EPA Proposes New User Fees for TSCA Activities, Including SNURs and Risk Evaluations
The Environmental Protection Agency is proposing substantial new user fees for activities it conducts under Sections 4, 5 and 6 of the Toxic Substances Control Act. Under the proposed rule, the user fees, which reach from about $1,000 to into the millions of dollars, depending on the activity and business size, would begin on Oct. 1, 2018. Authorized by the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, the user fees will allow EPA to “defray some of the costs of administering certain TSCA requirements,” it said.
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The proposed fees would apply to manufacturers, including importers, that are required to submit information by a test rule, test order or enforceable consent agreement under TSCA Section 4; that submit notification or information related to intent to manufacture a new chemical or significant new use of a chemical under TSCA Section 5; or that manufacture a chemical substance subject to a risk evaluation, including at the request of a manufacturer or importer, under TSCA Section 6(b).
Lower Fees Proposed for Small Businesses
Currently, EPA does not collect user fees at all for TSCA Section 4 test rules. For TSCA Section 5 pre-manufacturer notices, EPA fees were until recently capped by law at $100 for small businesses and $2,500 for all other manufacturers or processors. The current fees do not reflect the “current cost of administering the TSCA sections associated with these submissions,” and in any case go into a general fund that do not defray EPA costs, the agency said. The proposed rule would drastically increase user fees as follows:
| Proposed Fee Category | Proposed Fee | Small Business |
|---|---|---|
| TSCA Section 4 | ||
| Test order | $9,800 | $1,950 |
| Test rule | $29,500 | $5,900 |
| Enforceable consent agreement | $22,800 | $4,600 |
| TSCA Section 5 | ||
| PMN and consolidated PMN | $16,000 | $2,800 |
| SNUN | $16,000 | $2,800 |
| MCAN and consolidated MCAN | $16,000 | $2,800 |
| LoREX | $4,700 | $940 |
| LVE | $4,700 | $940 |
| TME | $4,700 | $940 |
| Tier II exemption | $4,700 | $940 |
| TERA | $4,700 | $940 |
| Film articles | $4,700 | $940 |
| TSCA Section 6 | ||
| EPA-initiated risk evaluation | $1,350,000 | $270,000 |
| Manufacturer-requested risk evaluation on chemical included in Work Plan | $1,300,000 | $1,300,000 |
| Manufacturer-requested risk evaluation on chemical not included in Work Plan | $2,600,000 | $2,600,000 |
EPA would collect the user fee for Section 5 notices before reviewing each submission or undertaking the activity associated with the fees. Fees for test orders, test rules and other activities under TSCA Section 4 would be due within 60 days of the effective date of the EPA order or rule, or 60 days after signing an enforceable consent agreement, EPA said. Fees for Section 6(b) risk evaluations initiated by the EPA would be due within 60 days of EPA publishing the final scope of a chemical risk evaluation. Fees for manufacturer-requested risk evaluations would be due within 30 days of when EPA grants the manufacturer’s request, the agency said.
EPA says it would allow groups of manufacturers to jointly submit fees to EPA. “EPA is proposing to allow joint submissions under TSCA section 5 and is permitting the formation of, and payment by, consortia for submissions under TSCA sections 4 and 6,” it said. “Joint submitters of a TSCA section 5 notice would be required to remit the applicable fee … for each section 5 notice submitted. Only one fee is required for each submission, regardless of the number of joint submitters for that notice.”