Progress Made In the Development of California's Green Chemistry Regulations
This post was written by Eric McLaughlin.
Since the enactment of California’s two landmark green chemistry laws in September 2008 (AB 1879 and SB 509), significant effort has been made to develop their implementing regulations. This process has proven to be difficult and controversial, because a compromise must be reached between numerous competing concerns, most notably the legislative mandate to protect human health and the environment, and the significant costs to be imposed on companies manufacturing and selling consumer products in California. The process has also come under intense nationwide scrutiny, because California's Green Chemistry Initiative is considered a possible model for national chemical policy reform.
State regulators at the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) have until January 1, 2011 to enact the final version of the green chemistry regulations, known as the Safer Consumer Products Alternatives (SCPA) regulations. An informal rulemaking process has been used to shape the regulatory framework and extensive public comment has been received from stakeholders, including the scientific community, industry and environmentalists. The most recent draft of the SCPA regulations was released on June 23, 2010 and public comments were accepted through July 15, 2010.
California’s green chemistry laws are intended to completely refocus the regulation of chemicals in consumer products on the beginning of the product life cycle – the design phase. This approach will enable determinations to be made about which chemicals should be used in which products, and weighing the potential effects of those products on human health and the environment before they occur. Drafting the regulations to accomplish this goal, however, has prompted much debate throughout the informal rulemaking process, which has intensified as the SCPA regulations have taken shape, and has focused on six main issues: (1) scope of the regulations; (2) prioritizing chemicals of concern; (3) alternatives analysis; (4) confidential business information; (5) conflicting and duplicative regulations; and (6) the cost of implementation. This post summarizes the status of these issues.
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