LAUSR

2016 was full of surprises, two of which are driving much of the environmental agenda for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2017. First, Congress significantly amended the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) in June of 2016. The changes are intended to reform the program to address the widely recognized deficiencies in the law, especially regarding existing chemicals, chemical testing, Confidential Business Information (CBI) claims, and preemption of state actions. EPA has been busy implementing the new law, as the all-important “framework rules” must be issued in final in June 2017. The second surprise event was even more unexpected -the election of Donald Trump as President. His election is already having a significant impact on environmental law and policy. This column briefly offers some thoughts and predictions on the impact of the new Administration on environmental issues of interest to our readers.