ILMA Compoundings - February 2021 - 13

Biden administration will be like, especially after Democrats
won the Senate following the Georgia runoff election. " He
will either have to do more negotiating or be more like
Obama, with more executive orders, " Woll said.
Some regulations could be challenged in court. For example, the Waters of the United States regulatory regime has
already been challenged. " If they're undone, by law, then they
are restored to what they were before Trump administration
changes, " said Matthew Levetown, associate counsel for ILMA.
If the Biden administration wants to make other changes
to rules that haven't been challenged, the rules will have to
be re-released, which Morgan expects to see. However, that
takes time. " Our hope is it isn't a knee-jerk thing, that it
is a thoughtful process, and they get industry stakeholder
input, " he said.
The Obama administration used executive orders to
implement new policies, but those get challenged in court.
" That will delay things, " Woll said, adding that President
Donald Trump had been able to appoint a lot of judiciaries
in different courts.
Plus, there is a 6-3 conservative majority on the Supreme
Court, said Jeffrey Leiter, legal counsel for ILMA.
Morgan believes Biden will issue some orders to pursue a
re-regulatory agenda. " The way it often works is the president sets some broad, rather high-level goals and directs the
agencies to work together to work out the details, " he said.
Biden could use the Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) to push his agenda, Woll said. He added that the
direction the EPA takes will depend on who is named administrator. On Dec. 17, Biden selected Michael Regan, head of
North Carolina's environmental agency, to lead the EPA.
Rep. G.K. Butterfield, D-N.C., said Regan is an EPA veteran
with immense passion and experience with environmental
policy. " Secretary Regan understands the urgency of protecting
our environment from air and water pollution. As North
Carolina's chief environmental official, Secretary Regan has
demonstrated he understands that climate change is a threat to
human existence. Secretary Regan will work with Biden to seek
effective ways of protecting our communities, " he said.
In general, Eggenschwiler thinks there is an ambition to
counter what has been relaxed from what was perceived to
be an environmental policy that put either consumers or the
environment at risk.
Whether regulations are coming from the Occupational
Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) or the EPA, the

government generally gives the industry enough time to
prepare, but it is up to the people and businesses within the
industry to ensure they don't wait until the last minute to
comply, Jones said.
Leiter expects to see enforcement increase. Woll recommends that ILMA members make sure they're in compliance
now. " Make sure all of your ducks are in a row, so if an
inspector were to show up, you're prepared, " he said.
SPECIFIC RULEMAKINGS
John Howell, president of GHS Resources, anticipates
action on specific rulemakings under the Biden administration. The EPA has been implementing required changes
under the Lautenberg amendments to the Toxic Substances
Control Act (TSCA), but Howell said he expects the EPA to
speed up the pace of change under TSCA.
The EPA has met most of its statutory deadlines to put
out various rules under the 2016 amendments to TSCA,
Leiter said. With the existing chemicals, the EPA is tasked
with evaluating risk. " The question becomes, where does
the agency draw the line on risk? You might say the Trump
administration was more generous on risk, " he said, adding that
officials within the Biden administration might think no risk is
acceptable. " I think we'll see it move to the no-risk side. "
The Biden administration will also focus on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) within the EPA, Woll said.

" It will take some time to get administrators named and have the department
secretaries confirmed, but I would expect a much more active OSHA. "
John Howell, president, GHS Resources

ILMA Compoundings - February 2021

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