ASDWA, AMWA, AWWA, and ACWA Provide Support for EPA’s Proposed TSCA Amendments

On August 8, ASDWA, the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA), the American Water Works Association (AWWA), and the Association of Clean Water Agencies (ACWA) submitted comments to EPA supportive of the Agency’s proposed rule to amend the new chemicals procedural regulations under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). These amendments are intended to align the regulatory text for new chemical review with the amendments to TSCA contained in the 2016 Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act and to improve the efficiency of EPA’s review processes.

The associations were generally supportive of the proposed rule requirements, which would increase transparency by making the list of new chemical submissions received available in one place on the Agency’s website, requiring information from manufacturers and users related to each site where a chemical substance will be manufactured, processed, or used, and a requirement to provide detailed information regarding the potential environmental releases at each site, among others changes. The letter emphasizes that “TSCA is the first line of defense for protecting drinking water sources and other environmental media from emerging contaminants” and that “preventing contaminants at the source from entering the environment is more effective and less expensive than removing these pollutants from much larger streams like drinking water or contaminated watersheds.”