Question
Due to concerns about the health effects of adding fluoride to drinking water, Congress passed a law that allowed federal agencies to prohibit fluoride from
Due to concerns about the health effects of adding fluoride to drinking water, Congress passed a law that allowed federal agencies to prohibit fluoride from being purposefully added to drinking water supplies, including bottled water sold in the United States, if the agencies determined it posed an "unreasonable health or safety risk to the general public or susceptible subpopulations." These agencies subsequently determined fluoride was safe in its naturally occurring levels, but adding too much fluoride posed unreasonable health risks.
The agencies required municipal water suppliers and bottled water companies that added fluoride to test their water to ensure that fluoride levels remained safe and to report the results to the relevant federal agency. Reported test results showing too much fluoride resulted in various agency enforcement actions under the law. Bottled water companies were further required to "clearly indicate" the purposeful addition of fluoride on their labeling so that consumers could decide if they wanted to purchase the product.
Due to concerns about the health effects of adding fluoride to drinking water and complaints by municipal water suppliers over the costs to comply with the federal requirements, State X passed a law that stated: "Fluoride may not be purposefully added to any public water supply or to any bottled water sold in the state. State agencies shall not purchase bottled water with added fluoride."
FreshWater, Inc. is a corporation that sells bottled water with added fluoride nationwide. Before the State X law, it had substantial sales in State X, including sales to state agencies. FreshWater wants to challenge the State X and federal laws in federal court.
FreshWater believes that the federal testing and labeling requirements are expensive and unnecessary because adding fluoride does not pose any health risks. FreshWater does not want to stop adding fluoride to its bottled water because it believes adding it provides health benefits. FreshWater also cannot economically produce some bottles with added fluoride and some without to comply with the State X law because doing so would require substantial reconfigurations to its water bottling process.
FreshWater believes that State X enacted the law to benefit NaturalWater, Inc., the only bottled water company in State X. NaturalWater does not add fluoride to its water.
Discuss the issues. You do not need to address justiciability issues.
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