Judah Prero Discusses Industry Push to Reopen Toxic Substance Law in Law360

Judah Prero, Arnold & Porter Environmental counsel and former Assistant State Attorney General at the Maryland Department of the Environment, was quoted in the Law360 article, “Chem Industry’s Goals For Toxic Substance Law Face Hurdles,” which examines the chemical industry’s recent push to revise the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) amid growing frustrations over regulatory delays and compliance burdens.

Judah, who previously served as an American Chemistry Council attorney and helped lead the industry in negotiations on the 2016 Lautenberg amendments to TSCA, noted that, despite Republican control of Congress and the White House, he thinks a major legislative overhaul is unlikely.

“I think it’s highly unlikely that we’re going to get any substantive changes, just looking at the slim margins in both the Senate and the House,” he said. “But the conversation is starting.”

He also emphasized that some of the statute’s current language was deliberately included to build bipartisan consensus. “Some of the ambiguity that we’re now having to deal with was precisely the solution to being able to get consensus on a bill,” Judah said. “You had to leave it a little bit vague and hope for how a specific administration would interpret something.”

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