Fifth Circuit Vacates EPA’s PFAS Orders in Plastics Case

A federal appeals court vacated on Thursday two EPA orders against a plastics company that argued the action violated the nation’s primary commercial chemicals law.

“Because the EPA exceeded its statutory authority in doing so, we vacate the orders,” the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled.

Inhance Technologies LLC petitioned the court in December 2023 for a fast-track review of two orders the Environmental Protection Agency had issued the same month. The orders would have required Inhance to stop using a plastic strengthening process the company offers that produces three per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) the ...