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

This is an action under Section 21 of the Toxic Substances Control Act ("TSCA"), codified at 15 U.S.C. § 2620 , challenging Defendant Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA")'s denial of Plaintiffs' petition to regulate the fluoridation of drinking water supplies. The EPA moves for a protective order limiting the scope of review in this litigation to the administrative record, 1 a request that would effectively foreclose Plaintiffs from introducing any evidence in this litigation that was not attached to their administrative petition. The text of the TSCA, its structure, its purpose, and the legislative history make clear that Congress did not intend to impose such a limitation in judicial review of Section 21 citizen petitions. The Court therefore DENIES the EPA's motion.

I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

The Court assumes familiarity with the facts of this case, which are set forth in more detail in the Court's recent order denying the EPA's motion to dismiss. See Docket No. 42. In sum, Plaintiffs petitioned the Environmental Protection Agency to issue a rule under Section 6(a) of the Toxic Substances Control Act, codified at 15 U.S.C. § 2620 ("TSCA"), prohibiting the fluoridation of…