The American subsidiary of a Japanese chemical and industrial materials producer will pay about $416,000 to settle charges that it illegally imported hydrofluorocarbons, EPA announced March 21. The agency said Resonac America Inc., a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Resonac Corp., illegally imported 6,208 pounds of HFCs on three separate occasions in 2023 at the Port of Los Angeles, and it failed to notify EPA about another shipment that was planned for February.

EPA is finalizing increased fees for significant new use notices, pre-manufacture notices and other actions under the Toxic Substances Control Act, it said in a final rule Feb. 22. The rule, which also revises the agency’s cost estimates and methods for calculating future fees, roughly doubles current fees for many types of TSCA activities. It also finalizes six exemptions from some TSCA fees, including for importers of articles containing a chemical substance. The final rule takes effect April 22.

EPA will give importers and manufacturers additional time to submit reports on polymers manufactured under an exemption from the Toxic Substances Control Act. The agency is extending the deadline to March 31, after technical difficulties affected a switch to electronic submission procedures, giving importers and manufacturers only days to submit reports prior to the original Jan. 31 deadline. The extension will “allow manufacturers additional time to submit their reports and accompanying claims to EPA using the electronic reporting tool,” the agency said.

EPA recently released a new guidance document on “absence of an ingredient” claims in products regulated under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act. The agency said it will review such claims on pesticide labeling on a “case-by-case basis,” and provided examples of acceptable and unacceptable “absence of an ingredient claims” for bleach, phosphates and N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide (DEET). The guidance document also “outlines the actions that may be taken by applicants and registrants who wish to modify their registrations or applications based on this guidance.”

The Environmental Protection Agency is setting new significant new use rules (SNURs) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for 329 per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) that have not been imported, manufactured or processed for many years and are designated as inactive on the TSCA Chemical Substance Inventory, it said in a final rule released Jan. 10. As a result of the SNURs, anyone planning to manufacture, import or process any of the chemical substances for an activity designated as a significant new use by this rule are required to notify EPA at least 90 days in advance. Importers of chemicals subject to these SNURs will need to certify their compliance with the SNUR requirements, and exporters of these chemical substances will now become subject to export notification requirements. The final rule takes effect March 11.

EPA is extending the compliance date for an upcoming ban on residential and light commercial air conditioning and heat pump systems that exceed product-specific limits on the use of hydrofluorocarbons (see 2310240040). The Dec. 26 interim final rule allows one additional year, until Jan. 1, 2026, “solely for the installation of new residential and light commercial air conditioning and heat pump systems using components manufactured or imported” before 2025, EPA said. “EPA is promulgating this action to mitigate the potential for significant stranded inventory in this subsector,” the agency said.

The Environmental Protection Agency is initiating the prioritization process for risk evaluations on five chemicals under the Toxic Substances Control Act. After it completes the prioritization process for the five chemicals -- acetaldehyde, acrylonitrile, benzenamine, vinyl chloride and 4,4′-methylene bis(2-chloroaniline) (MBOCA) -- EPA will immediately begin the risk evaluation process for any chemicals it designates as high priority. Designations as low risk chemicals or the implementation of restrictions on chemicals designated as high-risk will pre-empt any state restrictions on the chemicals. Comments on risk prioritization for the five chemicals identified in the notice are due by March 18.

The Environmental Protection Agency published a final rule Dec. 18 setting new significant new use rules (SNURs) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for 24 chemical substances subject to Premanufacture Notices (PMNs). As a result of the SNURs, persons planning to manufacture, import or process any of the chemical substances for an activity designated as a significant new use by this rule are required to notify EPA at least 90 days in advance. Importers of chemicals subject to these SNURs will need to certify their compliance with the SNUR requirements, and exporters of these chemical substances will now become subject to export notification requirements. The final rule takes effect Feb. 16. The SNURs cover the following:

EPA is proposing to amend its recently issued restrictions on two persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT) chemicals, decabromodiphenyl ether (decaBDE) and phenol, isopropylated phosphate (3:1) (PIP (3:1)). The changes affect conditions for use and processing of the two chemicals, as well as certain exemptions from prohibitions on the chemicals and compliance dates for phase-outs. Comments are due Jan. 8.

A new partner government agency message set isn’t the only thing coming at the beginning of 2024 for hydrofluorocarbon imports. On that date, EPA also will be rolling out much reduced allocations for HFC importers, increasing scrutiny on importers, EPA officials said on a webinar Nov. 14.