Environmental Defense Fund v. EPA (TSCA)

Case Updates

The D.C. Circuit denied all but one of environmental NGOs’ challenges to the TSCA Inventory Reset Rule. The court held that the environmental NGOs successfully argued that EPA decision not to require “substantiation” of claims a chemical’s makeup couldn’t be revealed through reverse engineering was arbitrary and capricious.

Click here to view the brief.

The U.S. Chamber filed a motion to intervene in a lawsuit that seeks to overturn the “TSCA Inventory Notification (Active-Inactive) Requirements,” 82 Fed. Reg. 37,520 (Aug. 11, 2017) (“Inventory Reset Rule”), a rule EPA promulgated under the Toxic Substances Control Act (“TSCA”), 15 U.S.C. §§ 2601-2697. TSCA is the primary federal statute that regulates the manufacturing, processing, distribution, and use of chemical substances and mixtures in the United States. The Chamber and fellow intervenors seek to support and protect EPA’s current approach from petitioner’s unwarranted challenges.

The Chamber moved to intervene along with several other associations that represent industries impacted by the Inventory Reset Rule, including the American Chemistry Council, American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers, American Petroleum Institute, Society of Chemical Manufacturers and Affiliates, American Coatings Association, American Coke and Coal Chemicals Institute, American Forest & Paper Association, EPS Industry Alliance, IPC International, Inc., doing business as IPC – Association Connecting Electronics Industries, National Association of Chemical Distributors, National Association of Manufacturers, National Mining Association, and Polyurethane Manufacturers Association.

The motion was granted.

Peter D. Keisler, Samuel B. Boxerman, and Timothy K. Webster of Sidley Austin LLP served as co-counsel for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on behalf of the U.S. Chamber Litigation Center.