Fees for the Administration of the Toxic Substances Control Act
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Rule Summary
The 2016 amendments to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) provided EPA with expanded authority to collect fees from eligible TSCA activities to help defray up to 25% of the costs associated with overall TSCA implementation efforts. TSCA further required EPA to establish a fee structure by rule. EPA finalized the first fees rule under amended TSCA in 2018 and revised the rule in February 2024.
EPA has released a final rule revising the TSCA fees. The revised fees will be effective 60 days after the final rule is published in the Federal Register.
The rule requires payment of fees for eight different categories of activities or fee-triggering events under TSCA sections 4, 5 and 6:
- Test Rules under TSCA section 4
- Enforceable Consent Agreements under TSCA section 4
- Test Orders under TSCA section 4
- New Chemical Notices (Pre-manufacture Notices, Significant New Use Notices, and Microbial Commercial Activity Notices) under TSCA section 5
- New Chemical Exemption Applications (Low Volume Exemption, Test Marketing Exemption Application, TSCA Environmental Release Application, etc.) TSCA section 5
- EPA-Initiated Risk Evaluations under TSCA section 6
- Manufacturer-Requested Risk Evaluations for Chemicals on the TSCA Work Plan
- Manufacturer-Requested Risk Evaluations for Chemicals NOT on the TSCA Work Plan
The fee amount for each of these categories was developed by estimating the total annual costs of carrying out relevant activities under TSCA sections 4, 5, and 6 (excluding the costs of manufacturer-requested risk evaluations) and conducting relevant information management activities under TSCA section 14; identifying the full cost to be defrayed by the fees under TSCA section 26(b) (i.e., 25% of those annual costs) and allocating that amount across the fee-triggering events in TSCA sections 4, 5, and 6. Fees for manufacturer-requested risk evaluations are not subject to the 25% limitation in TSCA; the final fee amount is a percentage of the actual cost of conducting the evaluation.
As a general matter, most fee responsibilities under the final rule are assigned to chemical manufacturers (including importers). In certain circumstances, fees may also apply to chemical processors (e.g., when a processor submits a SNUN under TSCA section 5 or is identified in a TSCA section 4 test order).
Entities that meet the definition of a “small business concern” as defined in the final rule can receive a substantial discount of approximately 80%.
Where multiple entities are subject to a fee, the final rule allows those entities to pay individually or through a consortium of payers. EPA will divide the total fee amongst responsible individual and joint payers in accordance with a formula and process described in the final rule.
During fiscal years 2024-2026 the Agency will work to track TSCA implementation costs and use that information to adjust future fees, if appropriate. As required by law, EPA will evaluate and readjust, if necessary, the fees every three years.
Rule History
EPA issued a proposed rule on February 8, 2018 and a supplemental analysis on alternative small business size definitions and their effect on TSCA administration fee collection on April 24, 2018. EPA finalized the rule on October 18, 2018.
On January 11, 2021, EPA proposed revisions to the 2018 TSCA fees rule, and on November 16, 2022, EPA issued a supplemental notice to that proposal.
Additional Resources
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