CIEL Joins Three Dozen NGOs on Congressional Letter Calling for Renewed U.S. Leadership on POPs

September 7, 2005

A letter from 37 environmental health groups to Senate and House leaders calls on Congress to ensure that implementing legislation for the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) restores U.S. leadership in this critical chemical safety treaty.

U.S. ratification of the Stockholm Convention first requires modest changes to federal laws regulating industrial chemicals and pesticides. The NGO statement focuses on how the United States government should respond to future proposals to expand the POPs treaty to chemicals beyond the initial "dirty dozen."

The NGOs identify three key criteria for the necessary implementing legislation. These include: timely U.S. action; respect for existing state and local laws; and clear legal authority to take action. "This letter is a reminder that Americans expect their government to live up to its international commitments and to do its part to eliminate the dangers posed by POPs, the 'worst of the worst' chemicals," said Daryl Ditz, coordinator of the U.S. POPs Watch Campaign at CIEL.

Their statement addresses Senator Majority Leader Bill Frist, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, House Speaker Dennis Hastert, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, with copies to key environment, agriculture and foreign relations committees. In July 2005, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson urged the same four legislators to "rapidly conclude" the necessary implementing legislation. The Rice-Johnson letters note that failure to act quickly could compound "the negative repercussions for U.S. leadership in international chemical fora."

Previous draft implementing legislation from the Bush Administration fell short of these requirements. Generally, they would give EPA the discretion--not the duty--to regulate POPs added to the treaty. Some legislative drafts would create elaborate procedures for re-review of the chemicals, and introduce obstacles to prompt U.S. action, even after the United States decides to regulate chemicals added to the treaty.

For more information, please contact Daryl Ditz.