Food & Water Watch, Inc. v. U.S. Envtl. Prot. Agency

The Toxic Substances Control Act ("TSCA")'s Section 6(a) requires Defendant *1036 United States Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") to regulate the use of certain chemical substances that it determines pose an unreasonable risk to health or the environment. 15 U.S.C. § 2605 (a). Section 6(b) requires the EPA to perform its own sua sponte evaluation of the risks posed by certain chemical substances "under the conditions of use." 15 U.S.C. § 2605 (b)(4)(A). The statute defines the "conditions of use" as "the circumstances, as determined by the Administrator, under which a chemical substance is intended, known, or reasonably foreseen to be manufactured, processed, distributed in commerce, used, or disposed of." 15 U.S.C. § 2602 (4). Section 21 of the TSCA permits any person to petition the EPA to initiate rule-making under Section 6(a) if the petitioner demonstrates a chemical substance poses an unreasonable risk of harm. Id. § 2620(a).

Plaintiffs petitioned the EPA under Section 21 to regulate the fluoridation of drinking water supplies under Section 6(a) because, they maintain, the ingestion of fluoride poses an unreasonable risk of neurotoxic harm to humans. After the EPA…