David Fischer Quoted in Inside TSCA Article on New-Chemicals Petition

Keller and Heckman Counsel David Fischer was quoted extensively in the Inside TSCA article, “Industry’s New-Chemicals Petition Sparks Debate Over Planned EPA Rule.” The article discusses Keller and Heckman’s recent rulemaking petition asking the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to amend the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) regulations for new chemical pre-manufacture notices (PMNs) “to reflect not only” Congress’s 2016 reform of the law but also “concrete regulatory improvements to substantively address the ongoing, unduly time-consuming process by which EPA reviews [pre-manufacture notices (PMNs)].” David addresses the idea behind the petition by saying, “I’m sure you’ve heard industry folks complain about the system, but I’ve not seen anybody put pen to paper and say, ‘This is what we think could help.’ Let’s roll up our sleeves and if we are going to change the regulations, [describe] how would we do it, separate from budget or staffing.” The petition’s “main goal is to jump-start the conversation” on EPA’s expected update to the procedural rules governing new-chemicals reviews, according to David. David argues that the petition’s requests are intended to be “flexible, provide some clarity in the wording but not overly prescriptive, other than the timelines. We try to be fairly reasonable.” While an environmentalist argues that many of these requests are one-sided changes to the program, David explains that “not every new submission is the same. Let’s deal with each based on a fit-for-purpose manner based on what the submitter is submitting.” David continues by providing an example: “If a submitter says its chemical cannot be made or applied in certain ways, EPA should not consider those scenarios even if it believes they are theoretically possible. While such scenarios may be possible, they are not reasonable. If the submitter says you can’t do it, ignore it. It’s not an exercise in using the imagination.”

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