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PR RIGHT-TO-KNOW PROGRAM UPHELD IN MAJOR COURT DECISION

Release Date: 5/2/96
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PR RIGHT-TO-KNOW PROGRAM UPHELD IN MAJOR COURT DECISION

FOR RELEASE: THURSDAY, MAY 2, 1996

ADMINISTRATION'S EXPANDED RIGHT-TO-KNOW PROGRAM UPHELD IN MAJOR COURT DECISION

In the first major challenge of the Clinton Administration's stronger and expanded Community Right-To-Know program, a federal court has ruled in favor of EPA's position against a challenge from the Chemical Manufacturers Association.
Under the Right-to-Know program, companies must report as publicly available information chemicals that they release into the environment. In November 1994, EPA Administrator Carol M. Browner nearly doubled the list of toxic chemicals for which reporting is required from 329 to 615. CMA and other chemical industry groups challenged the legality of that list expansion, seeking to curtail the public's access to information on toxic chemicals.

Browner said, "This is an important victory for every citizen of this nation. The Court has reaffirmed the public's right to know about the toxic chemicals that can affect their very lives. Putting information about toxic pollution into the hands of the public is one of the strongest measures that can be taken to ensure cleaner air, safer drinking water and a healthy environment. This Administration will continue to vigorously defend and expand this basic right and fundamental value."

In a related action in August of last year, President Clinton reconfirmed his commitment to the public's right to know when he issued an Executive Order requiring contractors with the Federal Government to comply with Right-to-Know requirements. He took this action in the face of then-pending congressional riders in budget proposals which would have limited expansion of and undermined the program.

Lois Schiffer, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division, said, "This is an outstanding victory for the American people, and reaffirms that the public has a right to know about possible hazards in the community. We are very pleased."

In her decision, Judge Gladys Kessler of the U.S. District Court yesterday upheld EPA's final rule to expand the list of chemicals covered by the Toxics Release Inventory. The Court concluded that "EPA undertook a massive administrative effort, starting in 1992, to determine what additional chemicals belonged on the list . . . The history of this rulemaking demonstrates that EPA scientists and technical staff devoted enormous amounts of time to scientific evaluations that formed the basis of the listing decisions . . . [and] exercised its statutory discretion reasonably." 

Reporting on the additional 286 chemicals added by EPA can now begin this year. The Agency also plans to expand in the near future the number of facilities covered by the program.

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