I

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1657

To disclose environmental risks to children’s health and expand the public’s

right to know about toxic chemical use and release, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MAY 3, 1999

Mr. WAXMAN (for himself, Mr. SAXTON, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. BONIOR, Mr.

BLUMENAUER, Mr. DEFAZIO, Ms. PELOSI, Mr. GUTIERREZ, Mr.

GEJDENSON, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Mr.

HASTINGS of Florida, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. NADLER, Mr. CLYBURN, Mr.

EVANS, Mr. BROWN of Ohio, Mrs. MEEK of Florida, Mr. DELAHUNT, Mr.

BERMAN, Mr. GOSS, Ms. DEGETTE, Ms. KILPATRICK, Mr. BORSKI, Mr.

UNDERWOOD, Mr. GREEN of Texas, Mr. MEEHAN, Mr. HINCHEY, Mrs.

MALONEY of New York, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. LEACH, Mr. COOK, Mrs. ROUKEMA, Ms. MCCARTHY of Missouri, Mr. RUSH, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr.

ROTHMAN, Mr. LEVIN, Mr. ALLEN, Mr. CLAY, Mr. METCALF, Mr.

MCDERMOTT, Mr. OLVER, Mr. LAFALCE, Mr. LANTOS, Mr. KUCINICH,

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Ms. BROWN of Florida, Mr. ANDREWS, Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island, Mr. FORBES, Mr. BLAGOJEVICH, Ms. NORTON,

Mr. KILDEE, Mr. OBERSTAR, Mr. ACKERMAN, Mr. UDALL of Colorado,

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, Mr. FILNER, Ms. MILLENDERMCDONALD, Ms. STABENOW, Mr. TIERNEY, Mr. WEXLER, Mr. COYNE,

Mrs. LOWEY, Mr. MALONEY of Connecticut, Mr. HOLT, Mr. SMITH of

Washington, Mr. VENTO, Mr. MCNULTY, Mr. BARRETT of Wisconsin,

Mr. DIXON, Ms. DELAURO, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. SHAYS, Mr.

SANDERS, Mr. WYNN, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. CAPUANO, Mr. MCGOVERN,

Mr. STARK, Ms. WATERS, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mr. DICKS, Mrs. JOHNSON of

Connecticut, Mr. UDALL of New Mexico, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Mr.

DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. SABO, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr. FARR of California, Ms.

MCKINNEY, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. MOAKLEY, Ms.

HOOLEY of Oregon, Mr. BROWN of California, Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Mrs. MORELLA,

Mrs. CLAYTON, Mr. TOWNS, Mr. MENENDEZ, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms.

LEE, Mr. BALDACCI, Mr. PASTOR, Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN,

Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA, Ms. SANCHEZ, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of

Texas, Mrs. MINK of Hawaii, Mr. MATSUI, Mr. KIND, Mr. FRANK of

Massachusetts, Mr. MORAN of Virginia, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. MARTINEZ, and

Mrs. TAUSCHER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on Commerce
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A BILL

To disclose environmental risks to children’s health and expand the public’s right to know about toxic chemical

use and release, 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 AND TABLE OF CONTENTS.

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the

5 ‘‘Children’s Environmental Protection and Right to Know

6 Act of 1999’’.

7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for

8 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents.

Sec. 2. Findings.

TITLE I—CHILDREN’S ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

Subtitle A—Disclosure of Industrial Releases That Present a Significant Risk

to Children

Sec. 101. Reporting requirements.

Subtitle B—Disclosure of High Health Risk Chemicals in Children’s

Consumer Products

Sec. 111. Listing of toxic substances.

Sec. 112. Reporting of toxic chemicals in consumer products.

Sec. 113. Exemptions.

Sec. 114. Private citizen enforcement.

Sec. 115. Preemption.

TITLE II—PUBLIC RIGHT TO KNOW ABOUT TOXIC CHEMICAL

USE

Sec. 201. Disclosure of toxic chemical use.

Sec. 202. Disclosure of toxic chemical use by comparable facilities.

Sec. 203. Streamlining environmental reporting and public access to information.

Sec. 204. Trade secret protection.

Sec. 205. Civil actions.
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

2 Congress finds that requirements to disclose informa3 tion about environmental risks have been shown to im4 prove health and safety by—

5 (1) prompting those causing such risks to re6 duce the risks; and

7 (2) enabling individuals to take actions to pro8 tect themselves from those risks.

9 TITLE I—CHILDREN’S

10 ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

11 Subtitle A—Disclosure of Industrial

12 Releases That Present a Signifi13 cant Risk to Children

14 SEC. 101. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.

15 (a) REVISED THRESHOLDS.—Section 313(f)(1) of

16 the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know

17 Act of 1986 (42 U.S.C. 11023(f)(1)) is amended by insert18 ing the following after subparagraph (B):

19 ‘‘(C) With respect to each of the toxic chemicals

20 described in clause (i) which are released from a fa21 cility, the amount established pursuant to clause (ii):

22 ‘‘(i) Within 24 months of enactment of the

23 Children’s Environmental Protection and Right

24 to Know Act of 1999, the Administrator shall

25 establish a threshold for each toxic chemical

26 which the Administrator determines may
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1 present a significant risk to children’s health or

2 the environment due to its persistence or poten3 tial to bioaccumulate or disrupt endocrine sys4 tems, or to other characteristics. Such toxic

5 chemicals shall include lead, mercury, dioxin,

6 cadmium, and chromium, and substances listed

7 as bioaccumulative chemicals of concern at 60

8 Federal Register 15393.

9 ‘‘(ii) The Administrator shall establish a

10 threshold for each toxic chemical described in

11 clause (i) at a level which will ensure reporting

12 on at least 80 percent of the aggregate of all

13 releases of the chemical from facilities that (I)

14 have 10 or more full-time employees and (II)

15 are in Standard Industrial Classification Codes

16 20 through 39 or in the Standard Industrial

17 Classification Codes added under subsection

18 (b)(1)(B) of this section.’’.

19 (b) ADDITIONAL CHEMICALS.—Section 313(c) of the

20 Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act

21 of 1986 (42 U.S.C. 11023(c)) is amended by inserting the

22 following before the period: ‘‘and dioxin and substances

23 listed as bioaccumulative chemicals of concern at 60 Fed24 eral Register 15393’’.
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1 (c) RELEASES.—Section 313(a) and section

2 313(b)(1) of the Emergency Planning and Community

3 Right-To-Know Act of 1986 (42 U.S.C. 11023(a) and

4 (b)(1)) are each amended by striking ‘‘or otherwise used’’

5 and inserting ‘‘otherwise used, or released’’.

6 (d) REPORTING THRESHOLDS.—Section

7 326(a)(1)(B) of the Emergency Planning and Community

8 Right-To-Know Act of 1986 (42 U.S.C. 11046(a)(1)(B))

9 is amended by adding at the end the following:

10 ‘‘(vii) Establish reporting thresholds for chemi11 cals referred to in section 313(f)(1)(C).’’.

12 (e) REVISED THRESHOLDS.—Section 313(f)(2) of

13 the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know

14 Act of 1986 (42 U.S.C. 11046(f)(2)) is amended by strik15 ing ‘‘paragraph (1)’’ and inserting ‘‘subparagraph (A) or

16 subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1)’’.

17 Subtitle B—Disclosure of High

18 Health Risk Chemicals in Chil19 dren’s Consumer Products

20 SEC. 111. LISTING OF TOXIC SUBSTANCES.

21 Section 2 of the Federal Hazardous Substances Act

22 (15 U.S.C. 1261) is amended as follows:

23 (1) Subsection (g) is amended by striking ‘‘(g)

24 The term’’ and inserting ‘‘(g)(1) The term’’ and by

25 inserting at the end the following:
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1 ‘‘(2) Within one year after the date of enactment of

2 this paragraph, and annually thereafter, the Secretary,

3 acting through the National Toxicology Program, shall

4 publish a list of substances or mixtures of substances

5 which are toxic due to their carcinogenic, neurotoxic, or

6 reproductive toxic effects. Such list shall include any

7 chemical that has been identified by any Federal agency

8 as a carcinogen, neurotoxin, or reproductive toxin. At a

9 minimum, such list shall include each chemical identified

10 as a Group A or Group B carcinogen in 53 Federal Reg11 ister 41118 et seq., each chemical identified as adversely

12 affecting the nervous system in criteria documents of the

13 National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health,

14 each chemical identified by the Consumer Product Safety

15 Commission as having sufficient evidence in humans or

16 animals of carcinogenicity, neurotoxicity, human develop17 mental toxicity, or male or female reproductive toxicity,

18 each chemical regulated as a neurotoxin or reproductive

19 toxin or developmental toxin by the Environmental Protec20 tion Agency and each chemical on the Biennial List of

21 Carcinogens submitted to the Congress by the Secretary

22 of Health and Human Services. The Secretary shall in23 clude with such information reasonably available informa24 tion on adverse health effects which have resulted in the

25 listing of the substance or mixture of substances as toxic.
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1 ‘‘(3) In carrying out paragraph (2), the Secretary

2 shall secure data sufficient to identify substances or mix3 tures of substances which are toxic within the meaning

4 of paragraph (2) and to which infants and young children

5 are exposed by requiring manufacturers or producers to

6 generate such data and by obtaining existing data from

7 any Federal, State, or local government agency.’’.

8 (2) By adding at the end the following:

9 ‘‘(u) The term ‘eligible product’ means any toy, or

10 other article intended for use by children, except that after

11 the date 3 years after the date of the enactment of the

12 Children’s Environmental Protection and Right to Know

13 Act of 1999, the term ‘eligible product’ means any con14 sumer product as defined in section 3 of the Consumer

15 Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2052).’’.

16 SEC. 112. REPORTING OF TOXIC CHEMICALS IN CONSUMER

17 PRODUCTS.

18 (a) REPORTING.—The Federal Hazardous Sub19 stances Act (15 U.S.C. 1261 and following) is amended

20 by adding at the end the following:

21 ‘‘SEC. 25. REPORTING OF TOXIC CHEMICALS.

22 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A manufacturer or importer of

23 any eligible product which contains, or is composed of, a

24 substance or mixture of substances listed under section
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1 2(g)(2) shall report each of the following to the Commis2 sion:

3 ‘‘(1) The identity of the manufacturer or im4 porter and the model name and model number of the

5 eligible product.

6 ‘‘(2) The identity of the substance or mixture

7 of substances listed under section 2(g)(2) and its

8 concentration in the eligible product.

9 ‘‘(3) The information known to the manufac10 turer or importer that would support a determina11 tion that the eligible product is not a misbranded

12 hazardous substance or a banned hazardous sub13 stance.

14 ‘‘(b) PUBLICATION.—The Commission shall annually

15 publish in the Federal Register and make available to the

16 public electronically the information received under sub17 section (a).

18 ‘‘(c) REGULATIONS.—The Commission may promul19 gate such regulations as necessary to carry out this sec20 tion.

21 ‘‘(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Subsection (a) of this sec22 tion shall take effect with respect to a substance or mix23 ture of substances one year after the date on which the

24 substance or mixture of substances is listed under section

25 2(g)(2).’’.
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1 (b) PROHIBITED ACTS.—(1) Section 4 of the Federal

2 Hazardous Substances Act (15 U.S.C. 1263) is amended

3 by adding at the end the following:

4 ‘‘(l) The failure to report as required under section

5 25 of this Act.’’.

6 (2) Section 5(c)(1) of such Act (15 U.S.C.

7 1264(c)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘and (k)’’ and insert8 ing ‘‘(k), and (l)’’.

9 SEC. 113. EXEMPTIONS.

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3(c) of the Federal Haz11 ardous Substances Act (15 U.S.C. 1262(c)) is amended

12 by adding the following at the end thereof: ‘‘The Commis13 sion may also promulgate regulations exempting from the

14 reporting requirements of section 25 any substance or

15 mixture of substances. This subsection shall not apply to

16 any substance or mixture of substances unless, upon an

17 adequate showing, the Commission establishes that such

18 substance or mixture would not, by reason of containing

19 a substance or mixture of substances listed under section

20 2(g)(2), cause substantial personal injury or substantial

21 illness during or as a proximate result of any customary

22 or reasonably foreseeable handling or use, including rea23 sonably foreseeable ingestion by children.’’.

24 (b) OTHER PROVISIONS OF LAW.—Section 3(d) of

25 such Act (15 U.S.C. 1262(d)) is amended by striking
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1 ‘‘adequate requirements satisfying the purposes of’’ and

2 inserting ‘‘requirements at least as stringent as’’.

3 SEC. 114. PRIVATE CITIZEN ENFORCEMENT.

4 The Federal Hazardous Substances Act (15 U.S.C.

5 1261 and following) is amended by adding at the end the

6 following:

7 ‘‘SEC. 26. PRIVATE CITIZEN ENFORCEMENT.

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Any person, other than the Com9 mission, may commence a civil action on his or her own

10 behalf—

11 ‘‘(1) against any person for violation of section

12 4(a), (b), or (l) (15 U.S.C. 1263(a), (b), or (l)); or

13 ‘‘(2) against the Commission for the failure to

14 perform any nondiscretionary act or duty under the

15 Children’s Environmental Protection and Right to

16 Know Act of 1999.

17 The district courts shall have jurisdiction, without regard

18 to the amount in controversy or the citizenship of the par19 ties, over any action brought under paragraph (1) or (2)

20 and in any such action the court may apply any appro21 priate civil penalties under section 5 or order the Commis22 sion to perform such act or duty, as the case may be.

23 ‘‘(b) ACTIONS PROHIBITED.—No action may be com24 menced pursuant to this section unless—
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1 ‘‘(1) the plaintiff has given notice of its intent

2 to bring such action at least 60 days prior to the

3 commencement of the action to the Commission and,

4 for a violation of section 4, to the violator; and

5 ‘‘(2) for a violation of section 4, the Commis6 sion has not commenced and is not diligently pur7 suing a civil action on behalf of the United States.

8 ‘‘(c) INTERVENTION.—In any action brought on be9 half of the United States following receipt of a notice pur10 suant to subsection (b)(1), the person giving such notice

11 may intervene as of right as a plaintiff in such action.

12 ‘‘(d) COSTS AND FEES.—In an action brought under

13 subsection (a), the court shall award to any substantially

14 prevailing plaintiff (and in an action brought under sub15 section (c), to the party intervening pursuant to subsection

16 (c) if that party contributed significantly to the success

17 of the plaintiff) the costs of litigation including reasonable

18 attorney fees, unless the court finds such award to be in19 appropriate under the circumstances.

20 ‘‘(e) BURDEN OF PROOF.—In an action brought

21 under paragraph (1) of subsection (a), if the person al22 leged to be in violation of section 4 asserts that a sub23 stance or mixture of substances is not a hazardous sub24 stance by reason of containing a substance or mixture of

25 substances listed under section 2(g)(2), the burden of
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1 proof shall be on such person to establish that such sub2 stance or mixture of substances is not a hazardous sub3 stance.

4 ‘‘(f) PENALTY FUND.—(1) Penalties received under

5 subsection (a) shall be deposited in a special fund in the

6 United States Treasury. Amounts in such fund are au7 thorized to be appropriated and shall remain available

8 until expended, for use by the Commission to finance com9 pliance and enforcement activities under this Act. The

10 Commission shall annually report to the Congress about

11 the sums deposited into the fund, the sources thereof, and

12 the actual and proposed uses thereof.

13 ‘‘(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the court in any

14 action under this section to apply civil penalties shall have

15 discretion to order that such civil penalties, in lieu of being

16 deposited in the fund referred to in paragraph (1), be used

17 in projects which are consistent with this Act and designed

18 to enhance public awareness of the health effects of toxic

19 substances or mixtures and of possible children’s exposure

20 to toxic substances or mixtures in eligible products. The

21 court shall obtain the view of the Commission in exercising

22 such discretion and selecting any such projects.’’.

23 SEC. 115. PREEMPTION.

24 Nothing in this subtitle shall affect the authority of

25 any State or political subdivision of a State to establish
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1 or continue in effect any regulation or any other measure

2 relating to any substance or mixture or article containing

3 a substance or mixture, including consumer products.

4 TITLE II—PUBLIC RIGHT TO

5 KNOW ABOUT TOXIC CHEM6 ICAL USE

7 SEC. 201. DISCLOSURE OF TOXIC CHEMICAL USE.

8 (a) FORM.—(1) Section 313(g)(1)(C) of the Emer9 gency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act of

10 1986 (42 U.S.C. 11023(g)(1)(C)) is amended by inserting

11 at the end the following:

12 ‘‘(v) Number of employees, including contrac13 tors, at the reporting facility; number of employees,

14 including contractors, at the reporting facility ex15 posed to the chemical; and an estimate of occupa16 tional exposures to the chemical. Within 24 months

17 after the date of enactment of the Children’s Envi18 ronmental Protection and Right to Know Act of

19 1999, the Administrator shall promulgate rules re20 garding the information to be provided under this

21 clause.

22 ‘‘(vi) The following annual materials accounting

23 information:

24 ‘‘(I) A description of the uses of the chem25 ical at the facility.
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1 ‘‘(II) The starting inventory of the chem2 ical at the facility.

3 ‘‘(III) The quantity of the chemical pro4 duced at the facility.

5 ‘‘(IV) The quantity of the chemical

6 brought into the facility and the mode of trans7 portation.

8 ‘‘(V) The quantity of the chemical con9 sumed at the facility.

10 ‘‘(VI) The quantity of the chemical shipped

11 out of the facility as or in products and the

12 quantities intended for industrial use; commer13 cial use; and consumer use; and for additional

14 categories of use that the Administrator may

15 designate.

16 ‘‘(VII) The quantity of the chemical enter17 ing any waste stream (or otherwise released

18 into the environment) prior to recycling, treat19 ment, or disposal.

20 ‘‘(VIII) The ending inventory of the chem21 ical at the facility.

22 ‘‘(IX) The amount of the chemical recycled

23 at the facility that is subsequently used at the

24 facility.
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1 ‘‘(X) The ‘toxic chemical use’ of the chem2 ical, which shall be calculated by adding the

3 quantities reported under subclauses (II), (III),

4 (IV), and (IX) and subtracting the quantity re5 ported under subclause (VIII).

6 Quantities reported under this clause shall be com7 plete and verifiable by computations under conven8 tional materials accounting practices. If the sum of

9 the quantities reported under subclauses (II), (III),

10 (IV), and (IX) does not equal the sum of the quan11 tities reported under subclauses (V), (VI), (VII), and

12 (VIII), an explanation of the difference shall be pro13 vided.

14 ‘‘(vii) The reduction (from the prior calendar

15 year) in the quantity of the toxic chemical entering

16 any waste stream (or otherwise released to the envi17 ronment) prior to recycling, treatment, or disposal

18 (as reported under section 6607(b)(1) of the Pollu19 tion Prevention Act of 1990), as a result of the fol20 lowing: equipment or technology modifications; proc21 ess or procedure modifications; reformulation or re22 design of products; substitution of raw materials;

23 and improvements in housekeeping, maintenance,

24 training, or inventory control.
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1 ‘‘(viii) The reduction (from the prior calendar

2 year) in the quantity of toxic chemical use as defined

3 in subclause (X) as a result of the following: equip4 ment or technology modifications; process or proce5 dure modifications; reformulation or redesign of

6 products; substitution of raw materials; and im7 provements in housekeeping, maintenance, training,

8 or inventory control.’’.

9 (2) Section 313(g)(1)(C) of such Act is amended by

10 inserting ‘‘for the preceding calendar year’’ after ‘‘items

11 of information’’ and by striking ‘‘the preceding calendar

12 year’’ in clause (ii) and inserting ‘‘the calendar year con13 cerned’’.

14 (b) OTHER REQUIREMENTS.—The Administrator of

15 the Environmental Protection Agency shall integrate the

16 reporting requirements under the Emergency Planning

17 and Community Right-To-Know Act of 1986 (42 U.S.C.

18 11001 et seq.), the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990 (42

19 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.), and this Act.

20 SEC. 202. DISCLOSURE OF TOXIC CHEMICAL USE BY COM21 PARABLE FACILITIES.

22 Section 313(b)(1)(B) of the Emergency Planning and

23 Community Right-To-Know Act of 1986 (42 U.S.C.

24 11023(b)(1)(B)) is amended as follows:
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1 (1) By striking ‘‘(B) The Administrator’’ and

2 inserting ‘‘(B)(i) The Administrator’’.

3 (2) By adding at the end the following:

4 ‘‘(ii) Effective beginning with the 2000 report5 ing year, facilities identified by the Standard Indus6 trial Codes listed in the Federal Register notice at

7 61 Fed. Reg. 33587–33619 shall be subject to the

8 requirements of this section.

9 ‘‘(iii) Within 24 months after the date of enact10 ment of this clause, the Administrator shall promul11 gate a final regulation that adds all additional cat12 egories of facilities that used or released toxic chemi13 cals in volumes similar to the uses or releases of fa14 cilities that are covered by this section as of such

15 date of enactment. This clause shall not apply to

16 any farm.’’.

17 SEC. 203. STREAMLINING ENVIRONMENTAL REPORTING

18 AND PUBLIC ACCESS TO INFORMATION.

19 (a) STREAMLINED DATA COLLECTION AND DISSEMI20 NATION.—Section 313 of the Emergency Planning and

21 Community Right-To-Know Act of 1986 (42 U.S.C.

22 11023) is amended by adding at the end the following:

23 ‘‘(m) STREAMLINED DATA COLLECTION AND DIS24 SEMINATION.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To enhance public access

2 and use of information resources, to facilitate com3 pliance with reporting requirements, and to promote

4 multimedia permitting, reporting, and pollution pre5 vention, the Administrator shall, within 36 months

6 after the enactment of this subsection, take each of

7 the following actions:

8 ‘‘(A) Create standard data formats for in9 formation management.

10 ‘‘(B) Integrate information resources,

11 using common company, facility, industry, geo12 graphic, and chemical identifiers, and other

13 identifiers as the Administrator deems appro14 priate.

15 ‘‘(C) Establish a system for indexing, lo16 cating, and obtaining agency-held information

17 about parent companies, facilities, industries,

18 chemicals, geographic locations, ecological indi19 cators, and the regulatory status of chemicals

20 and entities subject to agency regulation.

21 ‘‘(D) Consolidate all annual reporting re22 quirements, pursuant to this title and other

23 Federal environmental laws, for small busi24 nesses. Such consolidated reporting require25 ments shall allow reporting to one point of con-
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1 tact using one form or electronic reporting sys2 tem.

3 ‘‘(E) Provide members of the public one

4 point of contact for access to all the publicly

5 available information gathered by the Environ6 mental Protection Agency for any one regulated

7 entity.

8 ‘‘(2) CONSOLIDATION.—The Administrator

9 shall, within 5 years after the enactment of this sub10 section, consolidate all annual reporting pursuant to

11 this title and other Federal environmental laws for

12 each entity subject to such reporting. Such consoli13 dated reporting requirements shall allow reporting to

14 one point of contact using one form or electronic re15 porting system.

16 ‘‘(3) UNDERSTANDABLE LANGUAGE.—In im17 proving the means by which the Administrator pro18 vides information to the public and requires informa19 tion be reported by regulated entities, as required by

20 paragraphs (1) and (2), the Administrator shall use

21 language and methods of communication that the

22 Administrator believes to be clear and understand23 able.’’.

24 (b) DISCLOSURE OF USES OF TOXIC CHEMICALS.—

25 (1) Section 313(a) of the Emergency Planning and Com-
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1 munity Right-To-Know Act of 1986 is amended by strik2 ing ‘‘releases’’ and inserting ‘‘toxic chemical uses and re3 leases’’.

4 (2) Section 313(h) of the Emergency Planning and

5 Community Right-To-Know Act of 1986 is amended by

6 inserting ‘‘the uses of toxic chemicals at covered facilities

7 and’’ before ‘‘the releases of toxic chemicals to the envi8 ronment’’.

9 SEC. 204. TRADE SECRET PROTECTION.

10 Section 322 of the Emergency Planning and Commu11 nity Right-To-Know Act of 1986 is amended as follows:

12 (1) In subsection (a)(1) by adding the following

13 at the end thereof:

14 ‘‘(C) Any person required to submit mate15 rials accounting information under section

16 313(g)(1)(C)(vi) may withhold an element or

17 portion of such information, as defined in regu18 lations prescribed by the Administrator under

19 subsection (c) of this section, if the person com20 plies with paragraph (2) with respect to the in21 formation to be withheld. This subparagraph

22 shall not provide authority to withhold any in23 formation referred to in the Pollution Preven24 tion Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 13101 and fol25 lowing).’’.
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1 (2) Subsection (b)(4) is amended by inserting

2 ‘‘or other information withheld’’ after ‘‘The chemical

3 identity’’.

4 (3) Subsection (d)(1) is amended by inserting

5 ‘‘or other information’’ after ‘‘toxic chemical’’.

6 (4) Subsection (d)(2) is amended by inserting

7 ‘‘or other information withheld’’ after ‘‘specific

8 chemical identity’’.

9 (5) Subsection (d)(3)(A) is amended by insert10 ing ‘‘or other information withheld’’ after ‘‘specific

11 chemical identity’’.

12 (6) Subsection (d)(3)(B) is amended by insert13 ing ‘‘or other information withheld’’ after ‘‘chemical

14 identity’’.

15 (7) Subsection (d)(3)(C) is amended by insert16 ing ‘‘or other information withheld’’ after ‘‘chemical

17 identity’’ in each place it appears.

18 (8) Subsection (d)(4)(A) is amended by insert19 ing ‘‘or other information withheld’’ after ‘‘chemical

20 identity’’.

21 (9) Subsection (f) is amended by inserting ‘‘or

22 other information withheld under subsection (a)(1)’’

23 after ‘‘specific chemical identity’’.
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1 (10) Subsection (h)(1) is amended by inserting

2 ‘‘or other information withheld’’ before ‘‘is claimed

3 as a’’.

4 (11) Subsection (h)(2) is amended by inserting

5 ‘‘or other information withheld’’ after ‘‘identity of a

6 toxic chemical’’.

7 SEC. 205. CIVIL ACTIONS.

8 Section 326(a)(1)(A) of the Emergency Planning and

9 Community Right-To-Know Act of 1986 (42 U.S.C.

10 11046(a)(1)(A)) is amended by inserting ‘‘any past or on11 going’’ after ‘‘An owner or operator of a facility for’’.

Æ