Since the U.S. Supreme Court issued its blockbuster ruling in West Virginia v. EPA, 597 US _ 2022 WL 2347278 (June 30, 2022), many are asking whether the Court’s amplification of the “major questions doctrine” (MQD) might be used to seek to limit the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) authority in implementing Congress’s 2016 amendments to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (Lautenberg Act). The...
Archives
June 11, 2019
Appellate Court Rejects Novel Application of the False Claims Act to TSCA Reporting Requirements
On July 5, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit rejected an “invitation” to recognize liability under the False Claims Act (FCA) based on a company’s failure to meet a Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) reporting requirement and failure to pay an unassessed TSCA penalty. Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP v. BASF Corp. (No. 1:16-cv-02269). The court states that the FCA imposes civil liability on anyone who defrauds the federal government of...
August 25, 2017
Appellate Court Rules EPA RFS Exemption Criteria Too Strict
By Lauren M. Graham, Ph.D. On August 15, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit ruled two to one that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) exceeded its statutory authority under the Clean Air Act (CAA) when it denied Sinclair Oil Corporation’s request for a hardship exemption from the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program. The statute requires that EPA grant exemptions on a case-by-case basis to small refiners that would suffer a “disproportionate...