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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- New regulations from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency could relieve as many as 35 Utah facilities from a requirement to report toxic chemical releases, a national researcher said.
Tom Natan, research director for the National Environmental Trust, said the changes will give companies an incentive to increase pollution.
"If you don't know what (quantities of toxic chemicals) they are putting out then you can't take steps to protect yourselves," Natan said.
Utah's Air Quality Board member and air pollution researcher, Richard Kanner, also opposes the changes. In a November letter to the EPA, Kanner said that "In the wake of Hurricane Katrina the EPA should recognize that there is a need for more, not less, reporting on the toxic hazards in our environment."
The new rules will allow facilities to release up to 2,000 pounds of pollutants before being required to disclose information. Previously disclosure was required after 500 pounds.
Utah was sixth in the latest Toxics Release Inventory, which was based on 2004 information about nearly 650 chemicals reported by 191 industrial facilities.
Mining waste reports from Kennecott, a mining, smelting and refining company, pushed Salt Lake County into second place in the annual rankings.
The EPA implemented its changes in December. The agency contends the rules will save companies an estimated $6 million, without a significant reduction in the information available to the public.
Environmental activists disagree.
"The TRI is one of the most cost-effective ways to provide information to regulators and the public," said Cindy King, a Salt Lake City environmental activist and a frequent user of the TRI database.
In public hearings, only 33 commentators, spoke in support of the changes, according to OMB Watch, a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group.
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Information from: The Salt Lake Tribune, www.sltrib.com
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
