Oil companies and manufacturers are fighting new rules from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that require businesses to submit data on the amount of air pollution they release into the atmosphere. The EPA intends to publish the detailed information on the Internet so Americans can know which companies are discharging the most greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming. Among the other industries affected are aluminum smelters, fertilizer producers and producers of hydrofluorocarbons, which are used as refrigerants.

 

For the first time, the government is mandating that companies file reports on the pollutants released from each facility, such as individual refineries and manufacturing plants. Businesses argue that this new rule could compromise trade secrets, by making specific data emissions public.

 

Opponents want the EPA to require a third party to collect the emissions data so they don’t have to submit it at all. Businesses also want the ability to withhold pollution information on a case-by-case basis to keep some details confidential.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

 

Largest US Polluters Want EPA to Keep Their Emissions Secret from Public (by Dina Cappiello, Associated Press)