David Fischer Quoted in Inside TSCA Article on EPA Avoiding Cross-Program Coordination in TSCA Rules

Keller and Heckman Counsel David Fischer was quoted in the Inside TSCA article, “Trump Official Sees EPA Dodging Cross-Program Coordination In TSCA Rules.” The article discusses David’s analysis of the methylene chloride rule’s discussion of Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) section 9(b), and that the regulatory nexus approach “is dead.” 
David points to language in the draft rule stating that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is acting solely through TSCA because that law “is more efficient and effective” than other options. “[T]hat’s a very generic sentence and you see sentences like that in other parts of this section. I saw that and thought, ‘That’s the way EPA will handle risk management going forward, TSCA will handle it all.’ It’s the uber statute. It makes the statute a lot more ambitious than maybe folks are anticipating it being.” This is a sharp contrast to the “regulatory nexus” approach, which David has advocated for in the past.

The article also references a recent publication by David, Regulatory Nexus and TSCA Risk Management Rules – Never the Twain Shall Meet?, where he echoes the same idea: “Regulatory nexus in the context of risk management, just as in the context of risk evaluation, is dead.” 

However, according to David, even under the full-fledged nexus approach that the Trump administration applied, EPA would still likely be regulating occupational dangers under its own authority rather than deferring to other agencies – particularly OSHA, which administers a slate of permissible exposure limits (PELs) for toxic chemicals in the workplace.

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