Toxic Right-to-Know Protection Act

The Toxic Right-to-Know Protection Act refers to identical House and Senate bills in the 110th Congress (2007-2008) that are currently stuck in committee. The Act would undo reporting requirement roll-backs the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) implemented in a January 2007 rule change, which allows up to ten times more pollution before requiring detailed reporting. The Act returns the thresholds requiring polluting facilities to provide more complete information about their toxic releases to the earlier lower levels. The Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) was created in the late 1980s after the deadly release of toxic chemicals at a Union Carbide facility in Bhopal, India. Facilities that release toxins into the environment are required to report their emissions to the TRI program, which is administered by the EPA.

Groups opposing the threshold changes argue they are arbitrary industry influenced policies that deprive communities of their ability to know about toxic waste in their communities, and allow companies to pollute with even less accountability and fear of public pressure to change practices. TRI has been attributed with reducing toxic releases in the facilities under its purview by fifty percent in its first ten years.

Current status
The Toxic Right-to-Know Protection Act (S.595) was introduced on February 14, 2007 by Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) with principle co-sponsors Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) and Bernard Sanders (I-Vt.). 

Identical legislation was offered in the House by Reps. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), Hilda Solis (D-Calif.), and 62 other co-sponsors (H.R.1055). 

Bill Summary
A December 2006 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule change to the federal Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) restricted public access to information about more than 3,500 facilities that release harmful chemicals (see below). The Toxic Right-to-Know Protection Act sought to reverse that rule change and keep this information about toxic pollution public.

It would also restore the lower reporting thresholds that were raised by the EPA in the rule change (see below). It would also remove the EPA's authority to alter the program's reporting requirements without the approval of Congress.

Criticism and commendations
OMB Watch has supported the Act and criticized the EPA rule change. Sean Moulton, it's Director of Federal Information Policy, said, "EPA has insisted on viewing TRI as a tool for national totals and trends, which means the details that are so important at the local level are paying the price."

The EPA Science Advisory Board formally opposed the changes in an unsolicited letter.

The EPA received over 122,000 comments from individuals and groups about the proposals, over 99% of which strongly opposed the changes. The restrictions also drew opposition from 113 government agencies and officials representing 23 states.

Groups supporting a rollback of the EPA rule
196 groups signed onto a May 2006 letter supporting the Toxic Right-to-Know amendment to the appropriations bill (which is similar to the Act - see below):

Opposition to EPA restrictions
Other congressional action related to the EPA rule change include:


 * The House of Representatives passed an amendment to an Interior Department appropriations bill in May 2006 that prevented the EPA from implementing the proposed rule changes. The Senate, however, never acted on the bill that year and thus the House provision never took effect.


 * Sens. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) and Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) placed a hold on a Bush administration nominee to protest the EPA's proposed restrictions.

The Toxics Release Inventory
The Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) was established in the late 1980s following the deadly release of toxic chemicals at a Union Carbide facility in Bhopal, India. The TRI is a database providing information on the nature and amount of toxic chemicals released into the water, soil, and air, and that tracks over 650 chemicals and chemical categories (companies must detail their release and disposal procedures). According to then-New York Attorney General (and future Gov.) Eliot Spitzer, "The Toxics Release Inventory has been extremely successful in raising public awareness about chemical hazards in communities from coast to coast. Public disclosure has proven to be a strong incentive for polluters to reduce their use of toxic chemicals."

EPA rule change loosened reporting requirements to TRI
The December 2006 EPA rule change:
 * Cut the reporting requirement in half by allowing industrial facilities to report their pollution every other year instead of every year.
 * Allowed facilities with under 5,000 pounds of waste per year to avoid reporting their production, increasing the threshold from its previous level of 500 pounds.
 * Removed reporting requirements for persistent bioaccumulative toxins (PBTs), a class of toxins including lead and mercury, if the amount released is under 500 pounds per year.

President Bush exempts federal facilities from toxics reporting in 2007
The law governing the TRI does not require federal facilities to report to the program. President Bill Clinton issues an executive order requiring federal facilities to do so in 1993, E.0 12856, "Federal Compliance With Right-to-Know Laws and Pollution Prevention Requirements." In 2000 he issued another executive order, E.O. 13148, "Greening the Government Through Leadership in Environmental Management", which set a series of environmental goals and requirements for federal agencies, including a reiteration of the requirement that federal facilities report under TRI. Because of this requirement, the earlier order (E.O. 12856) was deemed redundant and revoked, leaving E.O. 13148 as the sole order requiring federal facilities to report to TRI.

President George W. Bush rescinded that executive order, in an executive order he issued on January 26, 2007, E.O. 13423, "Strengthening Federal Environmental, Energy, and Transportation Management". His executive order established goals for increased energy efficiency, reduced toxic waste, and other environmental improvements. However, the final section of Bush's new EO rescinds several previous executive orders, including Clinton's E.O. 13148, without reiterating that federal facilities must report under TRI.

Regarding Bush's executive order, OMB Watch said:

"'Bush's new order may exempt all federal facilities from reporting to TRI in the future. The exact impacts will also depend on what guidance the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) issues to agencies on implementing E.O. 13423. In 2004, the most recent year of TRI data, 313 federal facilities reported 90 million pounds of toxic chemicals released to the air, water and land. The Toxic Right-to-Know-Protection Act would not establish a legislative requirement that federal facilities report under the TRI program. However, if the CEQ implementation guidance on E.O. 13423 does not maintain the reporting requirement for federal facilities, the legislation could be amended to undo that change as well.'"

The Right-to-Know Network published the 2005 TRI in 2007
On March 23, 2007, the Right-to-Know Network (RTK NET) published the 2005 Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) data at http://www.rtknet.org. It was the earliest release of annual TRI data in the program's history. The site allows users to search the data and find toxic chemicals released in their communities. RTK NET was created by OMB Watch in 1989 in support of the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act (EPCRA), which mandated public access to TRI data.

Related SourceWatch resources

 * Toxics Release Inventory

Related campaigns

 * OMB Watch has a Save the Toxic Release Inventory campaign to "tell Congress to stop the EPA from rolling back reporting requirements on toxic pollution".

External resources

 * EPA page on TRI
 * OMB Watch resources
 * OMBWatch: TRI Center
 * OMBWatch: TRI Comments Report
 * OMBWatch: TRI in the News, a compilation of news articles and editorials on TRI.
 * Environmental Working Group: Executive Summary