TSCA/FIFRA/TRI

EPA Releases Final Risk Evaluation For DINP, Finding Unreasonable Risk Of Injury To Human Health When Workers Are Exposed Under Four Conditions Of Use (COU): On January 14, 2025, EPA released the final risk evaluation for diisononyl phthalate (DINP) conducted under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). EPA states that it has determined that DINP presents an unreasonable risk of injury to human health because workers could be exposed to high concentrations of DINP in mist when spraying adhesive, sealant, paint, and coating products that contain DINP. According to EPA, DINP can cause developmental toxicity and harm the liver and can cause cancer at higher rates of exposure. EPA notes that DINP can also harm the developing male reproductive system, known as “phthalate syndrome,” and that it is including DINP in its cumulative risk analysis for six phthalates that demonstrate effects consistent with phthalate syndrome. EPA released this draft risk analysis on January 6, 2025. For more information and our commentary, please read the full memorandum.

EPA Proposes Risk Management Rule To Protect Workers From Inhalation Exposure To PV29: On January 14, 2025, EPA issued a proposed rule to address the unreasonable risk of injury to human health presented by Color Index (C.I.) Pigment Violet 29 (PV29) under its COUs as documented in EPA’s January 2021 risk evaluation and September 2022 revised risk determination. 90 Fed. Reg. 3107. The proposed rule states that TSCA requires that EPA address by rule any unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment identified in a TSCA risk evaluation and apply requirements to the extent necessary so the chemical no longer presents unreasonable risk. To address the identified unreasonable risk, EPA proposes requirements to protect workers during manufacturing and processing, certain industrial and commercial uses of PV29, and disposal, while also allowing for a reasonable transition period prior to enforcement of said requirements. Comments are due February 28, 2025. For more information, please read our January 27, 2025, memorandum.

EPA Releases Draft Scope Document For Vinyl Chloride TSCA Risk Evaluation: On January 16, 2025, EPA announced the availability of and requested public comment on the draft scope of the risk evaluation to be conducted under TSCA for vinyl chloride. 90 Fed. Reg. 4738. EPA notes that under TSCA, the scope documents must include the COUs, hazards, exposures, and the potentially exposed or susceptible subpopulations (PESS) that EPA expects to consider in conducting its risk evaluation. EPA states that the purpose of risk evaluations under TSCA is to determine whether a chemical substance presents an unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment under the COUs, including unreasonable risk to PESS identified as relevant to the risk evaluation by EPA, and without consideration of costs or non-risk factors. Comments are due March 3, 2025. More information is available in our January 28, 2025, memorandum.

EPA Releases Compliance Guidance For Workplace Chemical Protection Requirements In TSCA Risk Management Rules: On January 16, 2025, EPA released a compliance guide to assist the regulated community in complying with Workplace Chemical Protection Program (WCPP) requirements for chemicals regulated under Section 6 of TSCA. EPA states that a WCPP “is a chemical protection program designed to address unreasonable risk posed by chemical exposure to persons in occupational settings.” The compliance guide provides an overview of typical WCPP requirements that the regulated community may be subject to as part of a TSCA Section 6(a) rulemaking. As reported in our previous memoranda, in 2024, EPA issued final risk management rules with WCPP requirements for methylene chloride, perchloroethylene, trichloroethylene (TCE), and carbon tetrachloride.

According to EPA, the compliance guide is intended for owners and operators of businesses that manufacture (including import) or process, distribute in commerce, use, or dispose of a chemical regulated under TSCA Section 6 that is subject to the WCPP in EPA rules. EPA notes that the guide will also be of interest to people who may be exposed to these regulated chemicals in the workplace. The guide broadly addresses the requirements of a typical WCPP, including:

• EPA TSCA occupational exposure limits (Existing Chemical Exposure Limits (ECEL) or EPA Short-Term Exposure Limits (EPA STEL)) designated under TSCA;
• ECEL action levels;
• Occupational exposure monitoring;
• Regulated areas;
• Direct dermal contact controls (DDCC);
• Respirators;
• Personal protective equipment (PPE);
• Exposure control plans;
• Recordkeeping; and
• Downstream notifications.

EPA states that while the compliance guide “provides useful information to consider when implementing a WCPP, the regulated community should also consult the WCPP provisions within the applicable risk management rule.” Individual compliance guides for rules may also provide additional chemical-specific guidance. EPA has issued guides for methylene chloride, TCE, and for the use of perchloroethylene in dry cleaning (also available in Korean and Spanish) and energized electrical cleaning.

EPA Releases New MyPest Tracking System: On January 17, 2025, EPA released its new MyPest tracking system to provide transparency and visibility into the real-time status of pesticide submissions. MyPest is a web-based system that tracks a registrant’s pesticide applications and products after submission via EPA’s Central Data Exchange (CDX). MyPest allows users to view and communicate with the Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) regarding their pesticide products and pending applications. Pursuant to the requirements in the Pesticide Registration Improvement Act of 2022 (PRIA 5), MyPest seeks to provide accurate, up-to-date information about pesticide applications that are with EPA’s OPP for review. The MyPest application is available at https://oppt.my.site.com/mypestapp/s/. More information on MyPest is available in our January 27, 2025, blog item.

EPA Proposes To Clarify Supplier Notification Requirements For TRI-Listed PFAS: EPA proposed on January 17, 2025, to clarify the timeframe for when companies must first notify a customer that one of its mixtures or trade name products contains a per- or polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) listed on the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI). 90 Fed. Reg. 5795. The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (NDAA) adds certain PFAS automatically to the TRI beginning January 1 of the year following specific triggering events. According to EPA’s January 16, 2025, press release, EPA is proposing the rule in response to questions from industry regarding the effective date of supplier notifications for PFAS added to the TRI pursuant to the NDAA. Stakeholders questioned whether the supplier notification requirements for such PFAS begin on January 1, when the PFAS are added to the statutory TRI chemical list, or upon EPA completing a rulemaking to include the added PFAS in the Code of Federal Regulations. EPA states that the proposed rule would clarify that the supplier notification requirement for these PFAS starts immediately when they are added to the TRI (January 1) by explicitly defining PFAS added to the TRI by the NDAA as TRI chemicals. EPA notes that as TRI chemicals, they are immediately covered by the TRI regulation’s supplier notification provision, as well as all other TRI reporting requirements. Supplier notifications must begin with the first shipment of the calendar year in which the chemical addition to the TRI is effective. Comments are due February 18, 2025.

EPA Updates TSCA Inventory: On January 17, 2025, EPA announced the release of the latest TSCA Inventory. The TSCA Inventory lists all existing chemical substances manufactured, processed, or imported in the United States under TSCA that do not otherwise qualify for an exemption or exclusion. EPA states that “[t]his biannual update to the public TSCA Inventory is part of EPA’s regular posting of non-confidential TSCA Inventory data.” EPA plans the next regular update of the TSCA Inventory for summer 2025. According to EPA, the TSCA Inventory currently contains 86,847 chemicals, of which 42,495 are active (currently known to be in use) in U.S. commerce. Other updates to the TSCA Inventory include commercial activity data and regulatory flags (e.g., significant new use rules (SNUR)).

Biden EPA Filed Notice Of Appeal Of Ruling That Typical Levels Of Drinking Water Fluoridation Present An Unreasonable Risk To Health: As reported in our September 30, 2024, blog item, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California ruled in September 2024 that the plaintiffs established by a preponderance of the evidence that the levels of fluoride typical in drinking water in the United States pose an unreasonable risk of injury to the health of the public. Food & Water Watch v. EPA (No. 3:17-cv-02162-EMC). On January 17, 2025, the Biden EPA filed a notice of appeal in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Food & Water Watch v. EPA (No. 25-384). Now that President Trump’s nominee for EPA Administrator, Lee Zeldin, has been confirmed, it remains to be seen how the Trump EPA will proceed. A mediation conference is scheduled for February 26, 2025.

GAO Recommends EPA’s New Chemicals Program Develop A Systematic Process To Manage And Assess Performance Better: The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) publicly released a report entitled “New Chemicals Program: EPA Needs a Systematic Process to Better Manage and Assess Performance” on January 22, 2025. GAO states that it was asked to review EPA’s implementation of its TSCA New Chemicals Program. The report summarizes the perspectives of selected manufacturers on EPA’s review process and evaluates the extent to which EPA follows key practices for managing and assessing the program. GAO identified a random, nongeneralizable sample of premanufacture notices (PMN) submitted to EPA from October 2021 to April 2024 and interviewed 19 manufacturers that submitted these notices. GAO also compared EPA’s management and assessment activities to key practices it developed based on federal laws, federal guidance, and prior GAO work.

EPA Delays Effective Date Of TCE Risk Management Rule: On January 28, 2025, EPA issued a final rule delaying the effective date of four rules, including the December 17, 2024, final risk management rule for TCE issued under TSCA Section 6(a), until March 21, 2025. 90 Fed. Reg. 8254. EPA states that it is delaying the effective dates of the rules in response to President Trump’s January 20, 2025, memorandum entitled “Regulatory Freeze Pending Review.” The memorandum directed the heads of executive departments and agencies to consider postponing for 60 days from the date of the memorandum the effective date for any rules published in the Federal Register that had not yet taken effect for the purpose of reviewing any questions of fact, law, and policy that the rules may raise. According to EPA, 13 petitions for review of the final TCE rule were filed in various federal appellate courts. On January 13, 2025, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals granted a petitioner’s motion to stay temporarily the TCE rule’s effective date. The petitions were then consolidated by the Judicial Panel for Multidistrict Litigation and transferred to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. The Third Circuit issued a January 16, 2025, order leaving the temporary stay of the effective date in place pending briefing on whether the temporary stay of the effective date should remain in effect. EPA notes that because of the court decisions, the TCE rule never went into effect and is therefore also covered by the terms of the Regulatory Freeze Pending Review memorandum. As reported in our January 24, 2025, blog item, Representatives Diana Harshbarger (R-TN) and Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA) introduced a resolution (H.J. Res. 27) expressing congressional disapproval of EPA’s final TCE rule. The joint resolution is an attempt to use the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to overturn the rule. More information on the final TCE rule is available in our January 13, 2025, memorandum.

EPA Extends Comment Period On Draft TSCA Risk Evaluation For 1,3-Butadiene: EPA announced on January 31, 2025, that it is extending the public comment period on the draft risk evaluation for 1,3-butadiene under TSCA. 90 Fed. Reg. 8798. Comments that were due February 3, 2025, are now due March 5, 2025. EPA states in its announcement that to give the peer reviewers on the Science Advisory Committee on Chemicals (SACC) time to review any additional comments received, it is in the process of rescheduling the February 4, 2025, virtual preparatory meeting and the February 25-28, 2025, peer review meeting for the draft risk evaluation. EPA will announce the new dates for these meetings once they have been selected.

EPA Postpones Addition Of Nine PFAS To TRI For Reporting Year 2025: On February 5, 2025, EPA delayed until March 21, 2025, the effective date of a January 2025 rule adding nine PFAS to the list of chemicals subject to toxic chemical release reporting under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) and the Pollution Prevention Act (PPA). 90 Fed. Reg. 9010. As reported in our January 13, 2025, blog item, the January rule updates the regulations to identify nine PFAS that must be reported pursuant to the NDAA. The PFAS added to the TRI are:

• Ammonium perfluorodecanoate (PFDA NH4) (Chemical Abstracts Service Registry Number^® (CAS RN^®) 3108-42-7);
• Sodium perfluorodecanoate (PFDA-Na) (CAS RN 3830-45-3);
• Perfluoro-3-methoxypropanoic acid (CAS RN 377-73-1);
• 6:2 Fluorotelomer sulfonate acid (CAS RN 27619-97-2);
• 6:2 Fluorotelomer sulfonate anion (CAS RN 425670-75-3);
• 6:2 Fluorotelomer sulfonate potassium salt (CAS RN 59587-38-1);
• 6:2 Fluorotelomer sulfonate ammonium salt (CAS RN 59587-39-2);
• 6:2 Fluorotelomer sulfonate sodium salt (CAS RN 27619-94-9); and
• Acetic acid, [(γ-ω-perfluoro-C8-10-alkyl)thio] derivs., Bu esters (CAS RN 3030471-22-5).

In the February 5, 2025, notice, EPA states that it is delaying the effective date of the rule in response to President Trump’s January 20, 2025, memorandum entitled “Regulatory Freeze Pending Review.” The memorandum directed the heads of executive departments and agencies to consider postponing for 60 days from the date of the memorandum the effective date for any rules published in the Federal Register that had not yet taken effect for the purpose of reviewing any questions of fact, law, and policy that the rules may raise.

Community And Environmental Groups File TSCA Section 21 Petition Seeking The Phase Out Of Hydrogen Fluoride In Domestic Oil Refining: The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) announced on February 11, 2025, that community and environmental groups submitted a petition under TSCA Section 21 to EPA to prohibit the use of hydrogen fluoride in domestic oil refining “to eliminate the extreme and unreasonable risks this use presents to public health and the environment.” Brought by NRDC, Clean Air Council (CAC), and Communities for a Better Environment (CBE), the petition states that EPA must issue a TSCA Section 6(a) rule prohibiting the use of hydrogen fluoride in domestic oil refining to eliminate unreasonable risks to public health and the environment. According to the petition, “TSCA requires EPA to issue such a rule because this petition identifies (1) a ‘chemical substance’ ([hydrogen fluoride]) that presents, (2) under one or more ‘conditions of use’ (the use of HF for alkylation at U.S. refineries, and the rail and truck transportation needed to supply HF to those refineries), (3) an unreasonable risk to health or the environment.” The petition notes that hydrogen fluoride can take different forms and that anhydrous hydrogen fluoride tends to form hydrofluoric acid when it mixes with water. As reported in our November 13, 2019, blog item, in 2019, EPA denied a similar TSCA Section 21 petition to prohibit the use of hydrofluoric acid in manufacturing processes at oil refineries. TSCA requires EPA to grant or deny the petition within 90 days from the day the petition is filed. If EPA grants the petition, EPA must promptly commence an appropriate proceeding. If EPA denies the petition, EPA must publish the reasons for denial in the Federal Register.

Deadline For Filing Annual Pesticide Production Reports Is March 1, 2025: The March 1, 2025, deadline for all establishments, foreign and domestic, that produce pesticides, devices, or active ingredients to file their annual production for the 2024 reporting year is fast approaching. Pursuant to Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) Section 7(c)(1) (7 U.S.C. § 136e(c)(1)), “Any producer operating an establishment registered under [Section 7] shall inform the Administrator within 30 days after it is registered of the types and amounts of pesticides and, if applicable, active ingredients used in producing pesticides” and this information “shall be kept current and submitted to the Administrator annually as required.” More information is available in our February 3, 2025, blog item.

RCRA/CERCLA/CWA/CAA/PHMSA/SDWA

EPA Amends National VOC Emission Standards For Aerosol Coatings: On January 17, 2025, EPA amended the National Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) Emission Standards for Aerosol Coatings. 90 Fed. Reg. 5697. EPA states that the regulation employs a relative reactivity-based approach to control aerosol coating products’ contribution to ozone formation by encouraging the use of less reactive VOC ingredients in formulations. In the final rule, EPA updates the coating category product-weighted reactivity (PWR) limits, adding new compounds and reactivity factors, updating existing reactivity factors, revising the rule’s default reactivity factor, amending thresholds for VOC regulated by the rule, amending reporting requirements, updating test methods to reflect more recent versions, adding a new compliance date, and making clarifying edits. The effective date of the final rule is January 17, 2025. The incorporation by reference of certain material listed in the rule is approved by the Director of the Federal Register as of January 17, 2025. The incorporation by reference of certain other material listed in this rule was approved by the Director of the Federal Register as of March 24, 2008.

EPA Proposes To Promulgate New Methods And Update Tables Of Approved Methods For The CWA: EPA proposed on January 21, 2025, to promulgate new methods and update the tables of approved methods for the Clean Water Act (CWA). 90 Fed. Reg. 6967. EPA proposes to add new EPA methods for PFAS and polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners, and add methods previously published by voluntary consensus bodies that industries and municipalities would use for reporting under EPA’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program. EPA also proposes to withdraw the seven Aroclor (PCB mixtures) parameters. In addition, EPA proposes to simplify the sampling requirements for two VOCs, and make a series of minor corrections to existing tables of approved methods. The proposed rule does not mandate when a parameter must be monitored or establish a discharge limit. Comments are due February 20, 2025.

EPA Proposes New Area Source Category To Address Chemical Manufacturing Process Units Using Ethylene Oxide: EPA proposed on January 22, 2025, to establish a new area source category to address chemical manufacturing process units (CMPU) using ethylene oxide (EtO). 90 Fed. Reg. 7942. EPA proposes to list EtO in table 1 to the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for Chemical Manufacturing Area Sources (CMAS NESHAP) and to add EtO-specific requirements to the CMAS NESHAP. EPA also proposes to add a fenceline monitoring program for EtO. In addition, EPA proposes new requirements for pressure vessels and pressure relief devices (PRD). EPA states that this proposal also presents the results of its technology review of the CMAS NESHAP as required under the Clean Air Act (CAA). As part of this technology review, EPA proposes to add new leak detection and repair (LDAR) requirements to the CMAS NESHAP for equipment leaks in organic hazardous air pollutant (HAP) service and heat exchange systems. EPA also proposes performance testing once every five years and to add provisions for electronic reporting. According to the notice, EPA estimates that the proposed amendments to the CMAS NESHAP, excluding the proposed EtO emission standards, would reduce HAP emissions from emission sources by approximately 158 tons per year (tpy). Additionally, the proposed EtO emission standards are expected to reduce EtO emissions by approximately 4.6 tpy. Comments are due March 24, 2025. EPA notes that under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), comments on the information collection provisions are best assured of consideration if the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) receives comments on or before February 21, 2025.

FDA

FDA Revokes Authorization For FD&C Red No. 3: On January 16, 2025, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the revocation of authorization to use FD&C Red No. 3 based on the Delaney Clause of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA). 90 Fed. Reg. 4628. According to FDA’s January 15, 2025, announcement, FDA’s action is in response to a Color Additive Petition filed by the Center for Science in the Public Interest, et al., in 2022, which required FDA to review whether the Delaney Clause applied to this food additive. Manufacturers who use FD&C Red No. 3 in food and ingested drugs will have until January 15, 2027, or January 18, 2028, respectively, to reformulate their products. According to the Federal Register notice, either electronic or written objections and requests for a hearing on the order must be submitted by February 18, 2025.

NANOTECHNOLOGY

OECD Tour de Table Includes Information On U.S. And International Developments On The Safety Of Manufactured Nanomaterials: The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has published the Developments in Delegations on the Safety of Manufactured Nanomaterials and Advanced Materials between July 2023 and June 2024 — Tour de Table (Tour de Table). The Tour de Table lists U.S. and international developments on the human health and environmental safety of nanomaterials. More information is available in our February 7 and February 14, 2025, blog items.

PUBLIC POLICY AND REGULATION

TSCA In The Spotlight: TSCA Is Focus Of First Energy & Commerce Hearing Of 119th Congress; GAO Issues Report On New Chemicals Program: In a development no one could have predicted several weeks ago, the first hearing of the 119th Congress in the House Committee on Energy and Commerce (E&C) focused on TSCA and amendments to TSCA that were enacted more than eight years ago. The E&C Subcommittee on Environment (Subcommittee) hearing on January 22, 2025, “A Decade Later: Assessing the Legacy and Impact of the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act,” featured four witnesses and robust and enthusiastic attendance by the Subcommittee members. (Attendance exceeded the Subcommittee roster because Representative Diana Harshbarger (R-TN) waived onto the Subcommittee to participate in the hearing, where she made news by announcing her intent to introduce a CRA resolution.)

Minutes before the E&C hearing, GAO released the report “New Chemicals Program: EPA Needs a Systematic Process to Better Manage and Assess Performance.” The report echoes a 2023 report by the EPA Office of Inspector General, “The EPA Lacks Complete Guidance for the New Chemicals Program to Ensure Consistency and Transparency in Decisions” (23-P-0026). GAO found that EPA’s New Chemicals Division (NCD) “does not follow most key practices for managing and assessing the results of the New Chemicals Program.” More information is available in our January 24, 2025, blog item and in our item in the TSCA section above.

Senate Confirms Zeldin As EPA Administrator; Nomination Hearing Highlights: The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW) on January 23, 2025, advanced the nomination of Lee Zeldin to the full Senate for a vote to confirm him as the next Administrator of EPA. The 11-8 vote to advance the nomination was largely along party lines, with Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ) as the only Democrat to vote in favor of advancing Zeldin’s nomination. On January 29, 2025, the Senate confirmed Zeldin as EPA Administrator by a vote of 56-42. More information on the nomination hearing is available in our January 23, 2025, blog item.

EPA Administrator Zeldin Announces Five Pillar Initiative To Guide EPA; What Does It Mean For OCSPP?: EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin on February 4, 2025, announced the “Powering the Great American Comeback Initiative” (PGAC Initiative). It consists of five pillars and is intended to serve as a roadmap to guide EPA’s actions under Administrator Zeldin.

The five pillars are: 

• Clean Air, Land, and Water for Every American;
• Restore American Energy Dominance;
• Permitting Reform, Cooperative Federalism, and Cross-Agency Partnership;
• Make the United States the Artificial Intelligence Capital of the World; and
• Protecting and Bringing Back American Auto Jobs.

Administrator Zeldin explained Pillar 3 by stating, “Any business that wants to invest in America should be able to do so without having to face years-long, uncertain, and costly permitting processes that deter them from doing business in our country in the first place.” [Emphasis added.] We agree and would urge Administrator Zeldin to consider the years-long new chemical approval process under TSCA. For more information, please read our February 7, 2025, blog.

“Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation” — How Effective Will It Be In Practice?: President Trump, on January 31, 2025, issued Executive Order 14192, “Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation.” This has been referred to as President Trump’s “ten-to-one deregulation initiative” that he spoke about when he was campaigning. If this initiative seems familiar, it may be because you remember Executive Order 13771, “Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs,” issued on February 3, 2017, by President Trump in his first term. That Executive Order called for a two-to-one repeal of regulations. It remains to be seen how many significant regulations will be targeted for repeal and eventually be repealed by the Trump Administration. It will be interesting to watch how businesses in highly regulated industries, including the chemical manufacturing industry, could benefit or be challenged by these potential regulatory actions. More information is available in our February 12, 2025, blog.

What Can Happen When Federal Career Employees Are Told “You’re Fired!”: Among the less-noticed, less-reported implications of “firing” federal employees for whatever reason (or no reason) is the process under current law and regulations that applies to reducing or eliminating programs and positions within the U.S. government. Known as a reduction in force (RIF), these procedures are arcane, complicated, and could have many unintended impacts even if imposed to attain targeted reductions in specific parts or programs of the federal workforce. The Executive Order issued on February 11, 2025, designed to implement “workforce optimization” (Implementing The President’s “Department of Government Efficiency” Workforce Optimization Initiative), has stated that to reduce the workforce, RIF procedures will be followed.

The RIF procedures are found in the Workforce Reshaping Operations Handbook, 119 pages long, not including an Appendix of 107 pages. This manual from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) outlines how and what happens to a federal employee who has their position eliminated due to budget cuts or management decisions to stop a program activity. More information on the RIF issue is available in our February 13, 2025, blog.

LEGISLATIVE

CRA Resolutions Would Overturn Recent EPA Rules: On January 22, 2025, Representatives Diana Harshbarger (R-TN) and Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA) introduced H.J. Res. 27, a resolution expressing congressional disapproval of EPA’s rule on TCE. This joint resolution is an attempt to use the CRA to overturn EPA’s recent TCE rule issued under TSCA. Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) introduced a similar resolution (S.J. Res. 19) on February 13, 2025. More information on H.J. Res. 27 is available in our January 24, 2025, blog item, and more information on EPA’s final TCE rule is available in our January 13, 2025, memorandum. On February 12, 2025, Representative Andrew S. Clyde (R-GA) introduced a resolution (H.J. Res. 46) to overturn EPA’s recent decabromodiphenyl ether (decaBDE) and phenol, isopropylated phosphate (3:1) (PIP (3:1)) rule. More information on EPA’s final rule is available in our November 13, 2024, memorandum.

House Bill Would Repeal Superfund Tax: On January 22, 2025, Representatives Beth Van Duyne (R-TX), Carol Miller (R-WV), Darin LaHood (R-IL), and Mike Carey (R-OH) introduced the Chemical Tax Repeal Act (H.R. 640). According to Van Duyne’s January 23, 2025, press release, the bill would repeal the Biden-era Superfund Tax “targeting chemical manufacturers with $15 billion in taxes on materials essential in the production of household goods.”

MISCELLANEOUS

President Trump Issues Memorandum Implementing Regulatory Freeze Pending Review: On January 20, 2025, President Trump issued a memorandum entitled “Regulatory Freeze Pending Review” that directs agencies to take the following steps:

• Do not propose or issue any rule in any manner, including by sending a rule to the Office of the Federal Register, until a department or agency head appointed or designated by the President after noon on January 20, 2025, reviews and approves the rule;
• Immediately withdraw any rules that have been sent to the Office of the Federal Register but not published in the Federal Register so that they can be reviewed and approved; and
• Consistent with applicable law, consider postponing for 60 days from the date of this memorandum the effective date for any rules that have been published in the Federal Register, or any rules that have been issued in any manner but have not taken effect, for the purpose of reviewing any questions of fact, law, and policy that the rules may raise.

USPS Issues New Mailing Standards For Hazardous Materials Outer Packaging And Nonregulated Toxic Materials: On January 27, 2025, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) amended Publication 52, Hazardous, Restricted, and Perishable Mail, by adding new Section 131 to require specific outer packaging when mailing most hazardous materials (HAZMAT) or dangerous goods (DG), to remove quantity restrictions for nonregulated toxic materials, and to remove the telephone number requirement from the lithium battery mark. The amendment was effective January 27, 2025, and applicable beginning January 19, 2025.

MPCA Recommends Exempting Until 2032 Intentionally Added PFAS In Electronic Or Other Internal Components Within The 11 Product Categories Prohibiting PFAS In 2025: The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) has posted a January 2025 report to the legislature regarding recommendations for products containing lead, cadmium, and PFAS. During the previous legislative session, the legislature directed MPCA to support a report by January 31, 2025, with legislative recommendations related to the following chemicals and products:

• The use of intentionally added PFAS in electronic or other internal components of upholstered furniture in the 2025 prohibition under Minnesota Statutes, Section 116.943;
• The use of lead and cadmium in internal electronic components of keys fobs in the prohibition under Minnesota Statutes, Section 325E.3892;
• The use of lead in pens or mechanical pencils included in the prohibition under Minnesota Statutes, Section 325E.3892; and
• The use of intentionally added PFAS in firefighting foam used in fire suppression systems installed in airport hangers in the prohibitions under Minnesota Statutes, Section 325F.072.

The MPCA report recommends that the legislature grant an exemption until 2032 for the use of intentionally added PFAS in electronic or other internal components in the 11 product categories that prohibit intentionally added PFAS in 2025. MPCA notes that internal components pose less threat of direct human exposure and that products within the 11 categories often use similar electronic or other internal components as products outside these categories. MPCA states that there are currently limited available alternatives to PFAS for many electronic or other internal component applications and an exemption will allow manufacturers time to find, develop, test, and implement PFAS-free safer alternatives. According to MPCA, an exemption “will give manufacturers of products within the 11 categories the same amount of time provided to manufacturers of products outside these categories (until 2032) to find and implement PFAS-free electronic or other internal components.”