15 U.S.C. § 2608: Relationship to other…

Summary

If the EPA Administrator finds that making, using, selling, or throwing away a chemical likely causes an unreasonable risk to health or the environment, including risks to groups who are more exposed or more sensitive, and thinks another federal law might fix the problem, the Administrator must send a report to the agency that runs that law. The report must describe the risk, say which activity causes it, explain the basis for the finding, and be published in the Federal Register. The report asks the other agency to decide if its law can prevent or reduce the risk and to say so in an order and in a written reply. The other agency must answer in the time the Administrator sets, but not less than 90 days, and its reply must include detailed findings and be published. If the other agency says the activity does not present the risk, or if it replies and then starts action under its law within 90 days after its reply is published, EPA must not take its own separate action on that risk. If the other agency does not reply or fails to act, EPA must start or finish its own action. EPA still must act on risks it did not report to another agency. If EPA already started action, the other agency must consult with EPA before acting to avoid duplicate efforts. EPA must coordinate with other federal agencies, including Health and Human Services, share exposure information with the proper agencies or offices, and is not treated as setting workplace safety rules for OSHA purposes.

Title 15, §2608

Commerce and Trade, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Laws not administered by the Administrator (b) Laws administered by the Administrator (c) Occupational safety and health

(1)If the Administrator determines that the manufacture, processing, distribution in commerce, use, or disposal of a chemical substance or mixture, or that any combination of such activities, presents an unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment, without consideration of costs or other nonrisk factors, including an unreasonable risk to a potentially exposed or susceptible subpopulation identified as relevant by the Administrator, under the conditions of use, and determines, in the Administrator’s discretion, that such risk may be prevented or reduced to a sufficient extent by action taken under a Federal law not administered by the Administrator, the Administrator shall submit to the agency which administers such law a report which describes such risk and includes in such description a specification of the activity or combination of activities which the Administrator has reason to believe so presents such risk. Such report shall also request such agency—

(A)(i)to determine if the risk described in such report may be prevented or reduced to a sufficient extent by action taken under such law, and

(ii)if the agency determines that such risk may be so prevented or reduced, to issue an order declaring whether or not the activity or combination of activities specified in the description of such risk presents such risk; and

(B)to respond to the Administrator with respect to the matters described in subparagraph (A).

Any report of the Administrator shall include a detailed statement of the information on which it is based and shall be published in the Federal Register. The agency receiving a request under such a report shall make the requested determination, issue the requested order, and make the requested response within such time as the Administrator specifies in the request, but such time specified may not be less than 90 days from the date the request was made. The response of an agency shall be accompanied by a detailed statement of the findings and conclusions of the agency and shall be published in the Federal Register.

(2)If the Administrator makes a report under paragraph (1) with respect to a chemical substance or mixture and the agency to which such report was made either—

(A)issues an order, within the time period specified by the Administrator in the report, declaring that the activity or combination of activities specified in the description of the risk described in the report does not present the risk described in the report, or

(B)responds within the time period specified by the Administrator in the report and initiates, within 90 days of the publication in the Federal Register of the response of the agency under paragraph (1), action under the law (or laws) administered by such agency to protect against such risk associated with such activity or combination of activities,

the Administrator may not take any action under section 2605(a) or 2606 of this title with respect to such risk.

(3)The Administrator shall take the actions described in paragraph (4) if the Administrator makes a report under paragraph (1) with respect to a chemical substance or mixture and the agency to which the report was made does not—

(A)issue the order described in paragraph (2)(A) within the time period specified by the Administrator in the report; or

(B)(i)respond under paragraph (1) within the timeframe specified by the Administrator in the report; and

(ii)initiate action within 90 days of publication in the Federal Register of the response described in clause (i).

(4)If an agency to which a report is submitted under paragraph (1) does not take the actions described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (3), the Administrator shall—

(A)initiate or complete appropriate action under section 2605(a) of this title; or

(B)take any action authorized or required under section 2606 of this title, as applicable.

(5)This subsection shall not relieve the Administrator of any obligation to take any appropriate action under section 2605(a) or 2606 of this title to address risks from the manufacture, processing, distribution in commerce, use, or disposal of a chemical substance or mixture, or any combination of those activities, that are not identified in a report issued by the Administrator under paragraph (1).

(6)If the Administrator has initiated action under section 2605(a) or 2606 of this title with respect to a risk associated with a chemical substance or mixture which was the subject of a report made to an agency under paragraph (1), such agency shall before taking action under the law (or laws) administered by it to protect against such risk consult with the Administrator for the purpose of avoiding duplication of Federal action against such risk.

(d)Coordination

In administering this chapter, the Administrator shall consult and coordinate with the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the heads of any other appropriate Federal executive department or agency, any relevant independent regulatory agency, and any other appropriate instrumentality of the Federal Government for the purpose of achieving the maximum enforcement of this chapter while imposing the least burdens of duplicative requirements on those subject to the chapter and for other purposes. The Administrator shall, in the report required by section 2629 of this title, report annually to the Congress on actions taken to coordinate with such other Federal departments, agencies, or instrumentalities, and on actions taken to coordinate the authority under this chapter with the authority granted under other Acts referred to in subsection (b).

(e)Exposure information

In addition to the requirements of subsection (a), if the Administrator obtains information related to exposures or releases of a chemical substance or mixture that may be prevented or reduced under another Federal law, including a law not administered by the Administrator, the Administrator shall make such information available to the relevant Federal agency or office of the Environmental Protection Agency.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2016—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 114–182, § 19(h)(1), substituted “section 2605(a)” for “section 2605” wherever appearing. Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 114–182, § 9(1)(A), in introductory provisions, substituted “determines” for “has reasonable basis to conclude”, struck out “or will present” after “presents”, and inserted “, without consideration of costs or other nonrisk factors, including an unreasonable risk to a potentially exposed or susceptible subpopulation identified as relevant by the Administrator, under the conditions of use,” after “or the environment”. Subsec. (a)(2)(A). Pub. L. 114–182, § 9(1)(B)(i), inserted “, within the time period specified by the Administrator in the report,” after “issues an order”. Subsec. (a)(2)(B). Pub. L. 114–182, § 9(1)(B)(ii), inserted “responds within the time period specified by the Administrator in the report and” before “initiates, within 90”. Subsec. (a)(3) to (6). Pub. L. 114–182, § 9(1)(C), (D), added pars. (3) to (5) and redesignated former par. (3) as (6). Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 114–182, § 9(2), designated existing provisions as par. (1) and added par. (2). Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 114–182, § 19(h)(2), substituted “Health and Human Services” for “Health, Education, and Welfare”. Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 114–182, § 9(3), added subsec. (e).

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Section effective Jan. 1, 1977, see section 31 of Pub. L. 94–469, set out as a note under section 2601 of this title. Termination of Reporting RequirementsFor termination, effective May 15, 2000, of provisions in subsec. (d) of this section relating to reporting certain coordinating actions annually to Congress in the report required by section 2629 of this title, see section 3003 of Pub. L. 104–66, as amended, set out as a note under section 1113 of Title 31, Money and Finance, and page 163 of House Document No. 103–7.

§2608 Relationship to Other Federal Laws