***SBA Environmental Roundtable Meeting***
FRIDAY, February 26, 10 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Via Microsoft Teams Meeting
The next SBA, Office of Advocacy Environmental Roundtable will meet virtually to discuss the following topics, beginning at 10 a.m. EST on Friday, February 26, 2021. The meeting will be held using the Microsoft Teams platform.
Send your RSVP to david.rostker@sba.gov. A meeting link will be provided to you when you RSVP.
Agenda
10:00 AM – 10:15 AM Introductions and Update on Chemicals Designated as High Priority under TSCA
Tabby Zeb, Office of Advocacy, SBA
10:15 AM – 11:15 AM EPA’s Final Risk Evaluations for Pigment Violet 29 and N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP)
Todd Coleman, Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, EPA
Eileen Sheehan, Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, EPA
11:15 AM – 12:30 PM HFC Phase-Down under the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act
Cynthia Newberg, Office of Atmospheric Programs, EPA
Roundtable meetings are open to all interested persons, with the exception of the press, in order to facilitate open and frank discussion about the impacts of Federal regulatory activities on small entities. Agendas and presentations are available to all, including the press. Anyone who wants to receive roundtable agendas or presentations, or to be included in the distribution list, should forward such requests to david.rostker@sba.gov. The purpose of these roundtable meetings is to exchange opinions, facts, and information and to obtain the attendees’ individual views and opinions regarding small business concerns. The meetings are not intended to achieve or communicate any consensus positions of the attendees.
Small Business Environmental Roundtable
Issues for Discussion
February 26, 2020
EPA’s Final Risk Evaluations for PV29 and NMP
EPA recently published its final risk evaluation for the sixth of its 10 high-priority chemicals under the amended Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA). EPA completed the final risk evaluations for pigment violet 29 (PV29) and n-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP). PV29 is used as a pigment primarily as an intermediate to create or adjust color. It is incorporated into paints and coatings used in the automobile industry, into plastic and rubber products used in automobiles and industrial carpeting. It is also used in merchant ink for commercial printing and for use in consumer watercolors and artistic color. EPA found unreasonable risks to workers and occupational non-users from 10 out of 14 conditions of use of PV29. NMP is an organic solvent that is often used as a substitute for halogenated solvent for producing and removing paints, coatings, and adhesives. It is also used in the manufacture and production of electronics, petrochemical products, polymers, and other specialty chemicals. EPA found unreasonable risks to workers and consumers from 26 out of 37 conditions of use of NMP. A final determination that a condition of use presents an unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment means that the agency will have to regulate those risks, which can include use-restrictions or bans, among other options.
The agency is currently in the process of developing ways to address the identified unreasonable risks and has up to one year to propose and take public comments on any risk management actions. Within this time frame, the agency will also have to consider whether any potential regulations for the identified risks will have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities and if so, the agency will need to convene a small business advocacy review panel to seek advice and recommendations from representatives of affected small entities on the potential impact of the proposed rule. For this reason, it is important for small business stakeholders to be informed of the conditions of use that have been determined to pose an unreasonable risk and the basis for those determinations. At this roundtable, EPA will be providing an overview of this final risk evaluation, with time for discussion and questions.
HFC Phase-Down under the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act
On December 27, 2020, the President signed the “Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021,” which includes the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act of 2020 (AIM Act). The AIM Act directs EPA to establish a regulatory framework for phasing down the production and consumption of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) over a fifteen-year period. HFCs are targeted because they are a highly potent greenhouse gas. New regulations will have a significant effect on the marketplace, including reopening some EPA regulations finalized over the last four years. At this roundtable, EPA will present on the new statute and look forward to the required rulemakings.