As reported in our May 30, 2025, blog item, on May 15, 2025, the Center for Environmental Accountability (CEA) filed a petition under Section 21 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) requesting that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reconsider the 2024 final rule regarding procedures for chemical risk evaluation under TSCA and initiate a rulemaking to amend certain provisions in 40 C.F.R. Part 702, subpart B. According to CEA, the current process "has led to overly conservative risk conclusions and, in turn, unnecessary risk management rules that force industry to abandon well-studied chemistries that provide beneficial uses in our daily lives." According to an August 13, 2025, letter from EPA, on August 12, 2025, CEA withdrew its petition and EPA now considers the petition closed.
On August 4, 2025, EPA submitted a proposed rule entitled "Further Reconsideration of Procedures for Chemical Risk Evaluation Under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)" to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review. According to the OMB website, "EPA is initiating further rulemaking to reexamine multiple aspects of the 2024 rulemaking for consistency with the law and Administration policy." According to EPA's September 4, 2025, Unified Agenda, EPA intended to issue a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) in July 2025, although nothing has been issued to date. EPA plans to issue a final rule in April 2026. More information on EPA's 2024 procedural framework rule for conducting TSCA risk evaluations is available in our May 14, 2024, memorandum.
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