Tom Berger Quoted in Chemical Watch article, "US EPA: COVID-19 Enforcement Policy ‘Not a License to Pollute'"

Keller and Heckman Partner Tom Berger was quoted in the Chemical Watch article, “US EPA: COVID-19 Enforcement Policy ‘Not a License to Pollute.’” The article discusses how the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has pushed back on criticism that its decision to ease enforcement against "routine" actions disrupted during the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic is an invitation to violate environmental obligations. Mr. Berger said that, even where TSCA might be impacted by the EPA’s policy, "don’t assume that COVID-19 is your get out of jail card". A company could potentially invoke the EPA’s policy if it failed to self-identify by May 27 as a manufacturer subject to TSCA risk evaluation fees for the next 20 high-priority chemicals. But a company would still have to show that its compliance failure was caused by COVID-19, which may be difficult, he said.

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