Environmental -- 2019



Environmental Defense Fund v. EPA   (D.C. Circuit)

TSCA inventory reset intervention

The MCLA intervened in a lawsuit by environmental groups that seeks to overturn an EPA rule implementing the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The rule, “TSCA Inventory Notification (Active-Inactive) Requirements,” governs the process whereby the EPA must update the list of chemicals used in commerce in the United States. The EPA’s final rule allowed companies to keep certain information about the chemical free from public disclosure on confidentiality grounds. An environmental group sued to challenge the rule, arguing that the EPA failed to comply with various procedural requirements in promulgating the rule and that the rule unlawfully shields information from public disclosure. The confidentiality of chemical information is critically important to chemical manufacturers. To help defend the rule, the MCLA intervened in the case. On June 26, 2019, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected all but one of the plaintiffs’ claims. It broadly upheld the confidentiality aspects of the rule of greatest concern to chemical manufacturers. Given the EPA’s relatively minor procedural misstep on only one aspect of the rule, the court allowed the rule to continue in force while the EPA addresses the procedural error.


Related Documents:
NAM intervenor brief  (May 31, 2018)
Motion to Intervene  (October 2, 2017)