White House Greenlights Rule for Reporting Chemical Data to EPA

2020-03-16

Chemical makers will soon learn what specific information they’ll have to give the EPA later this year, now that the White House has approved the agency’s final data reporting rule. The White House Office of Management and Budget announced March 14 that it approved the regulation, which requires companies that make or import chemicals above specified thresholds—generally 25,000 pounds a year—to report production, use, and other information every four years. For a comparison, a 10-foot U-Haul filled with water would weigh roughly 25,000 pounds. The Environmental Protection Agency uses the information that companies report to decide what chemicals warrant its attention and to inform regulations.

OMB’s approval marks the last step before EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler signs and releases the regulation, which will say whether chemical manufacturers must submit their information electronically.

Susan Sharkey, from the EPA’s chemicals office, recently told companies that the electronic “central data exchange” system manufacturers will use to submit their information isn’t available yet, but will be before submissions are due. She spoke in early March at a chemical regulatory conference.

The EPA couldn’t be immediately reached for comment on Monday. It typically publishes rules soon after OMB’s approval.

Reporting is scheduled to last from June 1 to Sept. 30. But the EPA often publishes revisions to the Chemical Data Reporting rule only a few months before reports are due, therefore delaying the start of reporting.

Bloomberg Environment, 16 March 2020
; https://news.bloombergenvironment.com/environment-and-energy/white-house-greenlights-rule-for-reporting-chemical-data-to-epa