The Environmental Protection Agency has finalized amendments to the 2018 Toxic Substances Control Act fees rule that, according to the agency, will strengthen its ability to successfully implement the law in a sustainable way, improve chemical reviews, and ensure these reviews result in necessary health and safety protection.
According to an EPA press release, the amendments update how the agency will recover authorized costs of the law’s implementation and ensure that collected fees provide the agency with 25 percent of authorized costs consistent with direction from Congress. The rule requires payment of fees for eight different categories of activities or fee-triggering events under TSCA sections 4, 5, and 6. As a general matter most fee responsibilities under the final rule are assigned to chemical manufacturers (including importers), although in certain circumstances fees may also apply to chemical processors.
The 2016 amendments to TSCA greatly increased the EPA’s authority and responsibility to protect people and the environment from toxic chemicals. While Congress provided the agency with new authority to collect fees to offset up to 25 percent of authorized TSCA implementation costs, the 2018 TSCA fees rule resulted in the collection of less than half of the costs the EPA had the authority to collect, adding to implementation challenges caused by insufficient resources.
The revised fees will be effective 60 days after the final rule is published in the Federal Register.
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