“Trump Views on Chemicals Law Not Yet Known: Policy Watchers” Quotes James V. Aidala, Charles M. Auer, and Lynn L. Bergeson

On November 30, 2016, Bloomberg BNA Daily Environment Report quoted Jim Aidala, Senior Government Affairs Consultant with Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C^®), Charles M. Auer, Senior Regulatory and Policy Advisor with B&C, and Lynn L. Bergeson, Managing Partner of B&C, on impacts the Trump Administration may have on chemical laws.

“It’s very hard to know what the thinking is other than on big issues,” such as energy and water, Jim Aidala, a senior government affairs consultant with the Washington, D.C., office of Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. said.

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Depending on whether and how they are implemented, government-wide policies Trump has announced so far could harm the nascent law, said Aidala, who spent decades at the EPA dealing with chemicals and pesticides.

Specifically, he referred to the federal hiring freeze and plan to eliminate two regulations for every new one issued, which Trump announced in October. That could impede efforts to boost the EPA’s oversight of chemicals, Aidala said.

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While waiting for signals from the incoming administration, Aidala predicted there will be some business as usual

New administrations generally want actions to “cease and desist” for at least six months, he said.

That could delay some of the statutorily mandated rules, Lynn Bergeson, managing partner at Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. said.

Following the initial suspension of action, Aidala said, a new administration typically announces it will pursue its policies in a way that’s “cheaper, cleaner and smarter” than the previous administration did.

The incoming Trump administration may find it easier to move chemical policies forward quickly if the proposed rules the agency already has submitted to the White House Office of Management and Budget for review—and the additional ones it plans to submit—provide multiple regulatory options, Aidala and Auer said.