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September 13, 2019

Earthjustice Claims EPA Fails to Disclose Information about New Chemical Substances

Lynn L. Bergeson Carla N. Hutton

On September 3, 2019, Earthjustice filed with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) a notice of intent to sue EPA under Section 20(a)(2) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for “EPA’s repeated and ongoing failures to comply with TSCA’s nondiscretionary mandates to disclose to the public information about new chemical substances reviewed by EPA.”  According to Earthjustice, EPA “routinely fails to disclose” certain information regarding the submission and review of new chemical applications under the premanufacture notification (PMN) and test marketing exemption (TME) provisions.  Earthjustice states that these violations impede the ability of the listed parties — the Environmental Defense Fund, Center for Environmental Health, Environmental Health Strategy Center, Natural Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club, and the United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial Service Workers International Union, AFL-CIO/CLC — “to be meaningfully informed of and able to participate in EPA’s review of new chemicals.”  Earthjustice asks that EPA immediately cease further violations of TSCA’s disclosure requirements for new chemicals and disclose the information to which the listed parties are legally entitled in the mandated time frames. A detailed analysis and commentary on the notice are available in our September 17, 2019, memorandum, “Earthjustice Notifies EPA of Intent to Sue for Failure to Disclose Information about New Chemical Substances.”