Citizen Health & Safety

Time Remains to Comment on EPA's Burden Reduction Plans for TRI

OMB Watch encourages interested individuals to take part in the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Stakeholder Dialogue Phase II that focuses on burden reduction options for the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) program. The TRI is a flagship database that contains information about releases and transfers of toxic chemicals from manufacturing facilities. Since the establishment of TRI, the simple act of publicizing the amount toxic chemicals that facilities release has pressured companies to reduce these releases by more than half.

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Supreme Court Decides EPA Can Overrule State Air Permits

In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court ruled Jan. 21 that EPA has authority to overrule a state construction permit that, as judged by the agency, violates air quality standards. In doing so, the court rejected the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation’s claim that EPA lacked the authority to block construction of a power plant at Teck Cominco Alaska Inc.’s Red Dog Mine, the world’s largest zinc mine, located in northwest Alaska. (Cominco sought more generating capacity to expand zinc production by 40 percent.)

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Administration Says It Will Prosecute Clean Air Violations, For Now

The Bush administration will reverse course and bring new court cases against violators of power-plant emissions standards, according to EPA Administrator Mike Leavitt. Just three months ago, it was revealed that the administration had decided to stop investigating 70 power plants suspected of violating clean air standards, and would consider dropping 13 other cases that were referred to the Justice Department.

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Commerce Dept. Calls for More Regulatory Rollbacks

The Commerce Department released a report Jan. 16 on U.S. manufacturing that calls on the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to review existing regulations and implement reforms “on a priority basis” to reduce costs on manufacturers. Curiously, the report does not mention that OMB actually did this during the first two years of the Bush administration, using its annual report to Congress on federal regulation to identify and weaken a host of significant standards, such as controls on power-plant emissions.

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Administration Limits Objections to Forest Thinning

The Bush administration issued an interim final rule Jan. 9 that limits the public’s ability to challenge forest-thinning projects under the recently enacted Healthy Forests Restoration Act, which allows increased logging purportedly to reduce the danger of wildfire. Under the rule:
  • You can only launch an administrative appeal to stop a project if you submitted comments during the formal public comment period;
  • Federal agencies are not allowed to file objections;

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Court Overturns Bush Rollback of Air Conditioner Efficiency Standards

A federal appeals court overturned a Bush rollback of air conditioner efficiency standards, finding that it violated the National Appliance Energy Conservation Act, which prohibits such backsliding. The Clinton administration, in its final weeks, required that most new air conditioners and heat pumps be made 30 percent more energy efficient by 2006. But the Bush administration immediately lowered this requirement to 20 percent, which would have created substantially more demand for power.

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Take Action on OMB's Peer Review Bulletin

Voice your objection to OMB's overly restrictive Peer Review Bulletin, which will establish government-wide peer review standards. These policies will prevent agencies from disseminating important information to the public or acting in a timely fashion to protect human health and the environment in the case of emergencies. This proposal is not about improving information, it is about controlling information. Click here to tell your Members of Congress and OMB that the OMB Peer Review Bulletin should be withdrawn.

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EPA Plans Early Release of Some TRI Data

EPA recently held a meeting with interested stakeholders to explain its intention to release 2002 Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) data much earlier than in recent years. Under EPA's current plans the 2002 TRI would be available on the agency's website in February or March, several months ahead of the recent release times of May or June.

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Administration Moves to Allow Dumping of Mining Waste Into Streams

The Bush administration unveiled a proposal Jan. 7 that would gut a prohibition against the dumping of mining waste within 100 feet of streams, easing the way for new mountaintop mining, which generates large amounts of dirt and rock waste.

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Administration Opens Tongass Forest to Logging

Two days before Christmas, the Bush administration finalized plans to open 300,000 acres in Alaska’s Tongass National Forest for logging and development, removing protection provided by the Clinton-era “roadless rule,” which banned road construction in 58.5 million acres of national forests.

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