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On 27 September 2018, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized the user fees for the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The new fees have now been scheduled to be collected beginning 1 October 2018.
Who, what and why?
Section 26 of TSCA gives EPA the necessary authority to collect fees from manufacturers, importers and processors that submit information under sections 4, 5 and 6(b) of the act. The fees that result from this collection exercise will go toward defraying approximately 25% of the cost of activities related to these sections of TSCA and toward activities related to section 14 on confidential business information (CBI).
After a long rulemaking process, what's different today?
The 2016 TSCA amendments enabled EPA to revisit the user fees and their reach. On 8 February 2018, the agency published a rule with proposed amounts to collect, subject to the criteria above. The rule sparked an overwhelming reaction from industry, and two commentary periods soon followed.
Today, the agency is adopting the proposed rule without substantial modifications. Industry will now be subject to the following fees per TSCA obligation:
TSCA Obligation | Final TSCA Fee Amount |
Section 4 | |
Test order | $9,800 |
Test rule | $29,500 |
Enforceable consent agreement | $22,800 |
Section 5 | |
PMN and consolidated PMN | $16,000 |
SNUN | $16,000 |
MCAN and consolidated MCAN | $16,000 |
LoRex | $4,700 |
LVE | $4,700 |
TME | $4,700 |
Tier II exemption | $4,700 |
TERA | $4,700 |
Film articles | $4,700 |
Section 6 | |
EPA-initiated risk evaluation | $1,350,000 |
Manufacturer-requested risk evaluation on a chemical included in the T19SCA Work Plan | Initial payment of $1.25 million, with final invoice to recover 50% of actual costs |
Manufacturer-requested risk evaluation on a chemical not included in the TSCA Work Plan | Initial payment of $2.5 million, with final invoice to recover 100% of actual costs |
Looking ahead, will these fees stand the test of time?
The fees are set to undergo a review process - and potential readjustment - every three years. The agency will utilize the data from fiscal years 2019-2021 to evaluate any readjustment needed.
Want additional in-depth TSCA analysis? Subscribers may refer to 3E Monitor's news articles:
- U.S. EPA Proposes a Fourth Framework Rule on User Fees under TSCA;
- Official Deadline for Submitting Comments on U.S. TSCA User Fees Rule Starts Now; and
- U.S. EPA Provides Further Guidance for Small Businesses for TSCA User Fees Proposed Rule.
Business impact
The Central Data Exchange (CDX) portal has already announced that beginning 1 October 2018 the agency will start collecting the new fees for TSCA section 5 submissions. The rule clarifies that the new fees will apply to all submissions received by EPA starting 1 October 2018. Thus, the fees are now in effect.
Want to know all about TSCA? Join us for a two-part online workshop in October.