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September 12, 2016

Charles M. Auer, Former Director of EPA Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT), Joins Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. and The Acta Group

Bergeson & Campbell, P.C.

Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®) and The Acta Group (Acta®) are very pleased to announce that Charles M. Auer has joined our teams as Senior Regulatory and Policy Advisor. For more than three decades, Mr. Auer has provided sagacious, informed, and deeply insightful guidance on legal, policy, and scientific matters related to the regulation of chemicals under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and related domestic and international chemical control laws. Mr. Auer’s experience includes over 32 years at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), most recently as the Director of the Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT), responsible for implementation of TSCA. He offers clients a truly exceptional level of policy and technical expertise in domestic and international chemical regulation, including chemical testing, assessment, and management of new and existing chemicals under TSCA; strategies for compliance with major U.S. trading partners and under multilateral environmental agreements such as the Stockholm Convention; approaches such as green chemistry, pollution prevention, Safer Choice, and other safer substitutes to meet corporate product stewardship goals; and commercialization of products from emerging chemical technologies, including nanotechnology, synthetic biology, and intergeneric microorganisms.

Few people on the planet have managed or been as intimately involved in the application and interpretation of as many chemical regulatory requirements and policies as Mr. Auer; fewer still have delved so deeply into the workability, implementation, and strategic issues facing “new” TSCA as a result of the sweeping changes made to TSCA under the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act. Mr. Auer’s inherent understanding of how EPA operates and his prodigious analysis of the new law allows him to counsel clients on strategies and approaches to prepare for implementation of new TSCA, and to help clients maintain compliance and seize commercial opportunities revealed by each new precedent-setting chemical review, determination, and rulemaking from EPA.

B&C Managing Partner Lynn L. Bergeson commented regarding Mr. Auer’s appointment: “No one comes close to sharing Charlie’s encyclopedic understanding of TSCA, and Charlie’s deep understanding of the commercial and regulatory realities facing chemical manufacturers, processors, and users in today’s global economy. Having worked with Charlie for many years in several different capacities, I respect and appreciate Charlie’s integrity, scholarship, and work ethic, and we are all simply thrilled that Charlie is part of our team.”

Mr. Auer commented regarding his appointment: “Given the regulatory and policy challenges and the manifest complexities presented by the revised law, I was resolved to identify and realize the best possible opportunity to contribute effectively to the new TSCA debate. Working within B&C and Acta, given their position in the top tier of firms in the TSCA space, provides that opportunity. I am very pleased to join their outstanding team of lawyers, scientists, and regulatory experts, including several highly esteemed colleagues formerly with EPA. I look forward to working closely with clients to effectively meet their needs, be they specific and limited as for new chemical notifications, or broad and sweeping, as in the case of responding to EPA regulatory and policy pronouncements, proposals, and final Agency actions.”

Mr. Auer joins a powerful team of former senior EPA officials at B&C and Acta, an extensive scientific staff, including seven Ph.D.s, and a robust and highly experienced team of lawyers and non-lawyer professionals extremely well versed in all aspects of TSCA law, regulation, policy, and litigation. For more than 25 years, B&C has offered clients an unparalleled level of excellence in matters relating to TSCA, making it the premier Washington, D.C. law firm to provide companies with comprehensive, sophisticated, and business-sensitive TSCA assistance. Acta, B&C’s scientific and regulatory consulting arm with offices in Washington, D.C., Manchester, England, and Beijing, China, provides strategic, comprehensive support for global chemical registration, regulation, and sustained compliance.

B&C Managing Partner Lynn L. Bergeson and colleagues literally “wrote the book” on TSCA compliance published by the American Bar Association (ABA), TSCA: Toxic Substances Control Act, Basic Practice Series (2000), and are currently completing a revised and expanded edition to be published by ABA Fall 2016.

Recent articles regarding TSCA by B&C authors include:

B&C also publishes the TSCA Blog, a source of news and analysis regarding TSCA reform implementation and related legal and policy developments.