Eleven states sued the EPA yesterday for loosening the reporting standards of companies who release chemicals into neighborhoods. The suit is led by Attorney General Cuomo of New York, and joined by the states of New Jersey, Connecticut, Arizona, California, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania. The states challenge the legality of the laxer rules that allow companies to release up to 5,000 pounds of toxic chemicals without extensive reporting. This overrides the old rule, enacted in 1986 during the Reagan administration, in the wake of India's Bhopal accident, which required extensive reporting for any amount above 500 pounds.
According to the New York Times, the EPA claims that their "making a good program better". However many observers say the opposite. The complaint, filed in the Southern District Court of New York represents labor organizations, environmental and public health groups, and scientists, who all use the information to monitor and study chemical releases in the environment. As well,communities and individuals use the information to advocate for safe neighborhoods.
