On February 7, 2018, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt signed a proposed rule establishing user fees to cover the costs of administering its duties under the amended Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), the Frank Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act.
According to EPA’s estimate, the proposed rule will bring in approximately $20.05 million per year in user fees, excluding user fees associated with manufacture-requested risk evaluations. The proposed rule would go into effect October 1, 2018 for fiscal year (FY) 2019. Fees for FYs 2020 and 2021 would remain constant. However, the EPA would be required to adjust the fees every three years for inflation and to ensure 25 percent of its costs in administering sections 4, 5, 6, and 14 of TSCA are covered.
Who is affected?
You may be affected if you manufacture (including import), distribute in commerce, or process a chemical substance (or any combination of such activities) and are required to submit information to EPA under TSCA sections 4 or 5 or if you manufacture a chemical substance that is the subject of a risk evaluation under TSCA section 6(b). Potentially affected entities may include companies listed in the following major NAICS groups:
Proposed Fee Amounts
Table 6—Proposed TSCA User Fees
| Proposed fee category | Proposed fee |
|---|---|
| TSCA Section 4: | |
| Test order | $9,800 |
| Test rule | $29,500 |
| Enforceable consent agreement | $22,800 |
| TSCA Section 5: | |
| PMN and consolidated PMN, SNUN, MCAN and consolidated MCAN | $16,000 |
| LoREX, LVE, TME *, Tier II exemption, TERA, Film Articles | $4,700 |
| TSCA Section 6: | |
| EPA-initiated risk evaluation | $1,350,000 |
| Manufacturer-requested risk evaluation on a chemical included in the Work Plan | $1,300,000 |
| Manufacturer-requested risk evaluation on a chemical not included in the Work Plan | $2,600,000 |
The comment period for the prooposed rule ends April 27th, 2018. For more information, see the proposed rule in the federal register, the EPA's press release, or read more about the proposed rule here.
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