Laws: Cases and Codes : U.S. Code : Title 15 : Section 2604


   
U.S. Code as of: 01/19/04
Section 2604. Manufacturing and processing notices

    (a) In general
      (1) Except as provided in subsection (h) of this section, no
    person may - 
        (A) manufacture a new chemical substance on or after the 30th
      day after the date on which the Administrator first publishes the
      list required by section 2607(b) of this title, or
        (B) manufacture or process any chemical substance for a use
      which the Administrator has determined, in accordance with
      paragraph (2), is a significant new use,

    unless such person submits to the Administrator, at least 90 days
    before such manufacture or processing, a notice, in accordance with
    subsection (d) of this section, of such person's intention to
    manufacture or process such substance and such person complies with
    any applicable requirement of subsection (b) of this section.
      (2) A determination by the Administrator that a use of a chemical
    substance is a significant new use with respect to which
    notification is required under paragraph (1) shall be made by a
    rule promulgated after a consideration of all relevant factors,
    including - 
        (A) the projected volume of manufacturing and processing of a
      chemical substance,
        (B) the extent to which a use changes the type or form of
      exposure of human beings or the environment to a chemical
      substance,
        (C) the extent to which a use increases the magnitude and
      duration of exposure of human beings or the environment to a
      chemical substance, and
        (D) the reasonably anticipated manner and methods of
      manufacturing, processing, distribution in commerce, and disposal
      of a chemical substance.
    (b) Submission of test data
      (1)(A) If (i) a person is required by subsection (a)(1) of this
    section to submit a notice to the Administrator before beginning
    the manufacture or processing of a chemical substance, and (ii)
    such person is required to submit test data for such substance
    pursuant to a rule promulgated under section 2603 of this title
    before the submission of such notice, such person shall submit to
    the Administrator such data in accordance with such rule at the
    time notice is submitted in accordance with subsection (a)(1) of
    this section.
      (B) If - 
        (i) a person is required by subsection (a)(1) of this section
      to submit a notice to the Administrator, and
        (ii) such person has been granted an exemption under section
      2603(c) of this title from the requirements of a rule promulgated
      under section 2603 of this title before the submission of such
      notice,

    such person may not, before the expiration of the 90 day period
    which begins on the date of the submission in accordance with such
    rule of the test data the submission or development of which was
    the basis for the exemption, manufacture such substance if such
    person is subject to subsection (a)(1)(A) of this section or
    manufacture or process such substance for a significant new use if
    the person is subject to subsection (a)(1)(B) of this section.
      (2)(A) If a person - 
        (i) is required by subsection (a)(1) of this section to submit
      a notice to the Administrator before beginning the manufacture or
      processing of a chemical substance listed under paragraph (4),
      and
        (ii) is not required by a rule promulgated under section 2603
      of this title before the submission of such notice to submit test
      data for such substance,

    such person shall submit to the Administrator data prescribed by
    subparagraph (B) at the time notice is submitted in accordance with
    subsection (a)(1) of this section.
      (B) Data submitted pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall be data
    which the person submitting the data believes show that - 
        (i) in the case of a substance with respect to which notice is
      required under subsection (a)(1)(A) of this section, the
      manufacture, processing, distribution in commerce, use, and
      disposal of the chemical substance or any combination of such
      activities will not present an unreasonable risk of injury to
      health or the environment, or
        (ii) in the case of a chemical substance with respect to which
      notice is required under subsection (a)(1)(B) of this section,
      the intended significant new use of the chemical substance will
      not present an unreasonable risk of injury to health or the
      environment.

      (3) Data submitted under paragraph (1) or (2) shall be made
    available, subject to section 2613 of this title, for examination
    by interested persons.
      (4)(A)(i) The Administrator may, by rule, compile and keep
    current a list of chemical substances with respect to which the
    Administrator finds that the manufacture, processing, distribution
    in commerce, use, or disposal, or any combination of such
    activities, presents or may present an unreasonable risk of injury
    to health or the environment.
      (ii) In making a finding under clause (i) that the manufacture,
    processing, distribution in commerce, use, or disposal of a
    chemical substance or any combination of such activities presents
    or may present an unreasonable risk of injury to health or the
    environment, the Administrator shall consider all relevant factors,
    including - 
        (I) the effects of the chemical substance on health and the
      magnitude of human exposure to such substance; and
        (II) the effects of the chemical substance on the environment
      and the magnitude of environmental exposure to such substance.

      (B) The Administrator shall, in prescribing a rule under
    subparagraph (A) which lists any chemical substance, identify those
    uses, if any, which the Administrator determines, by rule under
    subsection (a)(2) of this section, would constitute a significant
    new use of such substance.
      (C) Any rule under subparagraph (A), and any substantive
    amendment or repeal of such a rule, shall be promulgated pursuant
    to the procedures specified in section 553 of title 5, except that
    (i) the Administrator shall give interested persons an opportunity
    for the oral presentation of data, views, or arguments, in addition
    to an opportunity to make written submissions, (ii) a transcript
    shall be kept of any oral presentation, and (iii) the Administrator
    shall make and publish with the rule the finding described in
    subparagraph (A).
    (c) Extension of notice period
      The Administrator may for good cause extend for additional
    periods (not to exceed in the aggregate 90 days) the period,
    prescribed by subsection (a) or (b) of this section before which
    the manufacturing or processing of a chemical substance subject to
    such subsection may begin. Subject to section 2613 of this title,
    such an extension and the reasons therefor shall be published in
    the Federal Register and shall constitute a final agency action
    subject to judicial review.
    (d) Content of notice; publications in the Federal Register
      (1) The notice required by subsection (a) of this section shall
    include - 
        (A) insofar as known to the person submitting the notice or
      insofar as reasonably ascertainable, the information described in
      subparagraphs (A), (B), (C), (D), (F), and (G) of section
      2607(a)(2) of this title, and
        (B) in such form and manner as the Administrator may prescribe,
      any test data in the possession or control of the person giving
      such notice which are related to the effect of any manufacture,
      processing, distribution in commerce, use, or disposal of such
      substance or any article containing such substance, or of any
      combination of such activities, on health or the environment, and
        (C) a description of any other data concerning the
      environmental and health effects of such substance, insofar as
      known to the person making the notice or insofar as reasonably
      ascertainable.

    Such a notice shall be made available, subject to section 2613 of
    this title, for examination by interested persons.
      (2) Subject to section 2613 of this title, not later than five
    days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays) after the
    date of the receipt of a notice under subsection (a) of this
    section or of data under subsection (b) of this section, the
    Administrator shall publish in the Federal Register a notice which
    - 
        (A) identifies the chemical substance for which notice or data
      has been received;
        (B) lists the uses or intended uses of such substance; and
        (C) in the case of the receipt of data under subsection (b) of
      this section, describes the nature of the tests performed on such
      substance and any data which was developed pursuant to subsection
      (b) of this section or a rule under section 2603 of this title.

    A notice under this paragraph respecting a chemical substance shall
    identify the chemical substance by generic class unless the
    Administrator determines that more specific identification is
    required in the public interest.
      (3) At the beginning of each month the Administrator shall
    publish a list in the Federal Register of (A) each chemical
    substance for which notice has been received under subsection (a)
    of this section and for which the notification period prescribed by
    subsection (a), (b), or (c) of this section has not expired, and
    (B) each chemical substance for which such notification period has
    expired since the last publication in the Federal Register of such
    list.
    (e) Regulation pending development of information
      (1)(A) If the Administrator determines that - 
        (i) the information available to the Administrator is
      insufficient to permit a reasoned evaluation of the health and
      environmental effects of a chemical substance with respect to
      which notice is required by subsection (a) of this section; and
        (ii)(I) in the absence of sufficient information to permit the
      Administrator to make such an evaluation, the manufacture,
      processing, distribution in commerce, use, or disposal of such
      substance, or any combination of such activities, may present an
      unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment, or
        (II) such substance is or will be produced in substantial
      quantities, and such substance either enters or may reasonably be
      anticipated to enter the environment in substantial quantities or
      there is or may be significant or substantial human exposure to
      the substance,

    the Administrator may issue a proposed order, to take effect on the
    expiration of the notification period applicable to the
    manufacturing or processing of such substance under subsection (a),
    (b), or (c) of this section, to prohibit or limit the manufacture,
    processing, distribution in commerce, use, or disposal of such
    substance or to prohibit or limit any combination of such
    activities.
      (B) A proposed order may not be issued under subparagraph (A)
    respecting a chemical substance (i) later than 45 days before the
    expiration of the notification period applicable to the manufacture
    or processing of such substance under subsection (a), (b), or (c)
    of this section, and (ii) unless the Administrator has, on or
    before the issuance of the proposed order, notified, in writing,
    each manufacturer or processor, as the case may be, of such
    substance of the determination which underlies such order.
      (C) If a manufacturer or processor of a chemical substance to be
    subject to a proposed order issued under subparagraph (A) files
    with the Administrator (within the 30-day period beginning on the
    date such manufacturer or processor received the notice required by
    subparagraph (B)(ii)) objections specifying with particularity the
    provisions of the order deemed objectionable and stating the
    grounds therefor, the proposed order shall not take effect.
      (2)(A)(i) Except as provided in clause (ii), if with respect to a
    chemical substance with respect to which notice is required by
    subsection (a) of this section, the Administrator makes the
    determination described in paragraph (1)(A) and if - 
        (I) the Administrator does not issue a proposed order under
      paragraph (1) respecting such substance, or
        (II) the Administrator issues such an order respecting such
      substance but such order does not take effect because objections
      were filed under paragraph (1)(C) with respect to it,

    the Administrator, through attorneys of the Environmental
    Protection Agency, shall apply to the United States District Court
    for the District of Columbia or the United States district court
    for the judicial district in which the manufacturer or processor,
    as the case may be, of such substance is found, resides, or
    transacts business for an injunction to prohibit or limit the
    manufacture, processing, distribution in commerce, use, or disposal
    of such substance (or to prohibit or limit any combination of such
    activities).
      (ii) If the Administrator issues a proposed order under paragraph
    (1)(A) respecting a chemical substance but such order does not take
    effect because objections have been filed under paragraph (1)(C)
    with respect to it, the Administrator is not required to apply for
    an injunction under clause (i) respecting such substance if the
    Administrator determines, on the basis of such objections, that the
    determinations under paragraph (1)(A) may not be made.
      (B) A district court of the United States which receives an
    application under subparagraph (A)(i) for an injunction respecting
    a chemical substance shall issue such injunction if the court finds
    that - 
        (i) the information available to the Administrator is
      insufficient to permit a reasoned evaluation of the health and
      environmental effects of a chemical substance with respect to
      which notice is required by subsection (a) of this section; and
        (ii)(I) in the absence of sufficient information to permit the
      Administrator to make such an evaluation, the manufacture,
      processing, distribution in commerce, use, or disposal of such
      substance, or any combination of such activities, may present an
      unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment, or
        (II) such substance is or will be produced in substantial
      quantities, and such substance either enters or may reasonably be
      anticipated to enter the environment in substantial quantities or
      there is or may be significant or substantial human exposure to
      the substance.

      (C) Pending the completion of a proceeding for the issuance of an
    injunction under subparagraph (B) respecting a chemical substance,
    the court may, upon application of the Administrator made through
    attorneys of the Environmental Protection Agency, issue a temporary
    restraining order or a preliminary injunction to prohibit the
    manufacture, processing, distribution in commerce, use, or disposal
    of such a substance (or any combination of such activities) if the
    court finds that the notification period applicable under
    subsection (a), (b), or (c) of this section to the manufacturing or
    processing of such substance may expire before such proceeding can
    be completed.
      (D) After the submission to the Administrator of test data
    sufficient to evaluate the health and environmental effects of a
    chemical substance subject to an injunction issued under
    subparagraph (B) and the evaluation of such data by the
    Administrator, the district court of the United States which issued
    such injunction shall, upon petition dissolve the injunction unless
    the Administrator has initiated a proceeding for the issuance of a
    rule under section 2605(a) of this title respecting the substance.
    If such a proceeding has been initiated, such court shall continue
    the injunction in effect until the effective date of the rule
    promulgated in such proceeding or, if such proceeding is terminated
    without the promulgation of a rule, upon the termination of the
    proceeding, whichever occurs first.
    (f) Protection against unreasonable risks
      (1) If the Administrator finds that there is a reasonable basis
    to conclude that the manufacture, processing, distribution in
    commerce, use, or disposal of a chemical substance with respect to
    which notice is required by subsection (a) of this section, or that
    any combination of such activities, presents or will present an
    unreasonable risk of injury to health or environment before a rule
    promulgated under section 2605 of this title can protect against
    such risk, the Administrator shall, before the expiration of the
    notification period applicable under subsection (a), (b), or (c) of
    this section to the manufacturing or processing of such substance,
    take the action authorized by paragraph (2) or (3) to the extent
    necessary to protect against such risk.
      (2) The Administrator may issue a proposed rule under section
    2605(a) of this title to apply to a chemical substance with respect
    to which a finding was made under paragraph (1) - 
        (A) a requirement limiting the amount of such substance which
      may be manufactured, processed, or distributed in commerce,
        (B) a requirement described in paragraph (2), (3), (4), (5),
      (6), or (7) of section 2605(a) of this title, or
        (C) any combination of the requirements referred to in
      subparagraph (B).

    Such a proposed rule shall be effective upon its publication in the
    Federal Register. Section 2605(d)(2)(B) of this title shall apply
    with respect to such rule.
      (3)(A) The Administrator may - 
        (i) issue a proposed order to prohibit the manufacture,
      processing, or distribution in commerce of a substance with
      respect to which a finding was made under paragraph (1), or
        (ii) apply, through attorneys of the Environmental Protection
      Agency, to the United States District Court for the District of
      Columbia or the United States district court for the judicial
      district in which the manufacturer, or processor, as the case may
      be, of such substance, is found, resides, or transacts business
      for an injunction to prohibit the manufacture, processing, or
      distribution in commerce of such substance.

    A proposed order issued under clause (i) respecting a chemical
    substance shall take effect on the expiration of the notification
    period applicable under subsection (a), (b), or (c) of this section
    to the manufacture or processing of such substance.
      (B) If the district court of the United States to which an
    application has been made under subparagraph (A)(ii) finds that
    there is a reasonable basis to conclude that the manufacture,
    processing, distribution in commerce, use, or disposal of the
    chemical substance with respect to which such application was made,
    or that any combination of such activities, presents or will
    present an unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment
    before a rule promulgated under section 2605 of this title can
    protect against such risk, the court shall issue an injunction to
    prohibit the manufacture, processing, or distribution in commerce
    of such substance or to prohibit any combination of such
    activities.
      (C) The provisions of subparagraphs (B) and (C) of subsection
    (e)(1) of this section shall apply with respect to an order issued
    under clause (i) of subparagraph (A); and the provisions of
    subparagraph (C) of subsection (e)(2) of this section shall apply
    with respect to an injunction issued under subparagraph (B).
      (D) If the Administrator issues an order pursuant to subparagraph
    (A)(i) respecting a chemical substance and objections are filed in
    accordance with subsection (e)(1)(C) of this section, the
    Administrator shall seek an injunction under subparagraph (A)(ii)
    respecting such substance unless the Administrator determines, on
    the basis of such objections, that such substance does not or will
    not present an unreasonable risk of injury to health or the
    environment.
    (g) Statement of reasons for not taking action
      If the Administrator has not initiated any action under this
    section or section 2605 or 2606 of this title to prohibit or limit
    the manufacture, processing, distribution in commerce, use, or
    disposal of a chemical substance, with respect to which
    notification or data is required by subsection (a)(1)(B) or (b) of
    this section, before the expiration of the notification period
    applicable to the manufacturing or processing of such substance,
    the Administrator shall publish a statement of the Administrator's
    reasons for not initiating such action. Such a statement shall be
    published in the Federal Register before the expiration of such
    period. Publication of such statement in accordance with the
    preceding sentence is not a prerequisite to the manufacturing or
    processing of the substance with respect to which the statement is
    to be published.
    (h) Exemptions
      (1) The Administrator may, upon application, exempt any person
    from any requirement of subsection (a) or (b) of this section to
    permit such person to manufacture or process a chemical substance
    for test marketing purposes - 
        (A) upon a showing by such person satisfactory to the
      Administrator that the manufacture, processing, distribution in
      commerce, use, and disposal of such substance, and that any
      combination of such activities, for such purposes will not
      present any unreasonable risk of injury to health or the
      environment, and
        (B) under such restrictions as the Administrator considers
      appropriate.

      (2)(A) The Administrator may, upon application, exempt any person
    from the requirement of subsection (b)(2) of this section to submit
    data for a chemical substance. If, upon receipt of an application
    under the preceding sentence, the Administrator determines that - 
        (i) the chemical substance with respect to which such
      application was submitted is equivalent to a chemical substance
      for which data has been submitted to the Administrator as
      required by subsection (b)(2) of this section, and
        (ii) submission of data by the applicant on such substance
      would be duplicative of data which has been submitted to the
      Administrator in accordance with such subsection,

    the Administrator shall exempt the applicant from the requirement
    to submit such data on such substance. No exemption which is
    granted under this subparagraph with respect to the submission of
    data for a chemical substance may take effect before the beginning
    of the reimbursement period applicable to such data.
      (B) If the Administrator exempts any person, under subparagraph
    (A), from submitting data required under subsection (b)(2) of this
    section for a chemical substance because of the existence of
    previously submitted data and if such exemption is granted during
    the reimbursement period for such data, then (unless such person
    and the persons referred to in clauses (i) and (ii) agree on the
    amount and method of reimbursement) the Administrator shall order
    the person granted the exemption to provide fair and equitable
    reimbursement (in an amount determined under rules of the
    Administrator) - 
        (i) to the person who previously submitted the data on which
      the exemption was based, for a portion of the costs incurred by
      such person in complying with the requirement under subsection
      (b)(2) of this section to submit such data, and
        (ii) to any other person who has been required under this
      subparagraph to contribute with respect to such costs, for a
      portion of the amount such person was required to contribute.

    In promulgating rules for the determination of fair and equitable
    reimbursement to the persons described in clauses (i) and (ii) for
    costs incurred with respect to a chemical substance, the
    Administrator shall, after consultation with the Attorney General
    and the Federal Trade Commission, consider all relevant factors,
    including the effect on the competitive position of the person
    required to provide reimbursement in relation to the persons to be
    reimbursed and the share of the market for such substance of the
    person required to provide reimbursement in relation to the share
    of such market of the persons to be reimbursed. For purposes of
    judicial review, an order under this subparagraph shall be
    considered final agency action.
      (C) For purposes of this paragraph, the reimbursement period for
    any previously submitted data for a chemical substance is a period
    - 
        (i) beginning on the date of the termination of the
      prohibition, imposed under this section, on the manufacture or
      processing of such substance by the person who submitted such
      data to the Administrator, and
        (ii) ending - 
          (I) five years after the date referred to in clause (i), or
          (II) at the expiration of a period which begins on the date
        referred to in clause (i) and is equal to the period which the
        Administrator determines was necessary to develop such data,

      whichever is later.

      (3) The requirements of subsections (a) and (b) of this section
    do not apply with respect to the manufacturing or processing of any
    chemical substance which is manufactured or processed, or proposed
    to be manufactured or processed, only in small quantities (as
    defined by the Administrator by rule) solely for purposes of - 
        (A) scientific experimentation or analysis, or
        (B) chemical research on, or analysis of such substance or
      another substance, including such research or analysis for the
      development of a product,

    if all persons engaged in such experimentation, research, or
    analysis for a manufacturer or processor are notified (in such form
    and manner as the Administrator may prescribe) of any risk to
    health which the manufacturer, processor, or the Administrator has
    reason to believe may be associated with such chemical substance.
      (4) The Administrator may, upon application and by rule, exempt
    the manufacturer of any new chemical substance from all or part of
    the requirements of this section if the Administrator determines
    that the manufacture, processing, distribution in commerce, use, or
    disposal of such chemical substance, or that any combination of
    such activities, will not present an unreasonable risk of injury to
    health or the environment. A rule promulgated under this paragraph
    (and any substantive amendment to, or repeal of, such a rule) shall
    be promulgated in accordance with paragraphs (2) and (3) of section
    2605(c) of this title.
      (5) The Administrator may, upon application, make the
    requirements of subsections (a) and (b) of this section
    inapplicable with respect to the manufacturing or processing of any
    chemical substance (A) which exists temporarily as a result of a
    chemical reaction in the manufacturing or processing of a mixture
    or another chemical substance, and (B) to which there is no, and
    will not be, human or environmental exposure.
      (6) Immediately upon receipt of an application under paragraph
    (1) or (5) the Administrator shall publish in the Federal Register
    notice of the receipt of such application. The Administrator shall
    give interested persons an opportunity to comment upon any such
    application and shall, within 45 days of its receipt, either
    approve or deny the application. The Administrator shall publish in
    the Federal Register notice of the approval or denial of such an
    application.
    (i) "Manufacture" and "process" defined
      For purposes of this section, the terms "manufacture" and
    "process" mean manufacturing or processing for commercial purposes.



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