Lynn L. Bergeson Quoted in Chemical Watch Article “Publication of TSCA risk evaluation rule starts clock for parties to file legal challenge”

On May 3, 2024, comments by Lynn L. Bergeson were featured in Chemical Watch’s article on possible legal challenges to updated TSCA risk evaluation procedures.

“The rule is so foundational”, said Lynn Bergeson, managing partner at Bergeson & Campbell. If there is a lawsuit, both NGOs and industry “can be expected to claim that the other’s view is unsupported”. 

In its 2019 decision, the Ninth Circuit declined to weigh in on many issues, stating that it was premature to speculate how the previous rule might be applied.  

Those hurdles, however, may no longer exist now that the EPA has issued several risk evaluations and risk management rules. 

“The programme is more mature”, Bergeson said. Today things are “far less speculative, so litigants have reason to see the court pass on less.” 

Still, some prospective plaintiffs may decide to wait, especially with a federal election looming in November. 

[…]

Bergeson said the severability details strike her as “a defensive move, reflecting EPA’s anticipation of litigation and its aspirational intent to soldier on notwithstanding”.  

But she doubted the extent the inclusion would alter the litigation landscape, describing the language as “unpersuasive, reductionist and tautological”. 

See – https://product.enhesa.com/1074319/publication-of-tsca-risk-evaluation-rule-starts-clock-for-parties-to-file-legal-challenge (subscription required)