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May 1, 2019

EPA OIG Will Evaluate Lautenberg Act Resource Planning and Management

Lynn L. BergesonCarla N. Hutton

On May 1, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) sent a memorandum to Alexandria Dapolito Dunn, Assistant Administrator, Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, announcing that it “plans to begin preliminary research on the Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics processes to implement the work to meet statutory deadlines of the Lautenberg Act.”  OIG’s objectives are to determine whether EPA has met the deadlines imposed by the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (Lautenberg Act) and whether EPA has the staff, resources, and management controls in place to meet future statutory deadlines.

As reported in our March 6, 2019, memorandum, “GAO Reviews EPA’s IRIS Assessment Efforts and Implementation of TSCA Reforms,” the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently assessed whether EPA has demonstrated progress implementing the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) as amended by the Lautenberg Act.  In its report, Chemical Assessments:  Status of EPA’s Efforts to Produce Assessments and Implement the Toxic Substances Control Act, GAO found that while EPA has responded to the initial statutory deadlines in TSCA, as amended by the Lautenberg Act, challenges remain.  As stated in our memorandum, the report draws attention to the challenges facing EPA, including:

  • Pending litigation by environmental groups against many of the final rules;
  • Ensuring appropriate resources and staffing to meet the increased workload required under amended TSCA;
  • Need for development of internal guidance documents to ensure consistency in EPA’s approaches;
  • Ensuring that new chemical review is efficient and predictable, and
  • Attempting to move forward with a major reorganization of the Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics.

More information is available in our memorandum.