U.S. District Court In DC Breaks New Ground For TSCA Transparency

The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia recently found, in what it described as a "question of first impression," that Section 5(b)(3) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), a provision requiring public disclosure of information on the receipt of new TSCA Section 5 filings and health and safety data, was a "freestanding right to information" obligation and independent of a TSCA regulatory function. This court, in its August 20 opinion, reiterated the position that public right-to-know about chemicals in commerce is a central function of TSCA.

The case, Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) et al. v. Michael S. Regan et al., Civil Action No. 20-762 (LLA), arose when the plaintiffs, five environmental organizations, sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or Agency) and EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan to enforce the transparency and disclosure requirements of TSCA, specifically those related to TSCA Section 5 new chemical submissions. The