Back in March, we covered the fact that a manufacturer had filed an Information Quality Act Petition requesting that EPA withdraw and correct its GenX Chemicals Toxicity Assessment, in which EPA proposed the lowest reference doses (RfDs) yet for any PFAS chemical: a chronic RfD of 0.003 µg/kg/day and a subchronic RfD of 0.02 µg/kg/day.
On Jun 14, 2022, EPA issued its response to the petition, denying the manufacturer’s request for correction (RFC). EPA informed the manufacturer that “[a]fter careful consideration, EPA has concluded that the underlying information and conclusions presented in the [GenX Chemicals Toxicity Assessment] and its supporting materials are consistent with EPA’s Information Quality Guidelines. Therefore, the RFC is denied.” The next day, EPA published its Final Drinking Water Health Advisory on GenX chemicals (GenX Drinking Water Advisory), which cited the earlier GenX Chemicals Toxicity Assessment as “the basis” of the toxicity assessment included in the GenX Drinking Water Advisory.
Not long thereafter, the manufacturer filed a petition with the Third Circuit challenging the GenX Drinking Water Advisory. The complaint raises a number of bases challenging the GenX Drinking Water Advisory, including that its enactment was arbitrary and capricious based on the methodological issues highlighted in the manufacturer’s earlier Information Quality Act Petition. The manufacturer also claims that the enactment of the GenX Drinking Water Advisory exceeds EPA’s statutory authority and violates constitutional due process protections as well as the nondelegation doctrine.
We’ll be sure to continue following this dispute as it moves forward through the courts.
