Jessica Franken, Director of Government Affairs & Dawnee Giammittorio, Associate Director of Government Affairs INDA, Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry02.05.15
Author’s Note: This column will be our final Capitol Comments published in Nonwovens Industry. Please contact INDA for further access to information and updates on key regulatory and legislative issues impacting the nonwovens industry.
(www.inda.org)
EPA Proposes Stricter Ozone Standards
Under a court order to do so, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Nov. 26 released proposed updated national ozone standards which lower the amount of ground-level ozone pollution considered healthy to breathe. The proposal calls for lowering the current standard of 75 parts per billion (ppb) to a standard in the range of 65-70 parts per billion, while the EPA will take public comment on a level as low as 60. Opponents say the tightened standard will lead to costly new requirements for air pollution permits in much of the country. For companies that produce nonwoven filtration, the standard could present market opportunities.
National Association of Manufacturers President and CEO Jay Timmons charged that the proposal "would be the most expensive regulation ever imposed on the American public." NAM calculates that the regulation will erase $3.4 trillion in economic output and 2.9 million jobs by 2040 and "could jeopardize recent progress in manufacturing by placing massive new costs on manufacturers and closing off counties and states to new business by blocking projects at the permitting stage."
The administration counters that the health benefits would far outweigh the costs and would include fewer deaths, hospitalizations and missed days at school or work from illnesses like asthma or bronchitis. States would have to meet the new standards between 2020 and 2037.
The EPA will accept comments on retaining the current standard of 75 ppb and on adopting a standard as low as 60 ppb until March 17, 2015. The EPA must review comments and finalize its decision by the court-ordered Oct. 1, 2015 deadline.
The proposal can be found at http://www.epa.gov/air/ozonepollution/pdfs/20141125proposal.pdf.
U.S. and Cuba to Restore Diplomatic Relations After 50 Years
President Barack Obama surprised most of the world with his December 17 announcement that the U.S. and Cuba would work toward normalizing relations. The president also announced that U.S. sanctions on Cuba and related export controls would be relaxed, including loosening existing restrictions on U.S. travel and exports to Cuba and allowing for provision of certain Cuba-related telecommunications and financial services.
Cuba is an appealing market for U.S. goods. with a population of over 11 million, dozens of coastal seaports and container terminals, and a lack of domestic production of many popular U.S. exports. American companies, however, will need to vie with Cuba’s long-standing trade partners in Brazil, China and Russia, though Cuba’s proximity will hopefully provide a competitive advantage. The sectors expected to benefit most immediately include construction material suppliers, banking institutions, agricultural firms and telecommunications companies.
On January 16, the first regulations relaxing trade and travel restrictions between the countries took affect, and include provisions to: (1) facilitate travel and the payment for travel to Cuba, (2) raise the limit on certain categories of remittances to Cuba, (3) allow U.S. financial institutions to open correspondent accounts at Cuban financial institutions to facilitate the processing of authorized transactions, (4) authorize certain transactions with Cuban nationals located outside of Cuba and (5) allow a number of other activities related to telecommunications, financial services, trade and shipping.
While the easing of travel, trade, banking and finance restrictions are intended to aid U.S. investment in Cuba, promote growth of the Cuban private sector, and to provide new business opportunities for U.S. producers of goods and services, the success of this historical agreement hinges on cooperation from the U.S. Congress and Cuban officials. Because President Obama’s power to lift the embargo against Cuba is limited by statute, he will require action from the Republican Congress for this agreement to have the broadest impact. Likewise, while Cuba has welcomed the new relationship with the U.S., the Cuban government controls most aspects of its economy.
Cuban officials will essentially dictate the extent to which U.S. companies can participate in its marketplace.
For more information, go to: http://www.commerce.gov/news/fact-sheets/2015/01/15/fact-sheet-us-department-commerce-and-us-department-treasury-announcemen.
CPSC Proposes Banning Five Phthalates in Toys, Certain Children’s Products
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) published a proposed final rule “Prohibition of Children’s Toys and Child Care Articles Containing Specified Phthalates” Dec. 30, permanently banning five phthalates in toys and child care articles and lifting an interim ban on two phthalates in certain children's products. At the same time, CPSC announced that expanding the phthalate ban beyond children's toys and child care articles to include all children's product was “not warranted at this time.”
The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA) expressly bans two phthalates of (di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), dibutyl phthalate (DBP), or butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP)). It further directs the CPSC to convene a Chronic Hazard Advisory Panel (CHAP) to study the effects on “children's health of all phthalates and phthalate alternatives as used in children's toys and child care articles and to provide recommendations to the Commission regarding whether any phthalates or phthalate alternatives other than those already permanently prohibited should be prohibited.”
Phthalates are plasticizers used to increase the softness and flexibility of plastics and to facilitate their processing. Some have been linked to endocrine disruption and developmental and reproductive toxicity leading to the effort to prevent harmful ones ending up in “any children’s toy that can be placed in a child’s mouth” and child care articles. The statute defines child care articles as “a consumer product designed or intended by the manufacturer to facilitate sleep or the feeding of children age 3 and younger, or to help such children with sucking or teething.”
The CHAP held its first of numerous meetings in April 2010 and completed its work in 2014. The CPSC voted 3-2 on Dec. 17 to issue the rule consistent with the findings of the CHAP, despite concerns raised that some of the data on the phthalates’ cumulative risk was outdated. The proposed rule recommends permanent bans of diisononyl phthalate (DINP), diisobutyl phthalate (DIBP), di-n-pentyl phthalate (DPENP), di-n-hexyl phthalate (DHEXP) and dicyclohexyl phthalate (DCHP) in toys and child care products. It also recommends lifting the current bans for diisodecyl phthalate (DIDP) and di-n-octyl phthalate (DNOP).
The CPSC will accept comments on the proposed rule until March 16, 2015. For more information, go to: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2014-12-30/html/2014-29967.htm.
Definition of Solid Waste Rule Approved
For companies that recycle manufacturing by-products and take advantage of the solid waste exclusion under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Jan. 13 published a final rule revising the definition of solid waste (DSW) under RCRA as it relates to recycling activities. The Agency had been working on the revisions since 2008. The final rule is expected to affect approximately 5,000 facilities across the country that generate or recycle hazardous secondary materials, including chemical, metal and other manufacturers, mining companies, and recyclers.
The final rule allows eligible spent materials, specifically listed by-products and listed sludges, and by-products in manufacturing operations to qualify for exemptions from hazardous waste regulations under Subtitle C of RCRA, provided they meet certain conditions. It also creates a “verified recycler” program that would grant states and the EPA a greater role up-front in verifying the legitimacy of third-party recycling operations. The verified recycler facilities must demonstrate legitimate recycling, have financial assurances, not be subject to enforcement actions within the last three years, manage recycling residuals properly, take steps to protect local communities and meet emergency preparedness and response conditions.
The regulation takes effect July 12. For more information about this rulemaking, go to: http://www.epa.gov/waste/hazard/dsw/rulemaking.htm
(www.inda.org)
EPA Proposes Stricter Ozone Standards
Under a court order to do so, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Nov. 26 released proposed updated national ozone standards which lower the amount of ground-level ozone pollution considered healthy to breathe. The proposal calls for lowering the current standard of 75 parts per billion (ppb) to a standard in the range of 65-70 parts per billion, while the EPA will take public comment on a level as low as 60. Opponents say the tightened standard will lead to costly new requirements for air pollution permits in much of the country. For companies that produce nonwoven filtration, the standard could present market opportunities.
National Association of Manufacturers President and CEO Jay Timmons charged that the proposal "would be the most expensive regulation ever imposed on the American public." NAM calculates that the regulation will erase $3.4 trillion in economic output and 2.9 million jobs by 2040 and "could jeopardize recent progress in manufacturing by placing massive new costs on manufacturers and closing off counties and states to new business by blocking projects at the permitting stage."
The administration counters that the health benefits would far outweigh the costs and would include fewer deaths, hospitalizations and missed days at school or work from illnesses like asthma or bronchitis. States would have to meet the new standards between 2020 and 2037.
The EPA will accept comments on retaining the current standard of 75 ppb and on adopting a standard as low as 60 ppb until March 17, 2015. The EPA must review comments and finalize its decision by the court-ordered Oct. 1, 2015 deadline.
The proposal can be found at http://www.epa.gov/air/ozonepollution/pdfs/20141125proposal.pdf.
U.S. and Cuba to Restore Diplomatic Relations After 50 Years
President Barack Obama surprised most of the world with his December 17 announcement that the U.S. and Cuba would work toward normalizing relations. The president also announced that U.S. sanctions on Cuba and related export controls would be relaxed, including loosening existing restrictions on U.S. travel and exports to Cuba and allowing for provision of certain Cuba-related telecommunications and financial services.
Cuba is an appealing market for U.S. goods. with a population of over 11 million, dozens of coastal seaports and container terminals, and a lack of domestic production of many popular U.S. exports. American companies, however, will need to vie with Cuba’s long-standing trade partners in Brazil, China and Russia, though Cuba’s proximity will hopefully provide a competitive advantage. The sectors expected to benefit most immediately include construction material suppliers, banking institutions, agricultural firms and telecommunications companies.
On January 16, the first regulations relaxing trade and travel restrictions between the countries took affect, and include provisions to: (1) facilitate travel and the payment for travel to Cuba, (2) raise the limit on certain categories of remittances to Cuba, (3) allow U.S. financial institutions to open correspondent accounts at Cuban financial institutions to facilitate the processing of authorized transactions, (4) authorize certain transactions with Cuban nationals located outside of Cuba and (5) allow a number of other activities related to telecommunications, financial services, trade and shipping.
While the easing of travel, trade, banking and finance restrictions are intended to aid U.S. investment in Cuba, promote growth of the Cuban private sector, and to provide new business opportunities for U.S. producers of goods and services, the success of this historical agreement hinges on cooperation from the U.S. Congress and Cuban officials. Because President Obama’s power to lift the embargo against Cuba is limited by statute, he will require action from the Republican Congress for this agreement to have the broadest impact. Likewise, while Cuba has welcomed the new relationship with the U.S., the Cuban government controls most aspects of its economy.
Cuban officials will essentially dictate the extent to which U.S. companies can participate in its marketplace.
For more information, go to: http://www.commerce.gov/news/fact-sheets/2015/01/15/fact-sheet-us-department-commerce-and-us-department-treasury-announcemen.
CPSC Proposes Banning Five Phthalates in Toys, Certain Children’s Products
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) published a proposed final rule “Prohibition of Children’s Toys and Child Care Articles Containing Specified Phthalates” Dec. 30, permanently banning five phthalates in toys and child care articles and lifting an interim ban on two phthalates in certain children's products. At the same time, CPSC announced that expanding the phthalate ban beyond children's toys and child care articles to include all children's product was “not warranted at this time.”
The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA) expressly bans two phthalates of (di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), dibutyl phthalate (DBP), or butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP)). It further directs the CPSC to convene a Chronic Hazard Advisory Panel (CHAP) to study the effects on “children's health of all phthalates and phthalate alternatives as used in children's toys and child care articles and to provide recommendations to the Commission regarding whether any phthalates or phthalate alternatives other than those already permanently prohibited should be prohibited.”
Phthalates are plasticizers used to increase the softness and flexibility of plastics and to facilitate their processing. Some have been linked to endocrine disruption and developmental and reproductive toxicity leading to the effort to prevent harmful ones ending up in “any children’s toy that can be placed in a child’s mouth” and child care articles. The statute defines child care articles as “a consumer product designed or intended by the manufacturer to facilitate sleep or the feeding of children age 3 and younger, or to help such children with sucking or teething.”
The CHAP held its first of numerous meetings in April 2010 and completed its work in 2014. The CPSC voted 3-2 on Dec. 17 to issue the rule consistent with the findings of the CHAP, despite concerns raised that some of the data on the phthalates’ cumulative risk was outdated. The proposed rule recommends permanent bans of diisononyl phthalate (DINP), diisobutyl phthalate (DIBP), di-n-pentyl phthalate (DPENP), di-n-hexyl phthalate (DHEXP) and dicyclohexyl phthalate (DCHP) in toys and child care products. It also recommends lifting the current bans for diisodecyl phthalate (DIDP) and di-n-octyl phthalate (DNOP).
The CPSC will accept comments on the proposed rule until March 16, 2015. For more information, go to: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2014-12-30/html/2014-29967.htm.
Definition of Solid Waste Rule Approved
For companies that recycle manufacturing by-products and take advantage of the solid waste exclusion under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Jan. 13 published a final rule revising the definition of solid waste (DSW) under RCRA as it relates to recycling activities. The Agency had been working on the revisions since 2008. The final rule is expected to affect approximately 5,000 facilities across the country that generate or recycle hazardous secondary materials, including chemical, metal and other manufacturers, mining companies, and recyclers.
The final rule allows eligible spent materials, specifically listed by-products and listed sludges, and by-products in manufacturing operations to qualify for exemptions from hazardous waste regulations under Subtitle C of RCRA, provided they meet certain conditions. It also creates a “verified recycler” program that would grant states and the EPA a greater role up-front in verifying the legitimacy of third-party recycling operations. The verified recycler facilities must demonstrate legitimate recycling, have financial assurances, not be subject to enforcement actions within the last three years, manage recycling residuals properly, take steps to protect local communities and meet emergency preparedness and response conditions.
The regulation takes effect July 12. For more information about this rulemaking, go to: http://www.epa.gov/waste/hazard/dsw/rulemaking.htm