Underregulation is a common and persistent environmental law problem, with recent scholarly focus on individual contaminants of emerging concern (CECs), whose harm is not fully known. But little attention has been given to the general trend of underregulation with respect to these chemicals, or explaining why this systematic underregulation occurs. This Article posits that federal agencies have been unacceptably slow to initiate protective regulations, and even once regulations are promulgated, they leave regulatory gaps that continue to expose populations to harmful effects. It further argues that the scientific uncertainty that defines CECs as a class is responsible for this particularly significant pattern of underregulation, and obscures the existence and scope of the problem from the public and from regulators themselves. The Article concludes with recommendations to address these shortfalls.

The field of environmental law has seen many changes over the years, with demonstrable legal and policy victories for cleaner air and water. While the face of the environmental movement in its beginnings was predominantly male, women have become more prominent and influential within environmental law and policy over the decades. On July 26, 2022, the Environmental Law Institute’s Women in Environmental Law and Leadership Initiative hosted a cross-generational panel of women who explored opportunities and challenges for women in environmental law and policy “then and now,” and offered advice for the next generation of lawyers and policymakers breaking into the field. This Dialogue presents a transcript of that discussion, which has been edited for style, clarity, and space considerations.