Environmental Protection Agency March 10, 2020 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

EPA is issuing a final rule to add Trichoderma reesei (T. reesei) strain QM6a and its derivatives and Bacillus amyloliquefaciens (B. amyloliquefaciens) subspecies (subsp.) amyloliquefaciens to the list of recipient microorganisms that may be used to qualify for the Tier I and Tier II exemptions from full notification and reporting procedures under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for new microorganisms that are being manufactured for introduction into commerce. EPA received petitions to add T. reesei and B. amyloliquefaciens to the list of microorganisms eligible for the exemption from full notification and reporting procedures under the TSCA for new microorganisms. Based on EPA's evaluation of these petitions, EPA has made the determination that certain strains of both microorganisms will not present an unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment when used as a recipient microorganism provided that certain criteria for the introduced genetic material and the physical containment conditions are met.

The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), as amended in 1996, requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to make regulatory determinations every five years on at least five unregulated contaminants. A regulatory determination is a decision about whether or not to begin the process to propose and promulgate a national primary drinking water regulation (NPDWR) for an unregulated contaminant. A preliminary regulatory determination lays out and takes comment on EPA's view about whether certain unregulated contaminants meet three statutory criteria. After EPA considers public comment, EPA makes a final determination. The unregulated contaminants included in a regulatory determination are chosen from the Contaminant Candidate List (CCL), which the SDWA requires the EPA to publish every five years. The EPA published the fourth CCL (CCL 4) in the Federal Register on November 17, 2016. This document presents the preliminary regulatory determinations and supporting rationale for the following eight of the 109 contaminants listed on CCL 4: Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), 1,1-dichloroethane, acetochlor, methyl bromide (bromomethane), metolachlor, nitrobenzene, and Royal Demolition eXplosive (RDX). The Agency is making preliminary determinations to regulate two contaminants (i.e., PFOS and PFOA) and to not regulate six contaminants (i.e., 1,1-dichloroethane, acetochlor, methyl bromide, metolachlor, nitrobenzene, and RDX). The EPA seeks comment on these preliminary determinations. The EPA is also presenting an update on three other CCL 4 contaminants (strontium, 1,4-dioxane, and 1,2,3- trichloropropane).