EPA Submits Final TSCA Rule on Nanomaterials to OMB for Review

On October 7, 2016, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a final rule that would require reporting and recordkeeping information on certain chemical substances when they are manufactured or processed as nanoscale materials.  EPA issued a proposed rule, under Section 8(a) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), on April 6, 2015.  EPA proposed to require persons that manufacture or process certain chemical substances when manufactured or processed at the nanoscale to report electronically to EPA certain information, including the specific chemical identity, production volume, methods of manufacture and processing, exposure and release information, and existing data concerning environmental and health effects.  EPA also proposed to require any persons who intend to manufacture or process chemical substances as discrete nanoscale materials after the effective date of the final rule to notify EPA of the same information at least 135 days before the intended date of commencement of manufacture or processing.  As reported in our May 19, 2016, blog item, OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) issued a December 17, 2015, memorandum concerning “Regulatory Review at the End of the Administration,” which states that “agencies should strive to complete their highest priority rulemakings by the summer of 2016 to avoid an end-of-year scramble that has the potential to lower the quality of regulations that OIRA receives for review and to tax the resources available for interagency review.”