Fwd: Protect States' Rights to Limit Toxic Chemicals

[Guest guest]

" DitziSis " <mk2967

Tue, 18 Jul 2006 23:41:33 -0700 (PDT)

Fwd: Protect States' Rights to Limit Toxic Chemicals

 

 

 

Center for Biological Diversity <bioactivist

wrote:

 

 

Protect States' Rights

to Limit Toxic Chemicals

 

 

ake action to stop House Resolution 4591 (Paul Gillmor, R-Ohio), a

cynical bill that would jeopardize public health and the environment

by preventing states from controlling the use of harmful pesticides

and other toxic chemicals.

HR 4591, which passed the House Energy and Commerce Committee on July

12, would allow the federal government to preempt and block state and

local government standards that ban or restrict the use of toxic

chemicals. HR 4591 is opposed by more than a dozen state attorneys

general, the American Nurses Association and more than 100

environmental and public health groups.

This controversial legislation is an effort to undermine the Stockholm

Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, an international treaty

signed by 127 nations to eliminate some of the world's most harmful

chemicals, which has yet to be ratified by U.S. Congress. HR 4591

would modify the Toxic Substances Control Act to create loopholes that

allow the chemical industry to continue producing and selling toxic

agents. Parallel legislation could delay the phasing out of known

harmful chemicals by requiring the Environmental Protection Agency to

use a cost-benefit standard rather than a health standard when

determining whether to ban chemicals in pesticides or industrial

products. The EPA would also have no clear timetable for regulating

pollutants that are added to the treaty's list of banned substances,

and there would be no citizen participation process to challenge the

EPA's actions or lack thereof.

This bill is the latest Republican effort to block states from

enacting more stringent environmental, public health and consumer

protections than lax federal standards. The Bush administration has

recently overturned, stalled or weakened numerous state initiatives to

curb air pollution, reduce global warming by regulating carbon dioxide

emissions, maintain authority over the siting of energy facilities,

and require food-warning labels.

The passage of HR 4591 from the Energy and Commerce Committee moves

the debate to the House and Senate Committees on Agriculture, where

legislation amending the federal pesticide law must be agreed upon,

and then to the full House and Senate for a final vote.

Please contact your representative and insist that they oppose HR 4591

and preserve the rights of states to pass regulations needed to

safeguard public health and the environment. Congress should instead

support the treaty ratification bill proposed by Rep. Hilda Solis (HR

4800), which places public health protections over business interests

and poses no threat to states’ rights.

Your Representative's contact information:

John Doolittle

U.S. House of Representatives

2410 Rayburn House Office Building

Washington, DC 20515-0001

(202) 225-2511

 

 

Send a letter to the following decision maker(s):

Your Congressperson

Below is the sample letter:

Oppose HR 4591 - Protect Public Health

Dear [decision maker name automatically inserted here],

I urge you to oppose House Resolution 4591 (Paul Gillmor, R-Ohio) and

stand up for the right of states and local governments to limit the

use of toxic chemicals and harmful pesticides as necessary to protect

public health and the environment.

 

This bill would allow the federal government to preempt and block

tough state and local government standards that ban or restrict the

use of toxic chemicals. It is opposed by more than a dozen state

attorneys general, the American Nurses Association and more than 100

environmental and public health groups.

 

This controversial bill is an effort to undermine the Stockholm

Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, an important

international treaty signed by 127 nations to eliminate some of the

world's most harmful chemicals. HR 4591 would create loopholes in the

Toxic Substances Control Act by allowing the chemical industry to keep

producing and selling potentially toxic chemicals. It would also cause

delay in phasing out known harmful chemicals by requiring the

Environmental Protection Agency to consider industries' economic

interests over public health and environmental concerns when

determining whether to ban chemicals in pesticides or industrial

products. The EPA would also have no clear timetable for regulating

pollutants that are added to the treaty's list of banned substances,

and there would be no citizen participation process to challenge the

EPA's actions or lack thereof.

 

This bill is an inappropriate attempt to block states from enacting

more stringent environmental and public health protections than lax

federal standards. States should have a right to regulate toxic

chemicals as necessary to safeguard public health and the environment.

I urge you to reject HR 4591 and instead support the treaty

ratification bill proposed by Rep. Hilda Solis (HR 4800), which places

public health protections over business interests and poses no threat

to states' rights.

 

Sincerely,

 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

 

 

Click here to take action on this issue

http://actionnetwork.org/campaign/limit_toxic_chemicals/wned85i2q535djj?

 

 

What's At Stake:

The Bush administration and Republicans in Congress are trying to

ensure chemical industry interests will overrule public health and

environmental protections if the U.S. ratifies an international treaty

limiting extremely toxic chemicals. On July 12, the House Energy and

Commerce Committee passed HR 4591, a controversial bill that would

amend the U.S. Toxic Substances Control Act to condition ratification

of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants on the

federal preemption of states' rights to protect public health and the

environment.

The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants will be held

in May 2007 and is a landmark international agreement to phase out an

entire class of dangerous chemicals. The treaty requires the

elimination or severe restrictions on using a " dirty dozen " toxic

chemicals †" such as DDT, dioxins, PCBs and the pesticide chlordane

†" that can accumulate up the food chain and are linked to health

effects that include allergies, cancer, birth defects and damage to

the immune and reproductive systems of humans and other species.

More than 125 nations have already signed the agreement, including the

U.S. when it signed the treaty more than five years ago. However,

Congress has yet to ratify it or make necessary amendments to federal

laws that govern industrial chemicals and pesticides. The Bush

administration has now seized the opportunity to further undermine the

right of state and local governments to regulate toxic chemicals.

HR 4591 would allow the Environmental Protection Agency †" currently

under fire from its own scientists for approving harmful pesticides

without adequate scientific review †" to disregard the findings of

international public health specialists, scientists and policy experts

who make recommendations under the Convention. The legislation would

require the EPA to use a cost-benefit standard when determining

whether to ban chemicals in pesticides or industrial products. This

provision could delay the phasing out of known harmful chemicals by

forcing the agency to conduct economic analyses on whether new

regulations are too onerous on industry, and it would also provide new

opportunities for industry to challenge any EPA regulation of harmful

chemicals.

This is the latest effort by the Bush administration and the

Republican-led Congress to provide their industry allies with weaker

national standards for environmental, public health and consumer

protections. It follows numerous other attempts to weaken these

protections by restricting the rights of state and local governments

to enact standards tougher than lax federal regulations. For example:

- The Bush administration and auto industry are working to prevent

states from requiring cars to emit less carbon dioxide and other

pollutants that cause global warming, using a federal law that gives

Congress the authority to enact mileage standards.

- Federal officials teamed up with the auto industry to file a court

challenge on California’s effort to curb pollution by increasing the

sale of electric vehicles, forcing the state to retreat on its

landmark action by arguing that only Congress can set gas-mileage

standards.

- The Bush administration is forcing states to seek waivers to the

federal Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act to regulate emissions and

pollutants and then denying many of these waivers †" including

California's efforts to ban the toxic gasoline additive MTBE even

though the chemical is known to be contaminating groundwater.

- Republican legislators are proposing legislation to give refiners

and other energy producers more ability to skirt state and local laws

governing the siting of facilities on federal land.

- The Bush administration is giving the Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission ultimate authority over where certain power transmission

lines are placed and asserting that the federal government has sole

authority over locating liquefied natural gas facilities offshore.

- The Bush administration is joining forces with industry in court to

oppose food safety warnings, such as California's warning labels on

tuna containing poisonous mercury.

 

The Center thanks the Pesticide Action Network for supplying

information for this alert.

 

Campaign Expiration Date:

December 31, 2006

 

 

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