DTSC Delays California Green Chemistry Initiative Implementation

Implementation of California’s Green Chemistry Initiative titled “Safer Consumer Product Alternatives” has been delayed indefinitely beyond the January 1, 2011 statutory adoption deadline. The deadline was established by California Assembly Bill 1879 (Chapter 559, Statutes of 2008). According to Linda S. Adams, the Secretary of California’s Environmental Protection Agency, the delay is needed “to further vet the programmatic issues that have been brought to our attention via the public comment process.” The Department of Toxic Substance Control (DTSC), the state agency that is promulgating the regulations, is taking additional time to further review the proposed regulations. Secretary Adams also requested that the Green Ribbon Science Advisory Panel reconvene to address public comments collected from the previous drafts. A revised third draft of the regulations was presented in November, 2010 following a public comment period. The third draft contains substantive revisions to the earlier text, including scaled back manufacturer and retailer compliance requirements that were not well-received by the environmental community.