ACI Advocates for Proposed Updates to TSCA Statute

The House Energy and Commerce Committee leadership has introduced legislation to reauthorize the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ability to collect administrative fees for chemical reviews under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), while also proposing additional new changes to the statute.  

In response, the American Cleaning Institute (ACI) advocates for targeted changes to TSCA that could drastically improve the review and approval of new chemistries for ACI members and cleaning product and ingredient manufacturers across the commercial cleaning industry. 

ACI encourages bipartisan support of a targeted legislative amendment that improves EPA’s ability to process Pre-Manufacture Notice (PMN) reviews consistently and predictably. This could improve ingredient suppliers and formulators’ ability to innovate and introduce new chemistries and products to American consumers.  

“ACI and our member manufacturers appreciate the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s approach for not wholesale, but targeted changes for new and existing chemical reviews under TSCA,” says Blake Nanney, ACI Director of Government Affairs. "Americans should have access to the most sustainable and innovative cleaning products in the world. Improving the law would help get these products and chemistries to market more quickly, keeping the American manufacturing competitive domestically and internationally, ultimately resulting in more choices and benefits for our U.S. consumers.”

TSCA defines how new and existing chemicals are regulated by the EPA, which has jurisdiction over implementing the TSCA law by overseeing the chemical management process. According to a TSCA statute signed into law in 2016, the EPA must review and decide on a PMN submission within 90 to 180 days. And while the bill was successfully signed into law with bipartisan support, its implementation has encountered challenges. 

According to a United States Government Accountability Office report, manufacturers have experienced significant delays in the EPA’s ability to process PMN reviews within the statutory timeline, leading to a backlog of pending new chemical reviews. 

As negotiations continue among legislators, ACI continues to press Congress to make the necessary changes to instill greater predictability and efficiency in the TSCA chemical management process, particularly for new and existing chemical reviews under Sections 5 and 6 of the law, respectively.   

“ACI is a strong advocate for these reforms because innovation is critical for industry growth and better choices for American consumers and families,” Nanney asserts.