TSCA §§10, 23, 24, 26, and 30-Administrative Matters and Employee Protection

• Author: Carolyne R. Hathaway/William K. Rawson/Ann Claassen/Julia A. Hatcher
• Pages: 155-160

Page 155

Chapter XVII:

TSCA §§10, 23, 24, 26, and 30—Administrative

Matters and Employee Protection

A. Section 10—Research,

Development, Collection,

Dissemination, and Utilization of

Data

TSCA §10 directs EPA to conduct and coordinate

among federal agencies research, de velopment,

and monitoring that is necessary to carry out the

purposes of the Act. To carry out this mandate,

EPA sponsors research by awarding grants and

fellowships,1 administers various programs to coor-

dinate such research, and maintains a number of

databases to compile and disseminate information

on chemica ls to other federal agencies and to the

public. Although much of this activity is autho-

rized by §10, EPA often does not cite to §10’s

authority when c arrying out such activities. e

following sections outline EPA’s specic authorities

under §10 and provide examples of EPA activities

carried out under these authorities.

1. Section 10(a)—Authority

TSCA §10(a) requires EPA to, in consultation with

the U.S. Department of Health and Human Ser-

vices (HHS) and with other heads of “appropriate

departments and agencies,” conduct “such research,

development, and monitoring as is necessary to

carry out the purposes of [TSCA].”2 To accomplish

this mandate, §10(a) authorizes EPA to enter into

contracts a nd to make grants for “research, devel-

opment, and monitoring.”3 In 1999, following an

internal agenc y disagreement regarding the extent

of EPA’s statutory authority to award grants under

1. See U.S. EPA, Grants and Fellowship Information, http://www.

epa.gov/epahome/grants.htm (last visited Sept. 15, 2010).

2. 15 U.S.C §2609(a), ELR S. TSCA §10(a).

3. Id.

§10,4 Congress included a provision in its scal

year 2000 appropriations bill, Public Law No. 106-

74, which expanded the scope of §10 to allow grant

awards not only for “research, development and

monitoring” but a lso for “public education, train-

ing, demonstrations, and studies” beginning in s-

cal year 200 0.5

While Public Law No. 106-74 claried that EPA

has broad authority to make grants under TSCA

§10, it did not specical ly give EPA authority to

enter into contracts under §10 for “public educa-

tion, training, demonstrations, or studies” (versus

research, development, and monitoring for which

EPA does have authority to enter contract s). How-

ever, EPA does permit successful grant applicants

to use a portion of grant f unds for contractor sup-

port, requiring that such applicants follow general

procurement procedures in doing so. EPA also

requires separate transactions with any sub-award-

ees or sub-grantees to which EPA is not a party.6

ese requirements may help EPA avoid potential

conicts regarding its TSCA §10 authority.

General regulations governing the administra-

tion of fellowships awarded under §10(a) and other

statutes administered by EPA are provided at 40

C.F.R pt. 9, and general grant administration regu-

lations are provided at 40 C.F.R. pt. 40.

4. See O  I G., U.S. EPA, A R N.

E3AMF8-11-0008-8100209, S A  EPA

A A (1998) (F A R), avail-

able at http://www.epa.gov/oig/reports/1998/8100209.pdf.

5. See Pub. L. No. 106-74, tit. III (1999) (the notice applied to

both TSCA §10 and a corresponding FIFRA provision, as set

out in a note under §136r of Title 7, Agriculture).

6. See U.S. EPA, R  P, N C-

B L O  T G P FY

, CFDA No. 66.718, at 12-13 (2008), available at http://

www.epa.gov/oppt/lead/pubs/rfp_2-8-08.pdf.