EPA Initial Rules Under TSCA Amendments Challenged In Court

EPA issued several final rules to implement the recent bipartisan amendments to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) on June 22.  The final rules included regulations on how it will prioritize chemicals as either high or low priority for review, and how it will evaluate high priority chemicals.  Several lawsuits were filed challenging the rules.  The lawsuits were consolidated in the 4th and 9^th Circuits Courts of Appeals.  A separate lawsuit was filed in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.  One of the principal issues in the lawsuits will be the exclusion from EPA review of certain categories of uses of chemicals.  For example, one of the controversial exclusions is for uses of chemicals that are regulated by other agencies, such as chemical usage in the workplace regulated by OSHA.