Blog

Progress in TSCA Modernization

After years of unsuccessful attempts, Congress is getting closer to achieving modernization of the federal Toxic Substances Control Act.  On June 23, 2015, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 2576 by a 398-1 vote.  In the meantime, the bipartisan Senate TSCA modernization bill, S.697, is expected to receive floor consideration next month.  If the Senate passes S.697, then a conference committee of the two chambers will work to create a unified bill, which would be sent back to the House and Senate for passage.

H.R. 2576 is more narrowly targeted than the Senate bill.  But both bills have encountered resistance on issues of preemption of state law, protection of confidential business information, and standards for EPA regulation of chemicals.  Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) is the most vociferous opponent of measures that would dilute states’ rights to regulate chemicals, and introduced her own bill, S.725, in March 2015.  That bill has been sent to committee for review.

TSCA modernization has come a long way, but still has a long way to go.

Ms. Grimaldi maintains a diverse environmental law practice focusing on chemical and product regulation and litigation defense. Her practice areas include Proposition 65, California's Safer Consumer Products Regulations, California's Rigid Plastic Packaging Container Act and the federal Toxic Substances Control Act. Ms. Grimaldi graduated from the University of California Hastings College of the Law magna cum laude and holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Bacteriology from University of California, Davis. Prior to attending law school, she worked as a research assistant in laboratories at the University of California, San Francisco Cancer Research Institute and at the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine.