Insights

Washington – January 11, 2023: Crowell & Moring has published Litigation Forecast 2023: What Corporate Counsel Need to Know for the Coming Year. The 11th-annual Litigation Forecast focuses on trends in litigation that are playing out in specific jurisdictions around the globe. 

On August 6, 2024, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) took the rare action of announcing the emergency suspension of all registrations for pesticide products containing the active ingredient dimethyl tetrachloroterephthalate (“DCPA” or “Dacthal”) under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (“FIFRA”). This is the first time in almost 40 years that EPA has issued an emergency suspension order.[1] EPA’s reasoning for the present action is that DCPA can cause adverse health effects in the fetuses of women exposed to DCPA.

A wave of recent changes in federal and state law pertaining to PFAS chemicals is likely to present both immediate and long-term challenges to the government contracting community. At the federal level, contractors that import products, parts, packaging, equipment or other articles with components that contain PFAS must confront new and extensive regulatory reporting requirements relating to such imports going back to 2011, and they must do so by May 2025. At the state level, a growing list of states are enacting total bans on the sale and distribution of such products and components. On top of this flurry of environmental regulatory activity, the Biden Administration continues to direct federal agencies to develop procurement strategies that prioritize the purchase of PFAS-free articles as part the Administration’s broader effort to leverage the federal procurement function in pursuit of climate and sustainability policy objectives.

Hardly a day passes without the newspapers reporting on an EPA action, lawsuit, or governmental proposal regarding PFAS, a diverse group of chemicals used in the manufacture of many consumer, industrial, and commercial products. In some circumstances, PFAS usage can result in soil and groundwater contamination. Addressing PFAS contamination is a clear priority for EPA and enforcement agencies right now and aligns with the Biden Administration’s focus on drinking water issues.[1] Companies need to be aware of what EPA has already done on PFAS—and what EPA has recently signaled is coming.

The Household and Commercial Products Association’s (HCPA’s) Pesticide Regulation Workshop, organized, hosted, and co-presented by Crowell, is the oldest and largest annual event dedicated to pesticide regulation, compliance, and enforcement under federal and state pesticide laws. This year’s workshop will feature guest speakers from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Pesticide Programs and Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance and from the Natural Resources Defense Council. This year’s workshop will focus on practical information, including what companies need to know in order to get their pesticide products onto the market, keep them there, and avoid business disruptions and penalties. Knowledgeable and experienced presenters will cover the following topics:

Please join us for an overview of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), including the significant changes made by the Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act (LCSA), which amended TSCA on June 22, 2016.

As 2023 rolls in, what changes can government contractors expect? What will be the focus of the US Government? How should contractors prepare?

A failure to meet safety compliance and regulatory obligations can undo the herculean efforts to surmount supply chain challenges and get products into the US. Our Products Liability and Regulatory Compliance lawyers will discuss the impacts of current efforts by regulators to police product safety at the ports, the expectations of federal safety regulators at the ports and how to use compliance documentation to speed the process when products have been stopped for inspection. Our discussion will cover activities at CPSC, NHTSA, EPA and FDA. The panel will also discuss the challenge of counterfeit products and parts and how safety can be a lever to stop counterfeits. Given the increased costs of shipping, downstream recovery opportunities may help alleviate some of the monetary pressures and our panel will discuss these opportunities as well as the contract clauses that can allocate risks appropriately when things do go wrong.

Partner Amanda Berman will be presenting the session "Regulatory Roulette: The State of Play Under the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and Other Major Environmental Statutes" at 10:45 am on Wednesday, March 24th.