EPA Plans Biennial Tri Reporting

Companies would submit Toxics Release Inventory data to EPA every other year rather than annually, under a plan unveiled by the agency on Sept. 21. This would save industry money, EPA says, and the agency would redirect some TRI resources to improve the quality, clarity, and usefulness of right-to-know data. Some members of Congress and environmental activists decried the plan. “This proposal would deny communities up-to-date information about local toxic releases, reduce incentives to minimize the generation of toxic waste, and undermine the ability of public health agencies and researchers to identify important trends,” says Sen. James M. Jeffords (I-Vt.), ranking minority member of the Senate Environment & Public Works Committee. EPA says it will formally propose this change to TRI within the next 24 months. In a related move, the agency proposed to allow facilities that manage or release 5,000 lb or less of toxics to use a shorter TRI reporting form, called Form A. Currently, Form A is used by facilities managing or releasing 500 lb or less. EPA's proposal would allow facilities to use the short form for reporting releases of all persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic chemicals except dioxins.