Bills Would Reverse Toxics Reporting Rule

Bills introduced in the Senate and House last week would overturn changes the Bush Administration made to the Toxics Release Inventory in late December 2006. Introducing the identical measures were Reps. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.) in the House (H.R. 1055) and Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg (D-N.J.) in the Senate (S. 595). The legislation would invalidate the new EPA rule allowing tens of thousands of facilities to submit less information about the TRI chemicals they release (C&EN, Jan. 1, page 10). EPA's changes permit more facilities to use a short form rather than a longer form for filing their annual TRI reports. The Government Accountability Office says EPA's move provides only modest savings to industry but significantly cuts the amount of information available to the public on local chemical releases.