GROUND WATER PROTECTION COUNCIL

RESOLUTION 03-2

TOXIC RELEASE INVENTORY REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

FOR CLASS I DEEP WELL INJECTION

WHEREAS, Under the current Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) reporting requirements of the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act (EPCRA), toxic chemicals that have been successfully removed from the human environment by Class I deep well injection currently are reported in the same category as toxic chemicals that are released directly into the ambient environment as air emissions or discharges to surface waters; and

WHEREAS, The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), having found that the current reporting scheme for Class I injection has the potential to mislead the public into misunderstanding the negligible prospect for exposure to injected wastes, has proposed to change the TRI reporting for Class I injection by differentiating between “uncontained releases” to ambient media and “contained disposal” such as Class I injection; and

WHEREAS, EPA issued a notice in the July 1, 2003 Federal Register proposing to incorporate this differentiation into the TRI reporting form (Form R) by separating the reporting categories of Section 5 and Section 8 of that form into on-site uncontained releases, on-site contained disposal, off-site uncontained releases, and off-site contained disposal; and

WHEREAS, this change should provide a substantial improvement in public understanding of the TRI data for Class I injection, one that is consistent with EPA’s conclusion that the chemical constituents of wastes injected into deep geological formations through Class I wells will be isolated from the human environment for geologic time; and

WHEREAS, EPA’s proposal responds to past actions of the Ground Water Protection Council (the GWPC) urging EPA to change its TRI reporting requirements to exclude Class I injection from being reported as a “release to the environment” or, to improve the methods of reporting by separating the data involving Class I injection from reporting for releases directly into the ambient environment;

NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the GWPC urges EPA to adopt the proposed  changes to Section 5 and Section 8 of the TRI Form R that will differentiate between “uncontained releases” and “contained disposal,” including Class I injection; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the GWPC urges EPA not to undercut these helpful changes by aggregating these separate categories of “uncontained releases” and “contained disposal” into any form of “total release” sums when EPA publishes the TRI data in any form; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the GWPC urges EPA to begin using the “uncontained releases” and “contained disposal” classifications to differentiate among TRI data issued in publications, computer software programs, and Internet websites and databases for EPA’s release of the 2002 TRI data that EPA will issue in 2004; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the GWPC urges EPA to adopt such further changes as are necessary to achieve public understanding that Class I injection is a safe and effective method of disposal that removes toxic chemicals from the human environment.

_     September 17, 2003__________

Passed by the Board

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Attest

Michel J. Paque, Secretary