The Story Below Appeared Today on E&E S Greenwire
The story below appeared today on E&E’s Greenwire. SOCMA’s interpretation of Obama’s proposed TSCA budget is that EPA has repeatedly asked for more money to perform core functions under the existing statute and is now getting the money. It is far too early to tell, of course, how EPA’s budget will fare in the Congress, including any proposals to increase spending on TSCA.
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10. CHEMICALS: Obama proposes funding for reform of toxics law (02/15/2011)
Jeremy P. Jacobs, E&E reporter
President Obama's proposed budget is getting rave reviews from advocates who have called for reforming the law regulating chemicals.
Buried in Obama's fiscal 2012 budget is increased funding to allow U.S. EPA to speed up the evaluations of chemicals and releasing of chemical information under the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976.
Obama has proposed $71 million for chemical assessment and risk review, including $16 million in new funding for additional chemical hazard assessments and information management.
The proposal suggests the Obama administration is seeking to expand EPA's enforcement of TSCA as efforts to reform the law and expand its authority have floundered on Capitol Hill.
The administration's backing is more than welcome among advocates for reforming TSCA, the only U.S. environmental statute that has never received a congressional update.
"The president and EPA administrator Lisa Jackson have clearly proved their commitment to protecting the public from toxic chemicals," said Ken Cook, president of the nonprofit Environmental Working Group. "The American people have the right to know what is in the items they purchase and bring home, and the federal government has an obligation to make sure these substances are safe for human health and the environment."
The new funding would be provided to the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, EPA spokeswoman Cathy Milbourn said, and would be used to speed up EPA's process of making chemical information available in the TSCA inventory.
The money would also be used to review all current and 1,100 older Confidential Business Information (CBI) claims, which manufacturers file to prevent chemicals from being listed publicly. Additionally, the funding would be dedicated to hazardous chemical risk assessment.
Lastly, the money would be used to increase by 20,000 the number of TSCA documents digitized every year.
The proposed budget comes as EPA has recently sought to step up its TSCA oversight and increase transparency. Last week, EPA notified five companies that 14 chemicals would no longer be shielded from the public because of CBI claims. It was the first time the current EPA had taken such an action (E&ENews PM, Feb. 10).
Richard Denison, a senior scientist at the Environmental Defense Fund who has been active in calling for TSCA reform, said the proposed budget and the notification last week show Obama's EPA is seeking a significantly more ambitious role on TSCA than the one played by its predecessor, the George W. Bush administration.
"This is a level of activity that the agency hasn't exhibited in years," Denison said. "The budget suggests that the EPA will continue on that level or even increase."
The funding would likely also be directed to EPA's Enhanced Chemical Management Program, which was launched in 2009 and, according to Denison, was a significant improvement over the Bush administration's program.
'Politically smart'
Industry groups were decidedly less enthusiastic about Obama's budget proposal.
The American Cleaning Institute, which represents companies that provide chemicals for soaps and home cleaners, said the president's focus on hazard assessment misses the mark.
"It is important for the agency to make timely reviews of chemicals so the pace of innovations getting to market is improved, including green technology innovations," said Brian Sansoni, a spokesman for the group. "But the focus on 'hazard assessments' is disappointing, given that to responsibly reduce chemical risks, one needs to examine information on both chemical uses and exposures and hazards."
The Society for Chemical Manufacturers and Affiliates (SOCMA), however, supported the general intent of the budget line.
"It is still unclear how EPA will use their additional funds, but to the extent the increase enables EPA to better carry out its current mandate under TSCA, then we support it," said William Allmond, SOCMA's vice president. "SOCMA has repeatedly testified before Congress that the agency needs more resources to effectively implement its existing TSCA authority."
Rena Steinzor, the president of the left-leaning Center for Progressive Reform, also noted that it was politically adept for the president to include the TSCA funding increase in his budget. The president likely recognized, Steinzor said, that lawmakers would seek to overrule his cuts to larger EPA programs, such as the state clean and drinking water revolving funds. Such support from lawmakers is unlikely to come on TSCA.
"It's politically smart," Steinzor said. "It confirms the impression that the president is cutting stuff that people really care about. But he knows that legislators will defend the EPA on those items."
Indeed, it appears unlikely that large-scale TSCA reform will be successful in Congress this session.
Last year, Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) and Reps. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and Bobby Rush (D-Ill.) introduced legislation that would have required manufacturers to provide a minimum data set for all chemicals used in consumer products. That legislation stalled in both chambers shortly before the midterm elections last fall, and it appears unlikely that such a bill would gain traction in the new Republican-controlled House.
However, Lautenberg did indicate today that "modernizing" TSCA is a top priority of the Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Superfund, Toxics and Environmental Health, which he chairs.
"Parents," Lautenberg said in a statement, "want assurances that the products they buy for their families are free of toxic chemicals."