Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP : Charles Franklin Quoted by Bloomberg BNA on New EPA Toxic Substance Rule

Charles Franklin, senior counsel in the environment and natural resources practice at Akin Gump, was quoted in the Bloomberg BNA Daily Environment Report article 'Companies Must Back Up Privacy Claims When Asserted: EPA,' regarding a new notice from the Environmental Protection Agency pertaining to companies that submit proprietary chemical information. According to the rule, which is based on the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), those companies must justify upfront the reasons the information cannot be publicly released.

The article notes that some people have expressed concerns the process the EPA used-issuing a notice rather than a direct final or proposed rule-denied the public the opportunity to weigh in on the agency's legal interpretation. Franklin, for his part, expressed some objections, saying that the EPA notice constitutes 'rulemaking' without the opportunity for public comment required by TSCA.