Vermont and 11 other states are suing the Bush administration to force greater disclosure of public data on toxic chemicals in communities.
The state officials oppose the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s new rules that will allow thousands of companies to limit information they disclose to the public about toxic chemicals that they store, use and release into the environment.
Vermont Attorney William Sorrell says communities deserve to know what toxic chemicals are being released. He calls the EPA rule wrongheaded and a violation of federal law.
But the EPA says its change improves the Toxics Release Inventory law and only eases requirements on companies that can certify they have no releases of toxins to the environment.