EPA Seeks New Law, More Power to Regulate Toxic Chemicals
As Congress prepares to update a 33-year-old law that governs the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s regulation of toxic chemicals, the executive branch is seeking more authority over what officials describe as a risky situation.
“The American people are looking to government for assurance that chemicals have been assessed using the best available science and that unacceptable risks haven’t been ignored—and unfortunately the current law doesn’t allow us to grant them that assurance,” said Lisa Jackson, who serves as EPA administrator, in a briefing for reporters that sparked coverage in the Miami Herald and USA Today, among other media.
Two key proposals she is making, with the support of the White House, concerning the planned overhaul of the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act are likely to be controversial, according to the Herald:
First, manufacturers should be responsible for proving that chemicals are safe. At present, the EPA has to show that a chemical poses an unreasonable risk before it can be regulated.
Second, the industry should pay a bigger share of the cost of determining health and environmental risks.
These principles are expected to be reflected in legislation the Democrats plan to introduce soon in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.
“It’s historic. They’re very clear that this is about a new law, new rules of the game. It’s not about little tweaks. This is a fundamental overhaul,” Richard Wiles of the Environmental Working Group tells USA Today.
Related coverage:
New York Times: “EPA Proposes Rule on Greenhouse Gas Emissions”
Updated at 3:50 p.m. to link to related New York Times article.
