First mandated adjustment for TSCA fees announced by EPA

EPA recently announced legally mandated adjustments to the administrative fee requirements under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). EPA is directed by TSCA to make such adjustments every three years.

This is the first legally mandated adjustment to the fees, as the first TSCA fees rule was not finalized until late 2018. EPA says that the TSCA program remains seriously underfunded, and the agency has estimated that it has less than half of the resources necessary to review and approve new chemicals in the way intended by Congress and the Act.

Beyond the fee adjustment, EPA plans to propose additional revisions to the 2018 rule to ensure that:

• TSCA fee amounts capture up to 25 percent of the actual costs of TSCA activities,
• Fees are distributed equitably, and
• Fee payers are identified through a transparent process.

EPA notes that the agency provides an approximately 80 percent reduction in TSCA fees for submitters that qualify as small businesses that are either not associated with a consortium or associated with an all-small business consortium.

A table outlining TSCA administration fees, including adjusted fees and maximum fees for small businesses as of January 1, 2022, is available to view at www.epa.gov/tsca-fees/tsca-fees-table.

Key to remember: Mandated adjustments to TSCA fees occur every three years to ensure sufficient resources for the underfunded yet important program.