California Restores TRI Reporting for the State

When California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) signed the California Toxic Release Inventory Act of 2007 (Assembly Bill 833) into law on Oct. 13, California became the first state to pass legislation to undo the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) December 2006 weakening of the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI). The new state law establishes the threshold for detailed reporting at 500 pounds of a listed toxic chemical, which was the original threshold for the TRI program before EPA changed the regulations to reduce the reporting burden on companies.

Similar legislation was introduced and passed last year, only to be vetoed by Schwarzenegger. The signed version lacked certain components from the previous effort, such as provisions requiring the creation of a user-friendly website and analyzed data. However, Assembly member Ira Rushkin (D-21st), who authored the bill, was happy with the outcome. As quoted in the San Jose Mercury News , Rushkin said, "Hiding information from the people is reprehensible. I am very pleased that the governor agrees."

The federal regulatory policy changes, which went into effect in January, increased the threshold mandating detailed reporting of toxic pollution under the TRI program, from 500 pounds to 5,000 pounds, so long as less than 2,000 pounds were released directly into the environment. The change enables facilities to pollute much more before having to disclose specifics. Under the new threshold, facilities only need to report the chemical name and certify that the amount produced was under the threshold. The detailed report, which was formerly required, calls for disclosure of actual amounts of pollution and whether the chemical was released into the air, water or land.

California has long been ahead of the national curve in ensuring that its residents know about toxins in their environment.

  • In 1986, the same year Congress passed the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) that established TRI, California voters passed Proposition 65, the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act, which requires public notice if a toxic chemical is present in a product, in a workplace or is present in the environment.
  • In 1990, the state enacted the "full" pesticide use reporting system, which created the most detailed database in the nation, possibly even in the world.
  • Creating the most comprehensive statewide school requirement, the Healthy School Act of 2001 mandated all schools to record, track and provide notification of any toxic pesticide used within their grounds.

 

While several states have independently established a public toxic reporting system like TRI, most utilize the TRI program and its thresholds for the basic reporting structure, even if they have additional reporting requirements that go beyond the TRI program. As a result, these state programs, including California's, were automatically affected by the changes to the federal policy. New Jersey's Release and Pollution Prevention Report (RPPR) program maybe the only state pollution reporting program designed such that the federal TRI changes did not create the loss of information faced by other states. New Jersey's RPPR already required detailed reporting similar to the federal TRI program but at a lower threshold. Despite the impact on state pollution programs, California remains the only state to pursue action against the federal policy changes, reclaiming the program standards at the state level.

There are federal efforts underway to restore the TRI program, as companion bills in the House (H.R. 1055) and Senate (S. 595) have both received hearings and await markup and votes.

 

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