Washington - The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee today approved legislation Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) authored to overturn U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rules weakening toxic reporting requirements that had been in place for nearly two decades. Sens. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Committee Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) are co-sponsoring the measure.

"My law creating the EPA's Public Right-to-Know program has provided Americans with information about toxic chemicals stored and released in their communities. Last December, President Bush's EPA weakened the rules to let companies report less information and keep the public in the dark. This decision by the Bush Administration was a gift to the chemical industry. People have a right to know about the toxic chemicals bordering their backyards and our bill today would restore that right," said Sen. Lautenberg.

"It is not only every citizen's right to know if they are living near toxic chemicals, it is the EPA and chemical industry's duty to make them aware. The Bush administration has chosen to protect the chemical industry over public health. This is an essential public safety, health and environmental issue, and I applaud Senator Lautenberg for his tireless leadership," said Sen. Menendez.

In December 2006, the EPA announced final rules that loosen reporting requirements for the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI). With these rules, the Bush administration has undermined this critical program by: eliminating detailed reports from thousands of facilities nationwide that release up to 2,000 pounds of chemicals every year; and eliminating detailed reports from nearly 2,000 facilities that manage up to 500 pounds of chemicals known to pose some of the worst threats to human health, including lead and mercury.

Lautenberg's bill, the Toxic Right-to-Know-Protection Act, codifies the stronger reporting requirements that were in place before the Bush administration weakened them late last year. By codifying these requirements, neither the current administration nor future administrations could again weaken the Right-To-Know program without the approval of Congress.

TRI was authored by Sen. Lautenberg and passed into law in 1986 as part of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA). The law came in the wake of the tragic disaster at a Union Carbide facility in Bhopal, India, which killed thousands of people. Congress passed EPCRA to ensure that communities know how much of the most dangerous industrial chemicals are being released into the air, water and the ground.

Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Rep. Hilda Solis (D-CA) have introduced the companion version of the bill in the House of Representatives.

###