[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 79 (Friday, June 14, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1054]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 IMPLEMENTING LEGISLATION FOR THE STOCKHOLM CONVENTION, THE ROTTERDAM 
   CONVENTION, AND THE PROTOCOL TO THE 1979 CONVENTION ON LONG-RANGE 
      TRANSBOUNDARY AIR POLLUTION ON PERSISTENT ORGANIC POLLUTANTS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. PAUL E. GILLMOR

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 13, 2002

  Mr. GILLMOR. I am pleased to join my colleague, Mr. Goodlatte, in 
introducing today by request the Administration's implementing 
legislation for the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic 
Pollutants, the Rotterdam Convention on Prior Informed Consent 
Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in 
International Trade, and the Protocol to the 1979 Convention on Long-
Range Trans-boundary Air Pollution on Persistent Organic Pollutants.
  The Stockholm Convention was adopted on May 22, 2001, after many 
years of international negotiation under the auspices of the United 
Nations Environment Programme, UNEP, and it establishes an 
international framework for regulating the production, use, and 
disposal of persistent organic pollutants, including polychlorinated 
biphenyls, PCBs, and dioxin. The United States signed the Stockholm 
Convention over 1 year ago, along with over 110 other countries, but 
the United States cannot ratify the treaty until the Senate provides 
its advice and consent, and until sufficient authority has been granted 
through Federal legislation to ensure that the mandates of the 
agreement can be enforced.
  On April 11, 2002, the Secretary of State and the Administrator of 
the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, submitted to the Congress 
legislation to implement the Stockholm Convention, the Rotterdam 
Convention, and the Protocol to the 1979 Convention on Long-Range 
Transboundary Air Pollution on Persistent Organic Pollutants. This 
legislation amends the Toxic Substances Control Act, TSCA, as well as 
the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) by 
providing the EPA with the authority to eliminate or restrict the 
production, use and release of 12 chemicals that can adversely affect 
human health because they are toxic; they persist in the environment 
for long periods of time; they circulate globally; and they biomagnify 
and accumulate in foods consumed by humans.
  Specifically, the bill amends TSCA to prohibit or severely restrict 
the use of Aldrin, Chlordane, Dieldrin, Endrin, Heptachlor, 
Hexachlorobenzene, Mirex, Toxaphene, PCBs and DDT, while providing 
specific limited exemptions for their continued use. In the event that 
these chemicals continue to be used in accordance with an exemption, 
this legislation requires a certificate to accompany the chemicals 
providing detailed information. The legislation also provides EPA with 
the authority to collect additional information from manufacturers to 
assist in evaluating additional chemicals for potential addition to the 
restricted list in the future, and to prohibit the exportation from the 
United States of these banned or severely restricted products, unless 
the exportation complies with specific conditions and restrictions 
established by the EPA. The bill also requires exporters of listed 
substances to provide prior notice to EPA of all exports and to include 
additional labeling, and the bill similarly amends FIFRA to prohibit 
the use, sale and exportation of the prohibited or restricted chemicals 
that are pesticide active ingredients.
  Today, I am pleased to introduce by request the Administration's 
legislative package that, once enacted, will allow the United States to 
ratify the underlying treaties. As the chairman of the Environment and 
Hazardous Materials Subcommittee of the Committee on Energy and 
Commerce, I look forward to working with the administration, my 
colleagues in the House and other body, and all interested parties, in 
putting a package together that we can send to the White House soon. As 
we proceed, I will keep an open mind on the need to make improvements 
to the bill I'm introducing today. This can and should be bipartisan 
legislation that will demonstrate the United States' leadership in the 
international environmental arena.

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