TSCA Reform — Ten Years Later: Conference Panelists Debate Whether It Is Time to Amend TSCA Again

On June 10, 2026, Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C^®), the Environmental Law Institute (ELI), and the George Washington University (GWU) Milken Institute School of Public Health presented “TSCA Reform — Ten Years Later.” This virtual conference marked the tenth Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Annual Conference, reflecting on the accomplishments and challenges since the implementation of the 2016 Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (Lautenberg Act) and where TSCA stands today. Speakers covered a variety of topics, including the risk evaluation framework; risk management rules; new chemical review; ten years of the Lautenberg Act; and the prospects for TSCA reform. The fact that there were more than 1,000 registrants demonstrates the growing and continuous interest in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) challenging implementation of TSCA. A recording of the conference is available online. The conference materials are available on the ELI website.

Lynn L. Bergeson, Managing Partner, B&C, provided a short overview of the Lautenberg Act and set the stage for the conference’s deep dive into an exploration of TSCA’s most consequential issues. Mark N. Duvall, Principal, Beveridge & Diamond, moderated Panel 1 on “Risk Evaluation.” The panelists included Rashmi Joglekar, Ph.D., Science Policy Director, Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, Stanford University; Kelly Lester, Senior Attorney, Earthjustice (virtual); Judah Prero, Counsel, Arnold & Porter; and Kimberly Wise White, Ph.D., Vice President, Regulatory & Scientific Affairs, American Chemistry Council (ACC). The panel focused on EPA’s most recent risk evaluations and how they compare with prior administrations’ risk evaluation approaches. The panel examined recent changes in direction of the controversial formaldehyde risk evaluation, as well as EPA’s proposed Risk Evaluation Framework Rule and its implications for protecting human health.

Martha E. Marrapese, Partner, Wiley Rein, moderated Panel 2 on “Risk Management.” The panelists included Keith Bradley, Partner, Squire Patton Boggs; Michal I. Freedhoff, Ph.D., Senior Policy Advisor, Holland & Knight; Reagan Giesenschlag, Director, Chemicals, Materials, and Sustainability Policy, National Association of Manufacturers; Randy Rabinowitz, Executive Director, OSH Law Project; Marissa Smith, Ph.D., Senior Regulatory Toxicologist, Washington State Department of Ecology (virtual); and Robert Sussman, Principal, Sussman & Associates. The panel explored what can be learned to date from the pending litigation concerning the five final risk management rules and speculated on how the courts and EPA may reshape future TSCA Section 6 rulemakings. The panel addressed recurring policy and legal issues, such as the role of Section 6 in assuring workplace protection and addressing environmental releases from facilities, as well as how EPA can keep pace with TSCA’s statutory deadlines for proposed and final rules.

Lynn R. Goldman, M.D., M.S., M.P.H., Professor of Environmental and Occupational Health and Dean Emerita, Milken Institute School of Public Health, GWU, introduced Tom Udall, former Ambassador of the United States to New Zealand and former Senator for New Mexico (2009-2020), and Bonnie Lautenberg, who provided the keynote address. Lautenberg and Udall described the years spent working through every concern and objection and the bipartisanship necessary for the Lautenberg Act’s passage. Udall stated that using the ten-year expiration of the fees provision to amend TSCA is a very, very bad idea. The TSCA framework is a sound one, with a good risk evaluation process, solid risk management authorities, and carefully designed preemption standards. Instead, according to Udall, what is needed is the will to resource the Lautenberg Act and the discipline not to relitigate every issue a stakeholder has. Implementation challenges do not necessarily mean that there are flaws in the law.

Greg Schweer, Owner, Greg Schweer Environmental Consulting, LLC, moderated Panel 3 on “New Chemical Review.” The panelists included Lawrence E. Culleen, Senior Counsel, Arnold & Porter; Maria Doa, Ph.D., Senior Director, Chemicals Policy, Environmental Defense Fund; Richard E. Engler, Ph.D., Director of Chemistry, B&C; Jonathan Kalmuss-Katz, Supervising Senior Attorney, Earthjustice; and Bill Walsh, Fund Director, Safer Chemistry IMPACT FUND. The panel explored the reasons underlying the debate on how well the program is working, the long-term impacts of decisions on new chemicals, and whether there is a need to “fix” the program and what that would mean. Panelists discussed how “reasonably foreseen” future circumstances are identified and addressed during the review process, the impacts of significant new use rules (SNUR), and the role pre-market review plays in protecting public health and the effects on innovation and safer chemicals.

Jeremy Bernstein, Publisher, Inside EPA, moderated Panel 4 on “Ten Years of Lautenberg: Where Are We?.” The panelists included Grant Cope, Environmental Health Policy Lead, The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research; Gerald (Jerry) Couri, Senior Policy Director, American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers; Lynn R. Goldman, M.D., M.S., M.P.H., Professor of Environmental and Occupational Health and Dean Emerita, Milken Institute School of Public Health, GWU; Michael Gruber, Chief Operating Officer, Household and Commercial Products Association; Ryan Jackson, Vice President, Federal Affairs, ACC; Dimitri J. Karakitsos, Partner, Holland & Knight; Robert Sussman, Principal, Sussman & Associates; and Tracey J. Woodruff, PhD, MPH, Professor of Epidemiology and Population Health and Senior Fellow, Woods Institute for the Environment, Stanford University. The panelists debated whether EPA’s implementation of the Lautenberg Act has achieved Congress’s goals, whether amending TSCA was successful, whether EPA’s efforts over the past decade are achieving the law’s public health goals, and whether stakeholders need to reimagine their core approach to chemical regulation or stay the course.

Pat Rizzuto, Chemicals Reporter, Bloomberg Law’s Environment Desk, moderated Panel 5 on “TSCA Reform Redux: Change Beyond Fee Reauthorization?.” The panelists included Liz Hitchcock, Director, Federal Policy, Toxic-Free Future; Daniel Savery, Senior Legislative Representative, Earthjustice; Karyn Schmidt, Principal, Squire Patton Boggs; and Ryan N. Schmit, Of Counsel, B&C. The panel explored whether broader legislative action is warranted. As reported in our January 17, 2026, and March 6, 2026, memoranda, discussion drafts outlining legislative reforms are circulating, and stakeholders were sharply divided over whether legislative intervention is needed at all, let alone on how best to modify TSCA.

Jordan Diamond, President, ELI, provided concluding remarks.

Commentary

By any metric, the conference was hugely successful. As always, the panel discussions were robust and lively. With the expiration of the TSCA fees provision quickly approaching, interest in using legislation renewing it to amend TSCA is high. As discussed during the conference, the number of court challenges, increasing the use of Section 21 petitions, and the possibility of future amendments require that stakeholders remain engaged and focused, whatever their positions. Only through continued dialogue, engagement, and collaboration will diverse chemical stakeholders achieve the goals Congress set in enacting the Lautenberg Act. ELI’s, GWU’s, and B&C’s facilitation of this important annual conference is an essential element in our collective success in this regard.