Disclosure Rule, TSCA

Memorandum from Jesse Baskerville, Director, Toxics and Pesticides Enforcement Division, Oftice of Regulatory Enforcement, EPA, Interim Guidance for Enforcing the TSCA 402 Abatement Rule Firm and Lead Abatement Professional Certification Requirements (Mar. 8. 2000) and EPA, Office of Enforcement and Comphance Assurance, Office of Civil Enforcement, Waste and Chemical Enforcement Division. Section 1018 - Disclosure Rule Enforcement Response and Penalty Pohcy (Dec. 2007). 

There are two primary TSCA lead programs, the Renovation, Repair, and Painting Rule and the Disclosure Rule. Both were authorized by The Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992, codified as... 

TSCA regulations require sellers and landlords to disclose the presence of lead-based paint and lead hazards in target housing. These regulations, usually referred to as the Disclosure Rule, were jointly issued by the EPA and HUD, pursuant to a mandate in Section 1018 of Title X of the Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992. The only affirmative act the Disclosure Rule requires is disclosure TSCA does not require landlords and sellers to conduct any lead abatement projects. As the EPA said in the enforcement response policy for the Disclosure Rule, [t]he purpose of the Disclosure Rule is to ensure that individuals and families receive the information necessary to protect themselves and their families from lead-based paint and/or lead-based paint hazards. Because the Disclosure Rule does not require any reduction of lead in homes, it has been criticized as a weak response to a national crisis. On the other hand, the cost of removing lead... 

The enforcement response poKcy for the TSCA Disclosure Rule is entitled Section 1018—Disclosure Rule Enforcement Response and Penalty PoKcy (December 2007) (the Disclosure Rule ERP). Under this poKcy, the EPA may seek civil penalties, refer a violation for criminal penalties imder TSCA 16,... 

While the rules vary somewhat on what information must be submitted to support a claim of confidentiahty and when such information must be submitted, basically all the rules governing CBI under specific TSCA programs require proof by the party claiming confidentiality that it has maintained the CBI in confidence and that the disclosure of the CBI would be competitively harmful. 

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