturers of the chemicals themselves, it is important to ensure that the regulatory and administrative obligations are implemented in a targeted and effective manner,” said Jos Huxley, senior vice president of technical affairs at The Toy Association. “We will continue to work to make sure that our members’ considerations are heard as part of the ongoing rulemaking processes.”
The second coalition letter responded to the EPA’s November 2022 release of the Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (IRFA) of the June 2021 PFAS Reporting Rule proposal, which would require all manufacturers of PFAS since 2011 to report their information to the EPA. A Small Business Advocacy Review (SBAR) panel was convened in 2022 to provide advice and recommendations from the perspective of small businesses. The DUC letter requests that the EPA implements the recommendations from the SBAR panel, including phased reporting, limiting the scope to a finite list of intentionally added PFAS, exempting small businesses and importers of articles, and exemption from reporting polymers.
Members may reach out to The Toy Association’s Jos Huxley, senior vice president of technical affairs, with any questions on this topic.