[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 100 (Tuesday, July 9, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7492-S7493]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

       By Mr. BRADLEY:
       S. 1935. A bill to provide for improved information 
     collection and dissemination by the Environmental Protection 
     Agency, and for other purposes; to the Committee on 
     Environment and Public Works.


         THE PUBLIC TRUST AND ENVIRONMENTAL ACCOUNTABILITY ACT

  Mr. BRADLEY. Mr. President, today I am introducing the Public Trust 
and Environmental Accountability Act to improve collection, retrieval, 
and dissemination of vital environmental data needed for community 
information and disaster response.
  For the first time, under the Public Trust and Environmental 
Accountability Act, firefighters, plant neighbors, local governments, 
and the general public will have easy access to complete data on a 
plant's permit compliance and plant operation. Not only will the public 
be able to discover whether their local facility has had past 
environmental violations but they will also be able to research that 
company's compliance history throughout the United States using just 
one consolidated file, available by computer search.
  For example, last year, when the Napp Technologies plant in Lodi, NJ, 
exploded, the community surrounding the plant had little knowledge of 
what went on within the plant gates. If the Public Trust and 
Environmental Accountability Act had been in effect, local citizens 
would have known: what chemicals were stored onsite; what permits were 
held by the plant; what violations had occurred; whether there had been 
any accidents or releases of chemicals; and, when the plant was last 
inspected.
  Currently, data collected by the Environmental Protection Agency 
[EPA] is scattered and fragmented across the Agency or left in files at 
the State level. Instead of centralizing and coordinating all data by 
plant or location, much of EPA's information is kept in numerous 
duplicative files in the Agency's separate program offices where it is 
divided arbitrarily by the type of pollutant under regulation such as 
air, water, or solid waste. Thus using EPA data to build a complete 
compliance profile of a particular plant is both time consuming and 
unnecessarily difficult.
  However, my bill streamlines this unwieldy system by directing EPA to 
enhance access, encourage public use, and improve management of public 
information that it has collected under the Agency's many environmental 
statutes, pollution prevention initiatives and environmental permitting 
requirements. Under the act, EPA would create standard formats for 
information

[[Page S7493]]

collection and improve the coordination of data which it has received 
from its various units and from other sources such as State agencies. 
The Act would also provide the public with greater computer access to 
EPA data bases.
  No additional data would be required from the private sector. In 
fact, the current reporting burden on industry could be reduced once 
streamlined data collection was in place. The bill also complements new 
EPA initiatives aimed at consolidating permit requirements and 
eliminating paperwork.
  This bill is an example of how we can use public power to help 
communities protect themselves through access to information rather 
than through additional programs or more bureaucracy.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 1935

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

                        SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Public Trust and 
     Environmental Accountability Act''.

     SEC. 2. definitions.

       In this Act:
       (1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the 
     Administrator of the Agency.
       (2) Agency.--The term ``Agency'' means the Environmental 
     Protection Agency.

     SEC. 3. IMPROVED INFORMATION COLLECTION AND DISSEMINATION.

       (a) Purposes.--The purposes of this section are--
       (1) to enhance public access and encourage use of 
     information collected by the Agency;
       (2) to improve the management of information resources; and
       (3) to assist Agency enforcement, pollution prevention, and 
     multimedia permitting and reporting initiatives.
       (b) Plan.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall develop a plan 
     to implement policies, programs, and methods for integrating 
     and making publicly available information pertaining to the 
     environment and public health policy concerns within the 
     jurisdiction of the Agency.
       (c) Matters To Be Addressed.--The policies, programs, and 
     methods under subsection (b) shall provide for--
       (1) creation of standard information formats for 
     collection, integration, retrieval, storage, retention, and 
     dissemination of information;
       (2) improved coordination of information collection and 
     information management to integrate separate information 
     resources, including the development and implementation of 
     common company, facility, industrial sector, geographic, and 
     chemical identifiers and such other information as the 
     Administrator determines to be appropriate;
       (3) a system for indexing, locating, and obtaining 
     information maintained by the Agency concerning parent 
     companies, facilities, chemicals, and the regulatory status 
     of entities subject to oversight by the Agency;
       (4) ready accessibility of, and dissemination of, publicly 
     available information generated by or submitted to the 
     Agency, including public accessibility by computer 
     telecommunication and other means; and
       (5) universal availability of electronic reporting for all 
     environmental reporting requirements established under laws 
     administered by the Agency directly or through delegations to 
     States, territories, and Indian tribes.
       (d) Coordination.--
       (1) In general.--The Administrator shall coordinate the 
     Agency's information collection and dissemination activities 
     with the activities of other Federal, State, and local 
     agencies to reduce unnecessary burdens and promote greater 
     integration of information.
       (2) Other information.--When necessary to support the 
     mission of the Agency, the Administrator may provide for the 
     integration and dissemination of publicly available 
     information not collected by the Agency.
       (e) Limitation.--Nothing in this section shall affect the 
     duty of the Agency to maintain the confidentiality of trade 
     secrets, confidential business information, or information 
     that is subject to a rule of court or court order requiring 
     maintenance of confidentiality.
       (f) Pricing.--The Administrator may set charges for the 
     provision of information under this section in accordance 
     with the pricing policies of chapter 35 of title 44, United 
     States Code (commonly known as the ``Paperwork Reduction 
     Act'').
       (g) Dissemination Policies.--Dissemination policies of the 
     Agency shall include fee reductions, fee waivers, and other 
     support services to encourage public use of information 
     maintained by the Agency.
       (h) Reports.--Not later than 2 years after the date of 
     enactment of this section and annually thereafter, the 
     Administrator shall produce and make available reports that 
     summarize the information that has been made available under 
     this section.

     SEC. 4. SOURCE REDUCTION AWARD PROGRAM.

       The Administrator shall establish an annual award program 
     to recognize companies that operate outstanding or innovative 
     source reduction programs.

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