Ninth Circuit Upholds EPA’s 2024 New Chemicals Rule
Less than two weeks after oral argument, a Ninth Circuit panel has denied consolidated challenges to EPA’s 2024 rule governing reviews of new chemicals under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The ruling upholds EPA’s case-by-case evaluations of persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic substances (PBTs) for streamlined new-chemical reviews. It also upholds the Agency’s decision not […]
EPA’s Battery-Cathode SNURs Test the Limits of “Significant New Use”
EPA has proposed two significant new use rules (SNURs) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) that would extend restrictions across the full lifecycle of the cathode substances in lithium-ion batteries, including recycling and reclamation. Industry stakeholders note that this is a departure from ordinary SNUR practice. The rules, published on April 24, 2026, cover […]
Coalition Argues TSCA Bars EPA From Weighing Data-Center Benefits in a New-Chemical Review
A coalition of seventeen environmental organizations, led by Earthjustice, has asked EPA to deny a premanufacture notice (PMN) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for a fluorinated immersion-cooling fluid intended to cool data-center equipment. The comments press three lines of attack: that the substance poses an unreasonable risk EPA must act on, that the […]
Manufacturer Challenges Court-Ordered CBI Disclosure
A specialty materials manufacturer is suing EPA to prevent the release of its unredacted premanufacture notices (PMNs) under seal in separate litigation challenging the transparency of EPA’s new chemicals program under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). A March 23, 2026, court deadline for EPA to produce the documents has now passed without EPA compliance, […]
Court Orders EPA to Release PMNs in TSCA Transparency Case
The D.C. District Court has ordered EPA to provide Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) premanufacture notices (PMNs) in litigation challenging the agency’s new chemical review procedures as insufficiently transparent. The lawsuit, brought by five environmental groups, alleges that EPA fails to timely publish complete notices of receipt of PMNs and applications for test marketing exemptions […]
EPA Releases Default Values Guide for TSCA New Chemical Risk Assessments
On November 24, 2025, EPA released a guide listing common “default values” for environmental releases and worker exposures used by the agency in risk assessments of new chemical substances under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). What Are Default Values? Default values are assumed engineering values used by EPA when chemical-specific information is unavailable. For […]
Union Says EPA’s New Chemicals Rule Fails Transparency Mandate Under TSCA
EPA’s 2024 new chemicals procedural rule fails to satisfy Congress’s intent that Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) new chemical and significant new use reviews be transparent, a workers union told the Ninth Circuit on October 16, 2025. In its opening brief, United Automobile, Aerospace & Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW) cites its own experience […]
ACI Pushes Senate to Address EPA Bottlenecks in New Chemical Reviews
In an October 23, 2025, letter to leaders of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and its Subcommittee on Chemical Safety, the American Cleaning Institute (ACI) called for “targeted changes” to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to accelerate new chemical reviews under the statute. “ACI members are experiencing considerable challenges with [EPA’s] ability […]
Groups Challenge EPA Rule Allowing PBTs in TSCA Exemption Reviews
New persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic chemicals (PBTs) should not be eligible for expedited reviews under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) known as the low volume exemption (LVE) and low releases and exposures exemption (LoREX), environmental groups told the Ninth Circuit on October 17, 2025. The lawsuit challenges EPA regulations finalized in December 2024 that […]
EPA to Fast-Track Chemical Reviews for AI and Data Center Projects
EPA will prioritize review of premanufacture notices (PMNs) for chemicals tied to artificial intelligence (AI) and data center projects, the agency announced on September 18, 2025. “We inherited a massive backlog of new chemical reviews from the Biden Administration which is getting in the way of projects as it pertains to data center and artificial […]