I
106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 5422
To require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to
establish an integrated environmental reporting program.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
OCTOBER 6, 2000
Mr. SHAW (for himself, Mr. STUPAK, Mr. BOEHLERT, and Mr. METCALF) in-
troduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Com-
merce, and in addition to the Committee on Transportation and Infra-
structure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in
each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic-
tion of the committee concerned
A BILL
To require the Administrator of the Environmental Protec-
tion Agency to establish an integrated environmental re-
porting program.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Streamlined Environ-
mental Reporting and Pollution Prevention Act of 2000’’.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis-
trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ-
mental Protection Agency.
(2) INTEGRATED
REPORTING
PROGRAM.—The
term ‘‘integrated reporting program’’ means the in-
tegrated environmental reporting program estab-
lished under section 3.
(3) PAPER
FORM.—The term ‘‘paper form’’
means a paper form or integrated series of paper
forms that—
(A) allows a person to report the same in-
formation that the person is able to report elec-
tronically under section 3(b)(1)(A); and
(B) provides the person essentially the
same instructions for reporting that would be
provided if the person were to report electroni-
cally under section 3(b)(1)(A).
(4) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ means an in-
dividual, trust, firm, joint stock company, corpora-
tion, partnership, or association, or a facility owned
or operated by the Federal Government or by a
State, tribal government, municipality, commission,
or political subdivision of a State.
(5) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—
(A) IN
GENERAL.—The term ‘‘reporting
requirement’’ means—
(i) a routine, periodic, environmental
reporting requirement; and
(ii) any other reporting requirement
that the Administrator may by regulation
include within the meaning of the term.
(B) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘reporting
requirement’’ does not include—
(i) the reporting of information relat-
ing to an emergency, except for informa-
tion submitted as part of a routine periodic
environmental report;
(ii) the reporting of information to the
Administrator relating only to business
transactions (and not to environmental or
regulatory matters) between the Adminis-
trator and a person, including information
provided—
(I) in the course of fulfilling a
contractual obligation between the Ad-
ministrator and the reporting person;
or
(II) in the filing of financial
claims against the Administrator; or
(iii) the reporting of specific items of
information protected as—
(I) confidential business informa-
tion, as described in section 552(b)(4)
of title 5, United States Code, or any
law administered by the Adminis-
trator; or
(II) personal privacy information
described in section 552a of title 5,
United States Code.
SEC. 3. INTEGRATED REPORTING PROGRAM.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 4 years after the
date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall in-
tegrate and streamline the reporting requirements estab-
lished under laws administered by the Administrator for
each person subject to those reporting requirements—
(1) in accordance with subsection (b);
(2) to the extent not explicitly prohibited by Act
of Congress; and
(3) to the extent consistent with the preserva-
tion of the integrity, reliability, and security of the
data reported.
(b) COMPONENTS OF INTEGRATED REPORTING PRO-
GRAM.—In establishing the integrated reporting program,
to ensure consistency and facilitate use of the program,
the Administrator shall—
(1) allow each person required to submit infor-
mation to the Administrator under reporting re-
quirements administered by the Administrator to re-
port the information to 1 point of contact—
(A) using a single electronic system or a
paper form; and
(B) in the case of any person subject to
more than 1 annual reporting requirement, at
1 time during the year;
(2)(A) allow each State, tribal, or local agency
that has been authorized or delegated authority to
implement a law administered by the Administrator
to report information to the Administrator regarding
any person subject to the law, as required under the
law (including a regulation), agreement, or other in-
strument, authorizing or delegating the authority, to
report to 1 point of contact—
(i) using a single electronic system;
and
(ii) in the case of a State, tribal, or
local agency required to submit more than
1 type of annual report, at 1 time during
each year; and
(B) provide each State, tribal, or local agency
that reports to the Administrator through the inte-
grated reporting program full access to the data that
the agency has reported to the Administrator
through the program;
(3) provide a reporting person, upon request,
full access to information reported by the person to
the Administrator, or to any State, tribal, or local
agency that was subsequently reported to the Ad-
ministrator, in a variety of formats that includes a
format that the person may modify by incorporating
information applicable to the current reporting pe-
riod and then submit to the Administrator, or to a
State, tribal, or local agency as appropriate, to com-
ply with a current reporting requirement;
(4)(A) consult with heads of other Federal
agencies to identify environmental or occupational
safety or health reporting requirements that are not
administered by the Administrator; and
(B) as part of the electronic version of the inte-
grated reporting program, post information that as-
sists the reporting person in locating sources of in-
formation on requirements identified under subpara-
graph (A) to which the person may be subject;
(5) in consultation with State, tribal, and local
agencies, reporting persons, environmental groups,
information technology experts, and other interested
parties, establish, update as necessary, and, to the
extent relevant, implement in each national informa-
tion system of the Environmental Protection Agency
that contains data reported under the integrated re-
porting program established under this section, data
standards for—
(A) facility identification (including a facil-
ity registry identifier, geographic coordinates,
mailing address, affiliation, environmental in-
terest, and industrial classification);
(B) units of measure;
(C) chemical identification and biological
taxonomy;
(D) permitting, enforcement and compli-
ance, tribal identifiers, and geographic informa-
tion; and
(E) other items that the Administrator
considers to be appropriate;
(6) in consultation with the parties referred to
in paragraph (5), implement, and update as nec-
essary, a nomenclature throughout the integrated re-
porting program that uses terms that the Adminis-
trator believes are understandable to reporting per-
sons that do not have environmental expertise;
(7) consolidate reporting of information that,
but for consolidation under this paragraph, would be
required to be reported to the integrated reporting
program at more than 1 point in the same data sub-
mission (except, in the case of the paper form, for
information used to facilitate the processing of the
paper form by the Administrator);
(8) provide for applicable data formats and sub-
mission protocols, including procedures for legally
enforceable electronic signature in accordance with
the Government Paperwork Elimination Act (44
U.S.C. 3504 note; 112 Stat. 2681–749) that, as de-
termined by the Administrator—
(A) conform, to the maximum extent prac-
ticable, with public-domain standards for elec-
tronic commerce;
(B) are accessible to a substantial majority
of reporting persons; and
(C) provide adequate assurance of the in-
tegrity and reliability of the data in accordance
with public domain standards;
(9) publish a document that describes the data
architecture used in the integrated reporting pro-
gram and that describes the major data types, data
standards, significant attributes, and interrelation-
ships that are common to activities carried out by
the Administrator and by State, tribal, and local
agencies (such as permitting, compliance, enforce-
ment, and collection and analysis of environmental
samples and results), which the Administrator
shall—
(A) use as the framework for databases in
which the data reported to the Administrator
through the integrated reporting program are
kept; and
(B) allow other Federal agencies and
State, tribal, and local agencies to use;
(10) establish an electronic service center, ac-
cessible through the point of contact established
under paragraph (1), to assist reporting persons, as
necessary and feasible, to—
(A) identify reporting requirements admin-
istered by the Administrator and to which the
person may be subject;
(B) submit required data electronically;
and
(C) find and contact compliance assistance
providers;
(14) publish information to assist in, and other-
wise promote, the development of software for use by
reporting persons that helps reporting persons in—
(A) assembling, documenting, and submit-
ting information required under laws adminis-
tered by the Administrator; and
(B) receiving information on pollution pre-
vention technologies and practices as described
in paragraph (11); and
(15) provide a mechanism by which a reporting
person may, at the option of the reporting person,
electronically transfer information from the data sys-
tem of the reporting person to the integrated report-
ing program through the use, in the integrated re-
porting program, of—
(A) open data formats (such as the Amer-
ican Standard Code for Information Inter-
change (ASCII) format);
(B) a standard that enables the definition,
transmission, validation, and interpretation of
data by software applications and by organiza-
tions through use of the Internet (such as the
Extensible Markup Language (XML) stand-
ard); and
(C) as appropriate, the use of electronic
signatures in conjunction with the transfer of
information.
(c) SCOPE
OF DATA STANDARDS
AND NOMEN-
CLATURE.—The data standards and nomenclature imple-
mented and updated under paragraphs (5) and (6) of sub-
section (b) shall not affect any regulatory standard or defi-
nition in effect on the date of enactment of this Act, except
to the extent that the Administrator amends, by regula-
tion, the standard or definition.
(d) USE OF INTEGRATED REPORTING PROGRAM.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act requires
that any person use the integrated reporting pro-
gram instead of a reporting method in existence on
the date of enactment of this Act.
(2) USE OF MULTIPLE METHODS.—The Admin-
istrator may design the integrated reporting pro-
gram to allow a reporting person to use the inte-
grated reporting program for the purposes of some
reports and not other reports.
(e) SUBMISSION OF CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION.—
Nothing in this Act—
(1) requires the Administrator to allow the sub-
mission of confidential business information, as de-
scribed in section 552(b)(4) of title 5, United States
Code, or any law administered by the Administrator,
or personal privacy information described in section
552a of title 5, United States Code, to the electronic
system described in subsection (b)(1)(A); or
(2) prevents the Administrator from allowing
the submission of confidential business information
or personal privacy information to the electronic sys-
tem described in subsection (b)(1)(A) if the Admin-
istrator determines that there are adequate safe-
guards for electronic submission of such information.
(f) FACILITY IDENTIFICATION DATA STANDARDS
FOR REPORTING OF INFORMATION RELATING TO EMER-
GENCY PLANNING.—After establishing the data standards
under subsection (b)(5)(A), the Administrator shall imple-
ment such data standards for information that is reported
to the Administrator relating to planning for emergencies.
SEC. 4. INTERAGENCY COORDINATION.
(a) IN GENERAL.—At the request of any Federal,
State, tribal, or local agency, the Administrator shall co-
ordinate the integration of reporting required under sec-
tion 3 with similar efforts by the agency that, as deter-
mined by the Administrator, are consistent with this Act.
(b) INTEGRATED REPORTING ACROSS JURISDIC-
TIONS.—Under subsection (a), the Administrator may de-
velop a procedure under which a person that is required
to report information under 1 or more laws administered
by the Administrator and 1 or more laws administered by
a State, tribal, or local agency may report all required
information—
(1) through 1 point of contact using a single
electronic system or a paper form; and
(2) in the case of any person subject to more
than 1 annual reporting requirement, at 1 time dur-
ing the year.
(c) COMMON DATA FORMAT ACROSS JURISDIC-
TIONS.—To facilitate reporting by persons with facilities
in more than 1 State, tribal, or local jurisdiction, the Ad-
ministrator shall encourage the use of a common data for-
mat by any State, tribal, or local agency coordinating with
the Administrator under subsection (a).
(d) PROVISION OF INFORMATION.—At the request of
the Administrator, the head of a Federal agency shall pro-
vide to the Administrator information on reporting re-
quirements established under a law administered by the
agency.
SEC. 5. REGULATIONS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator may promul-
gate such regulations as are necessary to carry out this
Act.
(b) MATTERS ADDRESSED.—The regulations may
address electronic record retention, security in data sub-
missions, the practical aspects of reporting, evidentiary
burdens, and other matters that are necessary to provide
for the integrity, reliability, and security of information
submitted to the Administrator or records maintained
under the laws administered by the Administrator.
SEC. 6. REPORTS.
Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment
of this Act, if the Administrator determines that 1 or more
provisions of law explicitly prohibit or hinder the integra-
tion of reporting and other actions required under this
Act, the Administrator shall submit to Congress a report
identifying those provisions.
SEC. 7. SAVINGS CLAUSE.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act limits, modi-
fies, affects, amends, or otherwise changes, directly or in-
directly, any provision of Federal, State, tribal, or local
law or the obligation of any person to comply with any
provision of law.
(b) EFFECT.—Neither this Act nor the integrated re-
porting program alters or affects the obligation of a re-
porting person to provide the information required under
any reporting requirement, or to inform itself about appli-
cable laws and regulations.
(c) REPORTING.—Nothing in this Act authorizes the
Administrator to—
(1) require the reporting or disclosure of infor-
mation that is in addition to information that is re-
quired to be reported as of the day before the date
of enactment of this Act, other than information
that is necessary to verify and validate information
submitted through the electronic system and the
identity of persons submitting such information; or
(2) eliminate the reporting of information that
is required to be reported, or restrict the disclosure
of information that may under law be disclosed, as
of the day before the date of enactment of this Act,
except as provided under section 3(b)(7) and as con-
sistent with section 3(b)(13).
(d) POINT OF REPORTING.—Nothing in this Act re-
quires that data being reported as of the date of enact-
ment of this Act by a reporting person through a State,
tribal, or local agency to the Administrator be reported
instead by the reporting person directly to the Adminis-
trator.
(e) STORAGE OF DATA.—Nothing in this Act affects
the manner in which the data assembled through the inte-
grated reporting program are stored.
SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out
this Act—
(1) $7,000,000 for fiscal year 2001;
(2) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2002;
(3) $13,000,000 for fiscal year 2003; and
(4) $14,000,000 for fiscal year 2004.
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