National Tribal Toxics Council

NTTC Members & EPA Officials at Inaugural NTTC meeting. (Click for larger image)With the completion of the NTTC Charter on January 24, 2012, the National Tribal Toxics Council (NTTC) has become the most recent EPA Tribal Partnership Group.  The language in the Charter was finalized by the members of the Interim Steering Committee, and elections were held.  The election resulted in Dianne Barton (Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission) being named as Chair and Fred Corey (Aroostook Band of Micmacs) as Vice Chair.  A signing ceremony with Acting Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP) Assistant Administrator Jim Jones was held on January 25. Presentations on tribal toxics issues of concern were made by the NTTC to EPA staff and management. In turn, EPA provided information on capabilities and programs that could address tribal issues. For a look at the presentations that were given, please visit the Interactive Agenda.

The mission of the NTTC is to address tribal chemical risk management and pollution prevention issues consistent with the needs, interests and legal status of federally recognized Tribal governments.  For more information, please visit the NTTC website at www.tribaltoxics.org. 

 Posted by EDF BLOGS | Published: DECEMBER 9, 2011

This commentary was originally posted by Richard Denison, Ph.D., Senior Scientist, on the EDF Chemicals & Nanomaterials Blog.

Last August, Earthjustice, Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and over one hundred other groups recently filed a petition under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) calling on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to require manufacturers and processors of chemicals used in oil and gas exploration and production (E&P chemicals) – including those used in hydraulic fracturing fluids – both to conduct testing and submit to EPA health and environmental data they already have on hand. The aim of the petition was to ensure EPA obtains better information on the identity, production, use and health/environmental effects of these chemicals in order to evaluate their health and environmental risks. Late last month, EPA announced its decision.

 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 28, 2011 

 WASHINGTON – As part of Administrator Lisa P. Jackson’s commitment to enhance the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s chemicals management program and increase transparency, the agency is making available to the public hundreds of studies on chemicals that had been treated as confidential business information (CBI). The move is part of EPA's plan to make public the chemicals that are not entitled to CBI status. Releasing the data will expand the public’s access to critical health and safety information on chemicals that are manufactured and processed in the U.S. Newly available information can be found using EPA’s Chemical Data Access Tool.
 
“EPA is increasing the availability of critical health and safety studies on chemicals that children and families are exposed to every day. We are making important progress in making this information public and giving the American public easy access to it,” said Steve Owens, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention. “Over the next year, we expect to review several thousand additional studies on industrial chemicals and make many of these more accessible to the public.”

Washington Department of Ecology News  - Nov. 17, 2011

 OLYMPIA - A group of state environmental leaders from California, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Vermont, Washington, and the Environmental Council of the States (ECOS) today praised Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-New Jersey, and Sen. James M. Inhofe, R-Oklahoma, for conducting a hearing to help advance legislation that updates the 35-year-old Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).

TSCA is the primary federal environmental law that regulates the safety of the tens of thousands of chemicals used every day in the United States. Over the past several months, leaders from industry, government and environmental groups have been working with the Senate to forge a major federal overhaul.

"I believe there has never been such broad agreement that TSCA needs to be fixed," said Ted Sturdevant, director of the Washington State Department of Ecology. "States urge Congress to establish a strong federal system that ensures the safety of chemicals in commerce."