Three Lawsuits Aim to Shape EPA’s Use of Chemical Test Orders

Rulings in three lawsuits that challenge the EPA’s use of its burgeoning authority to order chemical manufacturers to generate information on their products are poised to offer insights into the agency’s implementation of power that it’s only begun to use the last few years, attorneys say.

The Environmental Protection Agency was granted new power in 2016 to require companies to test a chemical already in commerce and in 2020 issued its first test order.

As the agency increasingly exerts the new authority, it faces dueling claims that it failed to justify ordered tests and that it isn’t wielding the ...