Statement of U.S. PIRG Staff Attorney Alex Fidis
The
House of Representatives acted today to protect the public’s
right-to-know about toxic chemicals released to our land, air, and
water. Recognizing the importance of maintaining currently available
toxic release information, the House voted to stop EPA from proceeding
with a proposal to deprive thousands of communities across the country
access to toxic pollution information.
The
House stood up for the American public and paid notice to the more than
110,000 comments submitted in opposition to EPA’s rollback of the Toxic
Release Inventory. In so doing, the House sent a clear message to EPA
that the public’s right-to-know about toxic chemicals in communities is
a paramount right that must not be eroded.
EPA’s
October 2005proposal would significantly reduce the amount of
information available to the public about the toxic pollution from
thousands of facilities across the nation. The proposal to begin
withholding currently available toxic release information is widely
opposed and includes opposition from agencies in 23 states and the U.S.
Conference of Mayors.
Unfortunately,
today’s vote may not be enough to stop EPA from proceeding with the
rollbacks. But, with widespread public opposition and disapproval from
one chamber of Congress, the legitimacy of EPA’s proposal has been
seriously called into question.
U.S.
PIRG is the national lobby office for the state Public Interest
Research Groups. State PIRGs are non-profit, non-partisan public
interest advocacy organizations.
