Martha Marrapese Discusses EPA’s Plan to Reopen TSCA Evaluations

July 15, 2021

Martha E. Marrapese, partner in Wiley’s Environment & Product Regulation Practice, was quoted by Inside EPA’s Inside TSCA in a recent article about the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) plan for reopening 10 chemical evaluations completed by the previous Administration under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).

Speaking on a June 30 panel during the Environmental Law Institute’s TSCA Annual Conference, which was covered by Inside TSCA, Ms. Marrapese said the plan is “an attempt by this Administration to get its arms around the amount of litigation that's brewing on” the first 10 TSCA evaluations.

As Inside TSCA reported, the EPA has filed court motions seeking voluntary remands for three of the previous Administration’s evaluations. Ms. Marrapese said the agency’s reconsideration plan, combined with its leeway to set scopes for TSCA chemical studies, could further delay precedential rulings on the final documents.

“The big elephant in the room is … EPA’s discretion in scoping out the risk evaluation,” Ms. Marrapese said. “What EPA has been doing in its motions and in its announcement … just signals there’s potentially going to be delay in getting any court resolution out on that issue. That’s an issue that I think all parties need certainty on.”

To read the article, click here (subscription required).