Companies Given Free Ride on Pollution Violations with Voluntary EPA Prog.

[rodeodance]

give them an inch and they take the galaciers.



---- Original Message --------
Subject: Companies Given Free Ride on Pollution Violations with Voluntary EPA Program
Date: Thu, 23 Feb 2006 12:57:25 -0500 (EST)
From: BushGreenwatch <[e-mail]>
To xxxxxxxx


February 23, 2006

Companies Given Free Ride on Pollution Violations with Voluntary EPA Program

An Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) program that is supposed to give recognition and flexibility to companies that are good environmental citizens may in fact be giving a free pass to some firms that are heavy polluters and even lawbreakers, according to a coalition of environmentalists. The agency's voluntary Performance Track program -- whose participants include DuPont, International Paper and Monsanto -- recognizes companies that have "high-quality environmental management systems" and "consistently meet their legal requirements.” <1>

These so-called top environmental performers are encouraged to go beyond basic compliance with environmental laws, and are rewarded with more lenient federal oversight, including looser hazardous-waste storage requirements, less frequent monitoring by the EPA of their air emissions, and placement on a "low-priority" list for routine inspections by EPA officials.

The program -- launched in 2000 under the Clinton administration -- may soon be expanded. EPA officials are expected to announce additional member benefits in the next few months.

Adding more benefits for participating companies is a worrying prospect to a number of environmentalists, who say the program already effectively grants companies amnesty from the enforcement of federal air- and water-pollution laws. In November, Natural Resources Defense Council senior attorney John Walke sent a letter to the EPA detailing his concerns about the program's efficacy and the possibility of expanded benefits. <2>

The agency never responded, which prompted Eric Schaeffer, former enforcement chief at the EPA and now director of the Environmental Integrity Project, to rally the leaders of 29 environmental organizations -- including Greenpeace, U.S. Public Interest Research Group and Friends of the Earth -- to weigh in on the matter. Earlier this month, the groups sent a joint letter to EPA chief Stephen Johnson. <3> In the letter, they point out that 14 program participants appear to have violated one or more federal environmental laws in at least six of the past 12 quarters -- hardly the "continuous environmental improvement" that Performance Track asks of its members.

Walke says his concerns are consistent with those of EPA inspector general Nikki Tinsley (who announced in January that she was stepping down from her post). Tinsley reviewed Performance Track and other voluntary programs last year and concluded that they hadn't yet demonstrated clear environmental benefits.

According to Schaeffer, the main problem with Performance Track is that "Bush officials never imposed an oversight system to evaluate the performance of these supposed industry eco-heroes." He also says the application process for vetting candidates is far from rigorous.

Schaeffer has been digging into publicly available pollution records on the factories of 20 of the biggest industry members in the Performance Track program, which has 371 participating facilities in all. Environmental Integrity Project recently released a comprehensive report of his findings. The data revealed that 10 of the original 13 facilities on the Performance Track reported the release of more toxic chemicals into the air or water than they had before entering the program. <4>

Says Walke, "You have to wonder why on earth these companies are getting special treatment, especially those that broke the law before and after becoming members. Why aren't they being kicked out?"

The ability of companies to continue getting special treatment is due in part to the Performance Track Participants Association, the trade group that sprang up in 2001 to assist the EPA in "establishing greater recognition and incentives" for the program.

The PTPA has been organizing regular meetings between its members and EPA officials to talk about increasing the benefits for program participants. Minutes from a September 2004 meeting contain both accolades for and gripes about Performance Track. Praise from one member reads, "We had an inspector at our facility and called the regional coordinator, and within 15 minutes the inspector was called and told to leave the facility."

Walke worries about the changes the PTPA might help push through, saying, "Never in my career have I seen a trade group form around a certain internal EPA initiative."
###

This story was jointly produced by BushGreenwatch and Grist
Magazine. For more on this story, visit Grist Magazine.

###

SOURCES:
<1> EPA website.
<2> NRDC Letter, Nov. 3, 2005.
<3> Joint letter to EPA Administrator, Jan. 25, 2006.
<4> "Report: Wrong Track?", Environmental Integrity Project, Feb. 2006.

Permanent link to this article


BushGreenwatch | 1717 Massachusetts Ave NW #600
Washington, DC 20036 | [phone]
Web site comments: [e-mail]
Copyright 2006 Friends of the Earth