New Chemical Safety Law Moving Forward, Needs Compromise

The U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works held a hearing earlier this month titled “Strengthening Public Health Protections by Addressing Toxic Chemical Threats,” with witnesses presenting testimony for and against the Chemical Safety Improvement Act (CSIA).  The bulk of the hearing was taken up by concerns about preemption of state law, as well as a lack of deadlines set forth in the CSIA.

Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), the chair of the committee, said that she would not permit legislation that usurped the ability of California and other states to regulate chemicals, and questioned the presence of industry witnesses at the hearing, wondering if they advocated looser restrictions in order to make more money at the expense of public health.  She also criticized the lack of specific deadlines in the proposed legislation for EPA regarding the proposed testing and evaluation system, as well in prioritizing chemicals of concern.

Maureen Gorsen of Alston & Bird LLP, a former employee of Cal/EPA, testified that the waiver system described in CSIA, which will allow state governments to opt out of preemption, would allow California to enforce its own laws under CSIA.  California Attorney General Kamala Harris, as well as officials from the Department of Toxic Substances Control, has expressed concerns over whether or not the proposed barriers to apply for a waiver are insurmountable.

Sen. David Vitter (R-La.), one of the authors of the CSIA, said that he was already at work on updates to the bill in order to move a compromise forward.

The Chanler Group represents citizen enforcers who, acting in the public interest, commence actions against businesses offering products for sale in California that contain chemicals known to cause cancer or reproductive harm without first providing the health hazard warning required by Proposition 65. Citizen enforcers bringing Proposition 65 actions in the public interest may obtain a Court Judgment imposing civil penalties, an injunction requiring reformulation of products, and/or provision of health hazard warnings. The Chanler Group has represented citizen enforcers of Proposition 65 for more than twenty years.