Raising TSCA implementation fees will bring ‘faster protections,’ EPA says

Washington — The Environmental Protection Agency expects a final rule that would increase fees to defray administration costs of the Toxic Substances Control Act to bolster chemical-review efficiency and safety protections.

The rule would establish fee revenues from industry, allowing EPA to offset up to 25% of costs associated with administering the act.

In a Feb. 8 post to X, formerly known as Twitter, EPA writes that finalizing the rule paves the way for “the review of more chemicals, more efficiently. This means faster protections for communities from dangerous chemicals, and better support for innovative new chemistries that will power our nation’s future.”

The increased fees would also “help EPA reduce the backlog of delayed reviews and support additional work for new cases,” a prepublished version of the rule states.

EPA maintains authority to collect fees to help offset costs of TSCA administration via 2016 amendments to the act. A corresponding fees rule enacted in 2018 “resulted in collection of less than half of the costs EPA had the authority to collect, adding to implementation challenges caused by insufficient resources,” an agency press release states.

EPA issued a proposal in November 2022.

The rule is set to go into effect 60 days after publication in the Federal Register.