ELR Citation: 56 ELR 20064
No(s). 21-70168, 21-70670, and 24-7497 (9th Cir. May 13, 2026)

The Ninth Circuit granted a petition to review EPA's 2024 rule concerning regulation of decabromodiphenyl ether (decaBDE). Nonprofit groups and a tribe argued the rule violated TSCA’s mandate to address decaBDE risks and adopt all practicable exposure-reduction measures by declining to regulate four areas of exposure: (1) nearly all recycling of plastics containing decaBDE and use of that plastic to produce new articles; (2) disposal of decaBDE and materials containing it; (3) wastewater discharges from facilities that manufacture, process, and dispose of articles containing decaBDE; and (4) use of decaBDE-contaminated sewage sludge as fertilizer. The court held EPA's decisions not to further regulate decaBDE exposures in recyclable articles, disposal, wastewater, and sewage sludge under TSCA §6(h) were not supported by substantial evidence. It remanded without vacatur to EPA for further proceedings.