Compliance Advisor: Understand CDR Reporting Changes

摘要

SECTION 8 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) compels manufacturers (including importers) to provide the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with information on the production and use of chemicals in commerce. The last Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) cycle was in 2016, so TSCA stakeholders have been gearing up for this quadrennial reporting obligation in 2020. This column provides an overview of changes since 2016. Congress amended the TSCA in 2016, and the EPA has revised the CDR to reflect legislative changes. On March 17, 2020, the EPA released a new final CDR rule. The revisions lessen the burden for certain CDR reporters, improve the quality of CDR data collected, and align reporting requirements with the 2016 TSCA amendments. The EPA also extended the reporting period from September 30, 2020 to November 30, 2020, to provide additional time for the regulated community to familiarize themselves with the amendments and the updated public version of the reporting tool. Key changes include: Confidentiality: Amendments for making confidentiality claims include identifying when upfront substantiation is required, updating the substantiation questions, and identifying data elements that can't be claimed as confidential business information (CBI).