By Lawrence Culleen, Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP ( January 23, 2017, 11:06 AM EST) -- Following years of development, an outpouring of public comment and scrutiny at the Office of Management and Budget, on Jan. 12, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency published the first federal environmental regulation to impose reporting requirements specifically for nanoscale materials.[1] The regulation — issued using the EPA's authority under Section 8(a) of the recently amended Toxic Substances Control Act — imposes both reporting and record-keeping obligations for current and future manufacturers and processors of existing chemical substances produced at the nanoscale. The proposed rule was issued in April 2015; the EPA extended the public comment period in July 2015. Interest in the proposed rule was considerable. By the August 2015 close of the comment period, the EPA had received nearly 70 public comments addressing the often complex terms of the proposal. Numerous intragovernmental comments also were received by the agency....