I

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 3111

To require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to

seek advice concerning environmental risks, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

SEPTEMBER 21, 1993

Mr. ZIMMER (for himself and Mr. SLATTERY) introduced the following bill;

which was referred jointly to the Committees on Energy and Commerce,

Agriculture, Merchant Marine and Fisheries, Public Works and Transportation, and Science, Space, and Technology

A BILL

To require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to seek advice concerning environmental

risks, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Environmental Risk

5 Reduction Act of 1993’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND POLICY.

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—
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1 (1) the cost of protecting the quality of the en2 vironment currently exceeds $115,000,000,000 per

3 year;

4 (2) providing protection to a continually in5 creasing population from the potentially deleterious

6 effects of newly discovered environmental hazards

7 may result in increases in the cost referred to in

8 paragraph (1);

9 (3) although the cost referred to in paragraph

10 (1) is not necessarily excessive, the amount is too

11 substantial for the funds to be used ineffectively or

12 inefficiently;

13 (4) there is a need to coordinate the develop14 ment and implementation of environmental policies

15 among policymakers of the Federal Government and

16 the governments of States and political subdivisions

17 of States;

18 (5) a key role of the Federal Government in the

19 development of environmental policy is to support

20 research to upgrade environmental science and engi21 neering;

22 (6) ecological resources are extraordinarily valu23 able, and risks to the resources either directly or in24 directly degrade human health and the economy;
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1 (7) the most effective use of the funds referred

2 to in paragraph (1) would—

3 (A) protect the greatest number of individ4 uals from the most harm; and

5 (B) be supported by a public perception

6 that subparagraph (A) is being carried out;

7 (8) risk reduction is the preferred technique for

8 improving human health and the environment and

9 pollution prevention methods should be considered, if

10 feasible, in decisions related to reducing risk;

11 (9) the ranking of relative risk is a critical tool

12 for determining which human health and environ13 mental risks to reduce;

14 (10) the determination of safety is a social con15 struct as well as a scientific one, and is based both

16 on the values of individual control and social equity

17 and on the knowledge of a defined risk;

18 (11) notwithstanding paragraph (10), scientific

19 information plays an essential role in supporting en20 vironmental decisions by policymakers, as members

21 of the general public use scientific information to

22 understand the likelihood, nature, and magnitude of

23 potential risks;
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1 (12) it is necessary to maintain a clear concep2 tual distinction between the techniques of risk as3 sessment and risk management;

4 (13) a risk assessment should—

5 (A) be the most accurate and informative

6 quantitative evaluation of risk that is prac7 ticable to conduct; and

8 (B) include a statement of important iden9 tifiable uncertainties;

10 (14) risk management is a political process as

11 well as a technical one;

12 (15) risk management integrates the findings of

13 a risk assessment with other considerations, such as

14 economic considerations, legislative mandates, and

15 the level of public concern;

16 (16) good risk management requires a reliable

17 and strictly objective risk assessment;

18 (17) the ranking of relative risks to human

19 health, welfare, and ecological resources is a complex

20 task, and is best performed by technical experts who

21 do not have interests that could bias objective judg22 ment;

23 (18) applying technology and resources to ad24 dress the highest ranked risks within the intent of

25 existing environmental laws and identifying highly
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1 ranked risks not addressed by law can significantly

2 reduce risks to human health, welfare, and ecological

3 resources;

4 (19) some populations of special concern appear

5 to have a greater degree of sensitivity to certain spe6 cific environmental hazards, including pregnant

7 women and fetuses, children, the elderly, chronically

8 ill individuals, and individuals with certain racial

9 and genetic characteristics;

10 (20) better risk assessment methodologies and

11 a long-term commitment to collecting monitoring

12 data on the condition of ecological resources and ex13 posure of humans and ecosystems to pollutants are

14 necessary to ensure—

15 (A) the identification of the greatest risks

16 to human health and the environment;

17 (B) that environmental laws are applied in

18 such manner as to accomplish the intended re19 sults of the laws; and

20 (C) that potential improvements to existing

21 environmental laws are identified;

22 (21) ranking risks must be an ongoing process

23 and must reflect improvements in environmental

24 data and scientific understanding;
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1 (22) the Administrator needs a major national

2 data base concerning environmental hazards to aid

3 in the adjustment of priorities and programs to di4 rect resources to ensure success in efforts to address

5 the hazards;

6 (23) the environmental monitoring and assess7 ment program created under this Act provides the

8 functional equivalent of an environmental statistics

9 program;

10 (24) although the National Academy of

11 Sciences has documented flaws in the administration

12 and management of the environmental monitoring

13 and assessment program of the Agency in an interim

14 report issued June 1992, the flaws can be addressed

15 through improvements in the program, and more

16 time is needed to address the flaws; and

17 (25) effective and efficient strategies to reduce

18 risks must quantify significant costs and benefits to

19 the greatest extent possible.

20 (b) POLICY.—It is the policy of the United States

21 that—

22 (1) the environmental protection activities ad23 ministered by the Administrator shall attain the

24 greatest risk reduction possible with the resources

25 available to the Administrator; and
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1 (2) the ability to reduce risks requires—

2 (A) accurate, quantitative estimates of the

3 exposure of humans and ecosystems to all im4 portant risk factors;

5 (B) accurate techniques for predicting the

6 effects of the exposure referred to in subpara7 graph (A);

8 (C) an adequate understanding of tech9 nical, economic, social, and legal alternatives to

10 achieve a reduction in exposure to risk factors;

11 and

12 (D) accurate estimates of the costs and

13 benefits of alternatives for reducing risks.

14 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

15 As used in this Act:

16 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis17 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ18 mental Protection Agency.

19 (2) AGENCY.—The term ‘‘Agency’’ means the

20 Environmental Protection Agency.

21 (3) ECOLOGICAL RESOURCE.—The term ‘‘eco22 logical resource’’ means a nonhuman living thing or

23 habitat (and the interaction between a nonhuman

24 living thing and habitat) including a lake, stream,

25 forest, wetland, desert, tundra, ocean, estuary,
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1 beach, grassland, agricultural area, or a vegetated

2 urban or suburban area.

3 (4) EFFECT.—The term ‘‘effect’’ means a dele4 terious change in the condition—

5 (A) of a human or other living thing, (in6 cluding death, cancer or other chronic illness,

7 decreased reproductive capacity, or disfigure8 ment or other debilitating condition); or

9 (B) of an inanimate thing important to

10 human welfare (including destruction, degenera11 tion, the loss of intended function, and in12 creased costs for maintenance).

13 (5) ENVIRONMENTAL LAW.—The term ‘‘envi14 ronmental law’’ means any environmental law ad15 ministered by the Administrator that provides for

16 the protection of the environment, including, but not

17 limited to—

18 (A) title XIV of the Public Health Service

19 Act (commonly known as the Safe Drinking

20 Water Act, 42 U.S.C. 300f et seq.);

21 (B) the Federal Water Pollution Control

22 Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.);

23 (C) the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et

24 seq.);
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1 (D) the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and

2 Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C. 136 et seq.);

3 (E) the Toxic Substances Control Act (15

4 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.);

5 (F) the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42

6 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.);

7 (G) the Comprehensive Environmental Re8 sponse, Compensation, and Liability Act of

9 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.);

10 (H) the Superfund Amendments and Re11 authorization Act of 1986 (Public Law

12 99–499);

13 (I) the Marine Protection, Research, and

14 Sanctuaries Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1431 et

15 seq.); and

16 (J) any law administered by the Adminis17 trator concerning protection from sources of ra18 diation.

19 (6) EXPOSURE.—The term ‘‘exposure’’ means

20 the juxtaposition in time and space of a stressor

21 with a human or other living thing or an inanimate

22 thing important to human welfare, in such manner

23 that an effect could result.

24 (7) IRREVERSIBILITY.—The term ‘‘irrevers25 ibility’’ means the extent to which a return to condi-
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1 tions prior to the occurrence of an effect are either

2 very slow or will never occur (as determined by the

3 Administrator).

4 (8) LIKELIHOOD.—The term ‘‘likelihood’’

5 means the estimated probability that an event will

6 occur.

7 (9) MAGNITUDE.—The term ‘‘magnitude’’

8 means the number of individuals or the quantity of

9 ecological resources or other resources that contrib10 ute to human welfare that are materially affected by

11 exposure to a stressor.

12 (10) RESPONSE.—The term ‘‘response’’ has the

13 same meaning as the term ‘‘effect’’ under paragraph

14 (4).

15 (11) RISK.—The term ‘‘risk’’ means the prob16 ability of the occurrence of an effect and includes

17 the potential for exposure.

18 (12) RISK ASSESSMENT.—The term ‘‘risk as19 sessment’’ means a process that uses a factual base

20 to—

21 (A) identify, characterize, and to the ex22 tent practicable quantify the potential adverse

23 effects of exposure of individuals, populations,

24 habitats, ecosystems, or materials to hazardous

25 pollutants, or other stressors; and
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1 (B) to the extent practicable, identify and

2 characterize identifiable important uncertain3 ties.

4 (13) RISK MANAGEMENT.—The term ‘‘risk

5 management’’ means, with respect to environmental

6 decisionmaking, the process of weighing policy alter7 natives and seeking the most appropriate regulatory

8 action that integrates the results of a risk assess9 ment with social, economic, political, and other ap10 propriate concerns to arrive at a decision.

11 (14) SERIOUSNESS.—The term ‘‘seriousness’’

12 means the intensity of effect, independent of the

13 magnitude.

14 (15) STRESSOR.—The term ‘‘stressor’’ means a

15 physical, chemical, or biological factor that is capa16 ble of causing an effect on human health, welfare,

17 or ecological resources.

18 (16) SUSTAINABILITY.—With respect to ecologi19 cal resources, the term ‘‘sustainability’’ means the

20 ability to maintain diverse, self-reproducing biologi21 cal communities that are capable of meeting the cur22 rent needs of humans without compromising the

23 ability of future generations to meet their needs, in24 cluding—
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1 (A) needs for natural resources such as

2 food, fiber, lumber, fish, and game;

3 (B) environmental services such as flood

4 mitigation, water storage, and the regulation of

5 the chemistry of the atmosphere, oceans, and

6 inland waters;

7 (C) opportunities for recreation and sci8 entific study; and

9 (D) the need for appreciation of the beauty

10 and diversity of nature.

11 (17) UNCERTAINTY.—The term ‘‘uncertainty’’

12 means the quantifiable and unquantifiable potential

13 error in the estimation of risk that is caused by the

14 quality or absence of data, or the assumptions used

15 in risk estimation.

16 SEC. 4. REDUCTION OF RISK.

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Through the careful assessment

18 and ranking of relative risks and the options for the man19 agement of the risks, the Administrator shall use the re20 sources available to the Administrator pursuant to envi21 ronmental laws to reduce those risks to human health and

22 welfare, and risks to ecological resources, that the Admin23 istrator determines to be the most likely, most serious,

24 most irreversible, and of the greatest magnitude with the
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1 goal of achieving the greatest overall reduction in risk pos2 sible with the resources available.

3 (b) OPERATION OF LAW.—In carrying out subsection

4 (a) the Administrator shall—

5 (1) act to reduce risk in a manner consistent

6 with the requirements of the environmental laws and

7 any other law;

8 (2) consider social, economic, and such other

9 related concerns as the Administrator determines to

10 be appropriate;

11 (3) base his determinations on the reports and

12 findings of the Committees created under section 5;

13 and

14 (4) utilize the risk assessment guidelines devel15 oped under section 6 and the results of research con16 ducted under section 7.

17 SEC. 5. ADVISORY COMMITTEES.

18 (a) In order to ensure that the reduction of risks re19 ferred to in section 4(a) is based on the best available sci20 entific understanding, the Administrator shall seek the ad21 vice of the expert advisory committees established under

22 subsections (b), (c), and (d) and shall utilize the reports

23 of these advisory committees required in those subsections.

24 (b) COMMITTEE ON RELATIVE RISKS.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall es2 tablish a Committee on Relative Risks (hereafter in

3 this subsection referred to as the ‘‘Committee’’). The

4 Committee shall be independent from the Science

5 Advisory Board.

6 (2) PURPOSE.—The Committee shall provide

7 expert advice concerning ranking the relative risks of

8 stressors to human health, welfare, and ecological

9 resources.

10 (3) MEMBERS.—

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator

12 shall appoint 15 members to the Committee. In

13 making appointments to the Committee, the

14 Administrator shall request nominations from

15 the heads of the National Academy of Sciences,

16 the National Academy of Engineering, the As17 sistant to the President for Science and Tech18 nology, the Society for Risk Analysis and such

19 other individuals as the Administrator deter20 mines to be appropriate.

21 (B) REPRESENTATION.—The Adminis22 trator shall appoint a representative group of

23 individuals on the basis of their recognized ex24 pertise and ability of the individuals in the

25 areas of human health effects (including physi-
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1 cians and industrial hygienists), ecological ef2 fects, welfare effects, law, engineering, econom3 ics, risk communications, and such other spe4 cialties related to risk management and risk as5 sessment as the Administrator considers appro6 priate.

7 (C) CONSIDERATIONS OF THE ADMINIS8 TRATOR.—In making the appointments, the Ad9 ministrator shall appoint members so as to rep10 resent a balanced spectrum of expertise and

11 ability. The Administrator shall take such ac12 tion as is necessary to ensure that—

13 (i) the appointments are made only on

14 the basis of the criteria referred to in the

15 previous sentence, and not on other cri16 teria, such as political affiliation; and

17 (ii) each member appointed to the

18 Committee has no real or apparent conflict

19 of interest with respect to serving on the

20 Committee.

21 (D) LIST.—The Administrator shall pub22 lish a list of the individuals who supply nomina23 tions pursuant to this paragraph and their re24 spective nominees.

25 (4) TERMS.—
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1 (A) INITIAL TERMS.—Members initially

2 appointed to the Committee shall serve for the

3 following terms:

4 (i) Five members shall serve for an

5 initial term of 2 years.

6 (ii) Five members shall serve for an

7 initial term of 4 years.

8 (iii) Five members shall serve for an

9 initial term of 6 years.

10 (B) SUBSEQUENT TERMS.—Upon comple11 tion of a term referred to under subparagraph

12 (A), each member of the Committee subse13 quently appointed or reappointed shall serve for

14 a term of 6 years. A vacancy on the Committee

15 shall be filled in the same manner as the ap16 pointment was made.

17 (5) CHAIRPERSON.—Members of the Committee

18 shall elect a Chairperson from among the members.

19 The Chairperson shall serve for a term of 2 years.

20 (6) CRITERIA AND GUIDELINES.—The Commit21 tee shall establish appropriate criteria and guidelines

22 to carry out the duties of the Committee under para23 graph (7).

24 (7) DUTIES.—The Committee shall—
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1 (A) identify and rank the greatest risks to

2 human health, welfare, and ecological resources,

3 taking into account and incorporate the overall

4 likelihood, seriousness, magnitude, and

5 irreversibility of each of the risks;

6 (B) identify a common list of the greatest

7 risks to human health, welfare, and ecological

8 resources; and

9 (C) assess the state of pertinent scientific

10 understanding and other factors contributing to

11 uncertainty in the ranking of relative risk.

12 (8) IDENTIFICATION.—The Committee shall

13 identify risks in such manner as to also identify—

14 (A) the need for new laws or amendments

15 to current laws; and

16 (B) priorities under existing laws.

17 (9) PUBLIC MEETINGS.—The Committee shall

18 hold open public meetings to solicit input from the

19 general public and such other sources as the Com20 mittee determines to be appropriate.

21 (10) REPORTS.—

22 (A) REPORTS TO THE ADMINISTRATOR.—

23 In accordance with this subsection, the Chair24 person of the Committee shall report to the Ad-
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1 ministrator the findings of the Committee based

2 on the duties identified in paragraph (7).

3 (B) FREQUENCY OF REPORTS.—The

4 Chairperson of the Committee shall report the

5 findings of the Committee to the Administrator

6 on or before August 1, 1995, and not less fre7 quently than every 2 years thereafter. Upon re8 ceipt of the report, the Administrator shall pub9 lish a report in the Federal Register for public

10 notice and comment and shall forward a copy of

11 the report to the Science Advisory Board.

12 (C) REVIEW BY THE SCIENCE ADVISORY

13 BOARD.—The Science Advisory Board shall re14 view each report submitted to the Administrator

15 pursuant to subparagraph (A) of this sub16 section by not later than 3 months after the

17 date of issuance of the report, and report the

18 findings of each Review to the Committee and

19 to the Administrator.

20 (D) PUBLIC REVIEW AND COMMENT.—The

21 Administrator shall allow at least 90 days for

22 public comment on any report and shall, within

23 3 months of the issuance of a report, submit all

24 comments received to the Committee.
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1 (E) REVIEW BY COMMITTEE.—The Com2 mittee shall review the findings of the Science

3 Advisory Board, and the public comments and

4 shall by not later than 3 months after the date

5 of receipt of the findings and comments, revise

6 the content of the report to take into consider7 ation the findings of the Science Advisory

8 Board and the public comments, and submit

9 the revised report to the Administrator.

10 (F) REVISED REPORT.—The Administrator

11 shall make available copies of the revised report

12 to the individuals and entities referred to in

13 subsection (e).

14 (c) COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS.—

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall es16 tablish a Committee on Environmental Benefits

17 (hereafter in this subsection referred to as the

18 ‘‘Committee’’) to provide expert advice on estimating

19 quantitative benefits of reducing risks and the quan20 titative costs of existing or proposed laws or regula21 tions. The Committee shall be independent from the

22 Science Advisory Board.

23 (2) MEMBERS.—

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator

25 shall appoint 15 members to the Committee. In
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1 making appointments to the Committee, the

2 Administrator shall request nominations from

3 the Association of Environmental and Resource

4 Economists and such other groups and individ5 uals as the Administrator determines to be ap6 propriate.

7 (B) REPRESENTATION.—The Adminis8 trator shall appoint a representative group of

9 individuals on the basis of their recognized ex10 pertise and ability in areas including economics,

11 engineering, public administration, health care,

12 risk communication, and such other specialties

13 related to risk management and risk assessment

14 as the Administrator considers to be appro15 priate.

16 (C) CONSIDERATIONS OF THE ADMINIS17 TRATOR.—In making the appointments, the Ad18 ministrator shall appoint members in such fash19 ion as to represent a balanced spectrum of ex20 pertise and ability. The Administrator shall

21 take such action as is necessary to ensure

22 that—

23 (i) the appointments are made only on

24 the basis of the criteria referred to in the
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1 previous sentence, and not on other cri2 teria, such as political affiliation; and

3 (ii) each member appointed to the

4 Committee has no real or apparent conflict

5 of interest with respect to serving on the

6 Committee.

7 (D) LIST.—The Administrator shall pub8 lish a list of the individuals who supply nomina9 tions pursuant to this paragraph.

10 (3) TERMS.—

11 (A) INITIAL TERMS.—Members initially

12 appointed to the Committee shall serve for the

13 following terms:

14 (i) Five members shall serve for an

15 initial term of 2 years.

16 (ii) Five members shall serve for an

17 initial term of 4 years.

18 (iii) Five members shall serve for an

19 initial term of 6 years.

20 (B) SUBSEQUENT TERMS.—Upon comple21 tion of a term referred to under subparagraph

22 (A), each member of the Committee subse23 quently appointed or reappointed shall serve for

24 a term of 6 years. A vacancy on the Committee
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1 shall be filled in the same manner as the ap2 pointment was made.

3 (4) CHAIRPERSON.—Members of the Committee

4 shall elect a chairperson from among the members.

5 The Chairperson shall serve for a term of 2 years.

6 (5) CRITERIA AND GUIDELINES.—The Commit7 tee shall establish appropriate criteria and guidelines

8 to carry out the duties of the Committee under para9 graph (6).

10 (6) DUTIES OF THE COMMITTEE.—The Com11 mittee shall estimate, to the extent practicable, the

12 monetary value, and such other values as the Com13 mittee determines to be appropriate, of—

14 (A) avoiding premature mortality;

15 (B) avoiding cancer, other diseases, birth

16 defects, and other health effects that reduce the

17 quality of life;

18 (C) preserving biological diversity and the

19 sustainability of ecological resources;

20 (D) an aesthetic environment;

21 (E) services performed by ecosystems

22 (such as flood mitigation, provision of food or

23 materials, or regulating the chemistry of the air

24 or water) that, if lost or degraded, would have

25 to be replaced by technology; and
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1 (F) avoiding other risks identified by the

2 Committee.

3 (7) PUBLIC MEETINGS.—The Committee shall

4 hold open public meetings to solicit input from the

5 general public and such other sources as the Com6 mittee determines to be appropriate.

7 (8) REPORTS.—

8 (A) REPORTS TO THE ADMINISTRATOR.—

9 In accordance with this subsection, the Chair10 person of the Committee shall report to the Ad11 ministrator the findings of the Committee based

12 on the duties of the committee identified in

13 paragraph (6).

14 (B) FREQUENCY OF REPORTS.—The

15 Chairperson of the Committee shall report the

16 findings of the Committee to the Administrator

17 on or before August 1, 1995, and not less fre18 quently than every 2 years thereafter. Upon re19 ceipt of the report, the Administrator shall pub20 lish a report in the Federal Register for public

21 notice and comment and shall forward a copy of

22 the report to the Science Advisory Board.

23 (C) REVIEW BY SCIENCE ADVISORY

24 BOARD.—The Science Advisory Board shall re25 view each report submitted to the Administrator
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1 and to Congress pursuant to paragraph (8) by

2 not later than 3 months after the date of issu3 ance of the report, and report the findings of

4 each review to the Committee and to the Ad5 ministrator.

6 (D) PUBLIC REVIEW AND COMMENT.—The

7 Administrator shall allow at least 90 days for

8 public comment on any report and shall, within

9 3 months of the issuance of a report, submit all

10 comments received to the Committee.

11 (E) REVIEW BY COMMITTEE.—The Com12 mittee shall review the findings of the Science

13 Advisory Board and the public comments, and

14 shall by not later than 3 months after the date

15 of receipt of the findings and comments, revise

16 the content of the report to take into consider17 ation the findings of the Science Advisory

18 Board and public comments, and submit the re19 vised report to the Administrator.

20 (F) REVISED REPORT.—The Administrator

21 shall make available copies of the revised report

22 to the individuals and entities referred to in

23 subsection (e).

24 (d) COMMITTEE ON COMMUNICATING RISK.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall es2 tablish a Committee on Communicating Risk (here3 after in this subsection referred to as the ‘‘Commit4 tee’’). The Committee shall be independent from the

5 Science Advisory Board.

6 (2) PURPOSE.—The Committee shall provide

7 expert advice on communicating to the public infor8 mation on risks in a manner that provides the public

9 accurate and understandable information about

10 those risks.

11 (3) MEMBERS.—

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator

13 shall appoint 15 members to the Committee. In

14 making appointments to the Committee, the

15 Administrator shall request nominations from

16 the heads of the National Academy of Sciences,

17 the National Academy of Engineering, the As18 sistant to the President for Science and Tech19 nology, the Society for Risk Analysis, and such

20 other individuals as the Administrator deter21 mines to be appropriate.

22 (B) REPRESENTATION.—The Adminis23 trator shall appoint a representative group of

24 individuals on the basis of their recognized ex25 pertise and ability in communicating health and
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1 risk information to the public, including edu2 cators, risk communications experts, opinion re3 search professionals, journalists, psychologists,

4 health educators and other specialists the Ad5 ministrator deems appropriate.

6 (C) CONSIDERATIONS OF THE ADMINIS7 TRATOR.—In making the appointments, the Ad8 ministrator shall appoint members so as to rep9 resent a balanced spectrum of expertise and

10 ability. The Administrator shall take such ac11 tion as is necessary to ensure that the appoint12 ments are made only on the basis of the criteria

13 referred to in the previous sentence, and not on

14 other criteria, such as political affiliation.

15 (4) TERMS.—

16 (A) INITIAL TERMS.—Members initially

17 appointed to the Committee shall serve for the

18 following terms:

19 (i) Five members shall serve for an

20 initial term of 2 years.

21 (ii) Five members shall serve for an

22 initial term of 4 years.

23 (iii) Five members shall serve for an

24 initial term of 6 years.
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1 (B) SUBSEQUENT TERMS.—Upon comple2 tion of a term referred to under subparagraph

3 (A), each member of the Committee subse4 quently appointed or reappointed shall serve for

5 a term of 6 years. A vacancy on the Committee

6 shall be filled in the same manner as the ap7 pointment was made.

8 (5) CHAIRPERSON.—Members of the Committee

9 shall elect a Chairperson from among the members.

10 The Chairperson shall serve for a term of 2 years.

11 (6) CRITERIA AND GUIDELINES.—The Commit12 tee shall establish appropriate criteria and guidelines

13 to carry out the duties of the Committee under para14 graph (7).

15 (7) DUTIES.—The Committee shall—

16 (A) review the current procedures and pro17 grams of the Agency for providing information

18 to the public about public health and risks.

19 (B) Prepare guidelines for the Adminis20 trator on communicating risks to the public and

21 make recommendations on improvements to

22 specific Agency programs reviewed under sub23 paragraph (A) above.

24 (C) Through surveys or other methods

25 identify—
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1 (i) areas of public concern about pub2 lic health and risk;

3 (ii) public misperceptions; and

4 (iii) generally what information the

5 public needs to know and wants to know to

6 make informed risk avoidance or other re7 sponsive decisions.

8 (D) Develop and implement strategies for

9 communicating to the public risk information

10 that will be developed by this Act, including but

11 not limited to—

12 (i) relative risk ranking information

13 and the list of greatest risks identified

14 under subsection (b)(7)(B);

15 (ii) the benefits valuation referred to

16 in subsection (c)(6); and

17 (iii) environmental monitoring data.

18 (8) PUBLIC MEETINGS.—The Committee shall

19 hold open public meetings to solicit input from the

20 general public and such other sources as the Com21 mittee determines to be appropriate.

22 (9) REPORTS.—

23 (A) REPORTS TO THE ADMINISTRATOR.—

24 In accordance with this subsection, the Chair25 person of the Committee shall report to the Ad-
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1 ministrator the findings of the Committee based

2 on the duties of the Committee identified in

3 paragraph (7).

4 (B) FREQUENCY OF REPORTS.—The

5 Chairperson of the Committee shall report the

6 findings of the Committee with respect to the

7 duties identified in paragraphs (7)(A), (B), and

8 (C) of this subsection to the Administration on

9 or before August 1, 1995, and not less fre10 quently than every 2 years thereafter. Upon re11 ceipt of the report, the Administrator shall for12 ward a copy of the report to the Science Advi13 sory Board.

14 (C) REVIEW BY THE SCIENCE ADVISORY

15 BOARD.—The Science Advisory Board shall re16 view each report submitted to the Administrator

17 pursuant to this subsection by not later than 3

18 months after the date of issuance of the report,

19 and report the findings of each review to the

20 Committee and to the Administrator.

21 (D) REVIEW BY COMMITTEE.—The Com22 mittee shall review the findings of the Science

23 Advisory Board and shall, by not later than 3

24 months after the date of receipt of the findings,

25 revise the content of the report to take into
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1 consideration the findings of the Science Advi2 sory Board and submit the revised report to the

3 Administrator.

4 (E) REVISED REPORT.—The Administrator

5 shall make available copies of the revised report

6 to the individuals and entities referred to in

7 subsection (f).

8 (10) Within 6 months after release of the final

9 reports prepared under subsections (b) and (c) of

10 this section for which the Committee is required to

11 develop and implement communication strategies,

12 the Committee shall have developed such strategies

13 and begin implementation.

14 (e) COMPENSATION.—

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each member of a commit16 tee established under this section who is not an offi17 cer or employee of the Federal Government shall be

18 compensated at a rate not to exceed the daily equiv19 alent of the annual rate of basic pay prescribed for

20 level IV of the Executive Schedule under section

21 5315 of title 5, United States Code, for each day

22 (including travel time) during which the member is

23 engaged in the performance of the duties of the com24 mittee. Each member of a committee established

25 under this section who is an officer or employee of
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1 the United States shall serve without compensation

2 in addition to that received for service as an officer

3 or employee of the United States.

4 (2) TRAVEL.—The members of the committees

5 established under this section shall be allowed travel

6 expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence,

7 at rates authorized for employees of agencies under

8 subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States

9 Code, while away from their homes or regular places

10 of business in the performance of services for the

11 Commission.

12 (f) FINDINGS.—To ensure extensive opportunities for

13 public participation and access, the Administrator shall

14 communicate the findings in the reports of the committees

15 and the Science Advisory Board reviews submitted to the

16 Administrator pursuant to this section to—

17 (1) Congress;

18 (2) such other Federal agencies as the Adminis19 trator determines to be appropriate;

20 (3) the governments of such States and political

21 subdivisions of States as the Administrator deter22 mines to be appropriate; and

23 (4) the general public.

24 (g) DISCLOSURE.—Each member of a committee es25 tablished under this section shall, as a condition to serving
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1 on the committee, agree to fully disclose financial inter2 ests. The Administrator shall ensure that appropriate

3 measures are carried out to avoid any conflict of interest

4 with respect to a member.

5 (h) STUDIES.—The Administrator may enter into a

6 contract, execute an agreement, or issue a grant for carry7 ing out studies to generate information to assist a commit8 tee established under this section in efforts to rank relative

9 risks and estimate environmental benefits.

10 (i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To carry

11 out this section, there are authorized to be appropriated

12 to the Agency such sums as may be necessary for each

13 of fiscal years 1994 through 2000.

14 SEC. 6. RISK ASSESSMENT GUIDELINES.

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—

16 (1) RISK ASSESSMENTS.—To the extent prac17 ticable, the Administrator shall protect human

18 health and the environment by using careful risk as19 sessments and the evaluation of options for reducing

20 risks.

21 (2) PROHIBITION.—The Administrator may not

22 interpret or apply any provision of this Act in such

23 manner as to delay a pending regulatory decision

24 based on the outcome of research or analysis of the

25 Administrator.
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1 (b) RISK ASSESSMENT GUIDELINES.—The Adminis2 trator shall develop, and revise as appropriate, guidelines

3 to ensure consistency and technical quality in risk assess4 ments by specifying such minimum standards for different

5 risk assessment approaches, as are appropriate for the

6 scale of the problem, the level of scientific understanding,

7 and the available data.

8 (c) INITIAL GUIDELINES.—The initial set of guide9 lines referred to in subsection (b) shall include risk assess10 ments involving—

11 (1) human mutagenicity;

12 (2) human carcinogenicity;

13 (3) human developmental toxicants;

14 (4) human reproductive effects;

15 (5) human systemic toxicants;

16 (6) ecological effects of sources of pollutants

17 from single sites;

18 (7) ecological effects of pollutants that originate

19 from many sites;

20 (8) ecological effects from physical alteration of

21 the environment;

22 (9) ecological effects of introducing nonnative

23 or genetically engineered organisms;

24 (10) pollutants affecting manmade materials;

25 and
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1 (11) pollutants affecting the productivity of

2 soils.

3 (d) ADDITIONAL GUIDELINES.—The Administrator

4 shall develop such additional risk assessment guidelines as

5 the Administrator determines to be warranted—

6 (1) by the state of pertinent scientific under7 standing; and

8 (2) by the need for sound decisions to protect

9 human health, welfare, and the environment.

10 (e) MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS.—The risk assessment

11 guidelines developed under this section shall include how

12 to conduct the following:

13 (1) A hazard identification that demonstrates

14 whether exposure to a stressor is causally linked to

15 an effect.

16 (2) An assessment that measures or estimates

17 the exposure of well-defined individuals, habitats,

18 populations, ecosystems, or materials to a stressor.

19 (3) An assessment that determines or estimates

20 the magnitude of response of affected individuals,

21 habitats, populations, ecosystems, or materials asso22 ciated with different levels of exposure to a stressor

23 under representative or reasonably foreseeable envi24 ronmental conditions.
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1 (4) A risk characterization that provides an

2 overall description of the nature and magnitude of

3 probable effects resulting from alternative risk man4 agement options (including no action), together with

5 a quantitative estimate of the accompanying uncer6 tainties.

7 (f) PUBLICATION IN THE FEDERAL REGISTER AND

8 REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—The Administrator shall—

9 (1) publish all initial risk assessment guidelines

10 referred to in subsection (c) in the Federal Register

11 not later than 5 years after the date of the enact12 ment of this Act, and report annually to Congress

13 on progress toward this goal and thereafter publish

14 such additional guidelines as are required under sub15 section (d) in the Federal Register as appropriate;

16 (2) ensure that the guidelines are reviewed by

17 the Science Advisory Board; and

18 (3) after taking into account the findings of the

19 review of the Science Advisory Board and public

20 comments, modify the guidelines and publish such

21 revised guidelines in the Federal Register as appro22 priate.

23 SEC. 7. RISK ASSESSMENT RESEARCH.

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—In order to provide the most cost25 effective use of environmental resources and to ensure that
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1 the risk assessment process of the Agency is based on sta2 tistically sound and adequate environmental data and sci3 entific understanding, the Administrator shall conduct a

4 long-term core research program concerning environ5 mental risk assessment research.

6 (b) ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND ASSESS7 MENT PROGRAM.—As part of the program referred to in

8 subsection (a), the Administrator shall conduct a research

9 program to—

10 (1) design and evaluate methods and networks

11 to collect monitoring data on the current and chang12 ing condition of the environment (including human

13 health, ecological resources, materials, and exposure

14 to environmental stressors) that are relevant to mak15 ing decisions at the Federal level about alternative

16 risk assessment and risk reduction options;

17 (2) in cooperation with the heads of other Fed18 eral agencies with relevant programs, implement the

19 monitoring programs referred to in paragraph (1);

20 (3) manage data from the monitoring programs

21 in forms and formats that are technically accurate,

22 objective, and readily accessible to the scientific com23 munity and the general public (including providing

24 attention to unavoidable uncertainties with respect

25 to the data and the interpretation of the data); and
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1 (4) provide annual statistical reports and peri2 odic interpretive reports of the results of the mon3 itoring programs to Congress and the general public.

4 (c) ENVIRONMENTAL RISK ASSESSMENT RESEARCH

5 PROGRAM.—As part of the program referred to in sub6 section (a), the Administrator shall conduct a long-term

7 core program to establish a firm scientific basis for initial

8 and subsequent risk assessment guidelines, including

9 methods for—

10 (1) assessing the exposure of humans, ecological

11 resources, and materials to stressors and combina12 tions of stressors, including methods for determining

13 the relation between an environmental exposure and

14 the probability, scope, and seriousness of the effect;

15 (2) accurately predicting the effects of exposure

16 to stressors on human health, ecological resources,

17 and materials;

18 (3) quantifying statistical uncertainty in expo19 sure and stress-response estimates;

20 (4) quantifying the social and economic values

21 of effects on human health, welfare, and ecological

22 resources;

23 (5) evaluating and developing measurements to

24 aid in understanding and defining public awareness

25 of the likelihood, seriousness, magnitude, and
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1 irreversibility of each risk examined in a risk assess2 ment; and

3 (6) developing methods for the effective commu4 nication of the degree of risk.

5 (d) LONG-TERM RESEARCH PLANNING.—At least

6 one-half of the research activities conducted under this Act

7 shall be under contracts or assistance agreements with

8 universities and other nonprofit or not-for-profit organiza9 tions (as defined by the Administrator). The assistance

10 and contracts shall be—

11 (1) awarded under full and open competition;

12 and

13 (2) for a period of at least 3 years, under which

14 full funding shall be obligated at the beginning of

15 the contract or agreement.

16 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

17 are authorized to be appropriated to the Agency to carry

18 out this section such sums as may be necessary for each

19 of fiscal years 1994 through 2000.

20 SEC. 8. INVOLVEMENT OF THE SCIENTIFIC AND TECH21 NICAL COMMUNITY.

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—In developing the risk assessment

23 guidelines under section 6 and in developing and imple24 menting the core research program concerning environ25 mental risk assessment research under section 7, the Ad-
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1 ministrator shall, to the maximum extent practicable, use

2 the resources and personnel of the Agency.

3 (b) INTENT OF CONGRESS.—It is the intent of Con4 gress that the Administrator, in addition to using the re5 sources and personnel of the Agency pursuant to sub6 section (a), should aggressively solicit the advice of the

7 Science Advisory Board and such other specialists in sci8 entific fields as the Administrator determines to be appro9 priate to develop, evaluate, and interpret technical and sci10 entific information.

11 SEC. 9. INTERAGENCY PANEL ON RISK ASSESSMENT AND

12 REDUCTION.

13 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established an Inter14 agency Panel on Risk Assessment and Reduction (here15 after in this section referred to as the ‘‘Interagency

16 Panel’’) for the purpose of coordinating Federal research,

17 data gathering, and implementation of environmental risk

18 assessment and risk reduction activities.

19 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The Interagency Panel shall con20 sist of one representative from each of the following Fed21 eral agencies, nominated by the head of the agency (or

22 with respect to an individual described in paragraph (9),

23 nominated by the President Chairperson of the Commit24 tee, as appropriate) and appointed by the President:

25 (1) The Environmental Protection Agency.
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1 (2) The Department of the Interior.

2 (3) The Department of Health and Human

3 Services.

4 (4) The Department of Energy.

5 (5) The Department of Commerce.

6 (6) The Department of Agriculture.

7 (7) The Department of Labor.

8 (8) The Corps of Engineers.

9 (9) The Public Health Service.

10 (10) Any other Federal department or agency

11 that the President, or the Chairperson of the Inter12 agency Panel, considers appropriate.

13 (c) CHAIRPERSON.—The member of the Interagency

14 Panel representing the Environmental Protection Agency

15 shall serve as the Chairperson of the Interagency Panel.

16 (d) COORDINATION.—The Interagency Panel shall

17 ensure that individual risk assessments and generic risk

18 assessment practices carried out by agencies of the Fed19 eral Government are coordinated and made consistent to

20 the greatest extent practicable.

21 (e) IDENTIFICATION OF INCONSISTENCIES.—The

22 Interagency Panel shall—

23 (1) identify any inconsistencies between the risk

24 assessments and practices carried out by Federal
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1 agencies, and document the reasons for the incon2 sistencies; and

3 (2) make recommendations concerning whether

4 changes should be made in Federal laws or regula5 tions or in the practices of the Federal agencies to

6 minimize the inconsistencies, or whether the incon7 sistencies should be encouraged.

8 (f) REPORTS.—Not later than August 31, 1996, and

9 every 2 years thereafter, the Chairperson of the Inter10 agency Panel shall submit a report to the appropriate

11 committees of Congress that summarizes the findings and

12 recommendations of the Interagency Panel under this sec13 tion.

14 SEC. 10. REPORTS TO CONGRESS.

15 (a) ASSESSMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL RISK REDUC16 TION OPTIONS.—Not later than 12 months after the date

17 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall prepare

18 and submit a report to Congress that includes—

19 (1) a prioritized list of the human health, wel20 fare, and ecological resource risks considered by the

21 Committee on Relative Risks established under sec22 tion 5(b);

23 (2) an identification of public awareness of the

24 likelihood, seriousness, magnitude, and irreversibility

25 of each risk referred to in paragraph (1);
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1 (3) alternative options for reducing the risks re2 ferred to in paragraph (1) and corresponding esti3 mated costs and benefits to society, including costs

4 to Federal agencies and the private sector, and any

5 adverse effects that cannot (as of the date of the re6 port) be quantified in monetary terms;

7 (4) the period of time required for reducing the

8 risks through each option referred to in paragraph

9 (3);

10 (5) an evaluation of the uncertainty associated

11 with relevant aspects of the assessment process;

12 (6) an identification of research or data collec13 tion that would significantly reduce the uncertainty

14 in any assessment in the 2-year period following the

15 date of submission of the report to Congress; and

16 (7) such other recommendations as the Admin17 istrator determines to be appropriate.

18 (b) INTENT OF CONGRESS.—It is the intent of Con19 gress that the information contained in the annual report

20 under this section be used to assist in directing the activi21 ties of the Agency so as to result in reducing the most

22 serious and probable risks to the greatest number of indi23 viduals and reducing the most serious and probable risks

24 to the sustainability of ecological resources.
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1 (c) DUTIES OF THE ADMINISTRATOR.—The Adminis2 trator shall consider social and economic concerns and

3 such other concerns as the Administrator considers to be

4 appropriate to carry out this Act in a reasonable and pru5 dent manner to ensure the protection of public health and

6 the environment. In carrying out this Act, the Adminis7 trator shall comply with applicable legal requirements and

8 ensure that the activities of the Administrator are open

9 to public inspection. Nothing in this Act is intended to

10 delay the activities of the Administrator in carrying out

11 responsibilities under other environmental laws.

12 (d) ONGOING ASSESSMENT.—The Administrator

13 shall revise and update the report submitted under this

14 section to reflect new data or scientific understanding not

15 later than 2 years after submitting the initial report, and

16 at least every 2 years thereafter.

17 SEC. 11. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

18 Except as provided in sections 5 and 7, nothing in

19 this Act shall constitute a new authorization for the appro20 priation of funds.

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