The November Chemical Engineering magazine had an article on the EPA plan to
increase the number of facilities required to do TRI reporting.  Currently,
only about 23000 facilities file Form R reports (0.4% of the facilities in 
the US).  EPA estimates that only 5% of toxic releases to the environment
are reported under SARA 313.  Therefore, EPA proposed to add metal mining,
solvent recovery services, coal mining, electrical utilities, petroleum
bulk stations - wholesale, commercial hazardous waste treatment, and 
chemicals & allied products - wholesale.

The text of the article follows:

"The U.S. Congress has put the brakes on EPA's plan (CE, August, p. 25) to
expand the number of facilities required to provide data for the Toxic 
Release Inventory (TRI), and annual database of chemicals released to the
air, water, and land.  The hOuse-Senate Conference Committee on EPA
Appropriations has ordered the General Accounting Office (GAO) to study 
the plan and identify ways EPA can use information it wlready has, instead
of requesting more.

In a report, the committee says EPA has increased the paperwork burden on 
businesses and state and local governments in the past year, despite an
initiative to reduce paperwork. "EPA has neither an integrated program to
manage information, nor an inventory of correct reporting requirements on 
the regulated community," says the report.

The GAO study will evaluate EPA's information management practices;
recommen ways to increase accountability among federal agencies in complying
with existing TRI reporting requirements; and examine how information is
provided to, and used by, the public at the local level.  Scheduled to
start about year-end, the study will take six to nine months."

Sorry about typing errors, but you get the gist of the message.  Where in the
world can we get some clout like those industries have?!?  I think that
the direction that EPA will go down will be similar to the Facilities
Identification Initiative for their information systems.  IPC is commenting
on this initiative, and would like to have any comments by Monday, November
25th.  Please send your comments to Holly Lynch at [log in to unmask] by 
email, or to IPC at FAX 


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847-509-9798, or Holly Lynch (FAX - 202-638-0145).




John Sharp
Merix Corporation
Forest Grove, OR
503-359-9300 (ext. 5-4351)
503-359-1040 FAX
[log in to unmask]

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