"A Washington, D.C., judge ruled this week that the Environmental Protection Agency must disclose more information than it currently does about chemicals pending review under the Toxic Substances Control Act.

In the ruling, Judge Loren AliKhan of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, a President Biden appointee, sided with a coalition of environmental groups, including the Center for Environmental Health, Defend Our Health, Natural Resources Defense Council, the Sierra Club and the Environmental Defense Fund.

In a November brief, the environmental groups argued that current regulations made it overly complicated for the public to obtain information under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) about such chemicals.

In 2020, the EDF challenged updated regulations, arguing that under them, companies that submitted their chemicals for review have too much leeway in claiming that information about it is confidential

They also alleged the EPA delayed or failed to make public the records associated with more than 250 applications. Under the new rules, EDF argued, the mandatory disclosures were replaced with a system that allowed the agency to use its own discretion when it comes to transparency."

Zack Budryk reports for The Hill August 22, 2024. [2]