A federal judge for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California denied EPA’s request to dismiss a suit filed by multiple environmental groups claiming that EPA had wrongly dismissed their Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) petition seeking to ban the fluoridation of drinking water. The judge’s December 21 decision determined that TSCA Section 21 allows citizens to petition EPA to regulate single uses of substances, disagreeing with the agency’s interpretation of the reformed law.
EPA filed a motion for the court to limit its review to the administrative record only, instead of the broader de nova review that the plaintiffs are requesting at a January 26 hearing. This suit could have long-standing ramifications and open the door for other petitions under Section 21 of TSCA.