Implementing International Agreements on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs): Proposed Amendments to the Toxic Substances Control Act

Publication Date: March 2006

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Author(s):

Research Area: Environment

Type:

Abstract:

Between 1998 and 2001, the United States signed two international treaties and one executive agreement to reduce production and use, and regulate trade and disposal, of certain "persistent organic pollutants" (POPs) and other chemicals that (for the most part) are strictly regulated in U.S. commerce. POPs are chemicals like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and the pesticide DDT that do not break down easily in the environment, tend to accumulate as they move up the food chain, and may be harmful to people and wildlife. The President signed and has submitted the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants and the Rotterdam Convention on Prior Informed Consent to the Senate for advice and consent. If the Senate consents by a two-thirds majority, and the Congress passes legislation that is needed to implement the two treaties (as well as the executive agreement, the POPs Protocol to the Aarhus Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution), then the treaties can be ratified and the agreements would take effect domestically.

Current U.S. laws do not provide for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to fully comply with the provisions of these international agreements. For example, EPA has no authority to ban or restrict production of a chemical intended for export, even if its sale and use in the United States are prohibited. If the United States is going to abide by the agreements, Congress would have to enact amendments to two federal laws: the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), governing industrial uses of chemicals, and the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), which regulates pesticide sale and use. Legislation has been introduced in the 109th Congress that would allow implementation of the agreements.

H.R. 4591 and H.R. 4800 would amend TSCA, while H.R. 3849 and S. 2042 would amend FIFRA. This report focuses on the bills that offer proposed amendments to TSCA. TSCA requires EPA to begin rulemaking for a chemical if "there is a reasonable basis to conclude that the manufacture, processing, distribution in commerce, use, or disposal ... will present an unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment." The act directs EPA to regulate "to the extent necessary to protect adequately against such risk using the least burdensome requirements." H.R. 4591 and H.R. 4800 propose similar amendments to TSCA. Other bill provisions differ significantly, particularly with respect to regulating chemicals that might be banned or restricted in the future, if one or more of the international agreements were to be amended. Generally, it appears that H.R. 4591 would provide EPA circumscribed authority to regulate "to the extent necessary to protect human health and the environment," require extensive analysis of options, and prescribe regulatory outcomes that achieve "a reasonable balance of social, environmental, and economic costs and benefits." H.R. 4800 would provide clear authority to regulate in accord with amendments to the international agreements and prescribe chemical regulations that protect against "significant adverse human health and environmental effects." Key bill provisions are summarized in Table 1.

This report will be updated as warranted by legislative action and interest.