EPA Takes TSCA Enforcement Action Against Chemical Importer

/in , , ,

EPA has initiated a far-reaching administrative enforcement action against Wego Chemical Group, alleging hundreds of violations of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) stemming from the New York-based chemical distributor’s chemical imports.

“Since at least 2016, Wego has imported hundreds of millions of pounds of hundreds of toxic chemicals, mostly from China, without meeting basic federal reporting requirements,” EPA stated in a press release announcing the action, which was filed May 22, 2026.

At the core of the complaint are allegations that Wego’s 2020 and 2024 Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) submissions were both late and incomplete.  EPA alleges the 2020 forms for more than 200 substances arrived more than four years after the reporting deadline.  The agency also claims that Wego reported all chemical use information as “not known or reasonably ascertainable” in both reporting cycles, despite allegedly relying on that same information in its sales and marketing materials.

The complaint also alleges that Wego:

  • Imported a chemical not listed on the TSCA Inventory without submitting a premanufacture notice (PMN) or import certification
  • Filed a notice of commencement (NOC) claiming importation of a substance that had not occurred
  • Failed to submit export notifications for two substances subject to proposed risk management rules
  • Distributed a substance in violation of its significant new use rule (SNUR) hazard communication requirements without filing a significant new use notice (SNUN)
  • Submitted a false certification of no manufacture

EPA seeks civil penalties under six of the complaint’s ten counts.  While no specific penalty figure is proposed, the agency notes that penalties of up to $49,772 could be assessed for each of 684 individual violations.

According to the complaint, EPA first requested TSCA compliance information from Wego in 2021 and entered into a tolling agreement with the company in July 2024.  Separately, in July 2025, an environmental organization announced it had reached its own settlement with Wego over alleged 2020 CDR violations involving 104 substances.