1 Preliminaries 1
A.Introduction into the Subject Matter: The Problem 1
B.Methodology 6
C.Aim of the Investigation 8
D.Course of the Investigation 9
E.Definitions 11
Ⅰ.Pollution Reduction 12
Ⅱ.Pollutant Release 12
Ⅲ.Environment 12
Ⅳ.Environmental Information 12
Ⅴ.Categories of Environmental Information 13
1.Disclosed by E-PRTR and TRI 13
2.Not Disclosed by E-PRTR and TRI 13
3.Ancillary Information 13
2 Development of Pollution Reduction Instruments 15
A.Point of Departure 15
Ⅰ.Market Failure Due to Externality: The Problem 15
1.Types of Externalities 16
2.Technological Externalities and Allocation 17
3.Externalities, Excludability, and Property Rights 18
a) Free Rider Behaviour (Positive Externalities) 19
b) Tragedy of the Commons (Negative Externalities) 20
4.Summary 20
Ⅱ.Selected Economic Approaches to Market Failure 21
1.The Four Consumer's Surpluses (Hicks) 21
2.The Economics of Welfare (Pigou) 22
3.The Problem of Social Cost (Coase) 23
4.The Economic Dynamics of Environmental Law (Driesen) 24
Ⅲ.Environmental Innovation, Policy Mix and Capability Assessment 25
1.Characteristics of Environmental Innovations: Double Externality and Regulatory Push/Pull 25
2.Intelligent Regulation by Use of a Policy Mix 26
3.Assessment of Instrument Capability 27
Ⅳ.Interim Result 28
B.Command and Control Instruments 29
Ⅰ.Introduction 30
Ⅱ.Direct Regulations for Production Processes and Products Under EU Laws 31
1.Performance Standards 31
2.Best Available Techniques 32
Ⅲ.Direct Regulations for Production Processes and Products Under US Laws 33
1.Performance Standards 33
2.Best Available Techniques 35
Ⅳ.Interim Result 36
C.Market-Based Instruments 37
Ⅰ.Introduction 38
Ⅱ.Market Regulations Under EU Laws 39
1.Environmental Taxes 39
2.The Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme 40
3.Environmental Liability 46
Ⅲ.Market Regulations Under US Laws 48
1.Environmental Taxes 48
2.Emissions Trading 49
a) The Acid Rain Programme 49
b) Prospects for Federal Legislation on Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading 50
3.Environmental Liability 51
Ⅳ.Interim Result 53
D.Conclusion of the Chapter 55
3 E-PRTR Under EU Environmental Information Laws: The Collection 57
A.Structure of the E-PRTR 58
Ⅰ.Legislative History 58
1.Decision 2005/370/EC 58
2.Legislative Foundation of EPER: Article 15 (3) of Directive 96/61/EC 58
3.Decision 2000/479/EC 59
a) The Legal Framework of EPER 59
aa) Establishment and Reporting Requirements 59
bb) Reporting Cycle 60
cc) Implementation 60
dd) Data Dissemination 60
b) Essentials from EPER Reviews 61
aa) First EPER Review Report for the Year 2001 61
bb) Second EPER Review Report for the Year 2004 61
c) EPER as Distinguished from E-PRTR 62
4.Sixth Environmental Action Programme 62
a) Decision 1600/2002/EC 62
b) Mid-Term Review 2007 63
5.Decision 2006/61/EC and the Relation to Other Pollutant Release Inventories 64
Ⅱ.Current Legal Framework of the E-PRTR 65
1.Establishment, Definitions, and Covered Environmental Media 67
a) Establishment and Access to Information 67
b) Definitions for Particular Terms 68
aa) 'The Public' and 'Competent Authority' 68
bb) 'Installation', 'Facility', 'Site' and 'Operator' 69
cc) 'Substance' and 'Pollutant' 69
dd) 'Release' and 'Diffuse Sources' 69
ee) 'Off-Site Transfer' of 'Waste', 'Hazardous Waste' and 'Waste Water' 71
ff) 'Disposal' and 'Recovery' 73
gg) 'Reporting Year' 73
c) Content of the E-PRTR 73
2.Informational Structure 74
a) The Standard Setting 74
b) Ease of Public Access and Website Links 74
3.Acquisition of Information Through Reporting Requirements 75
a) Reporting by the Operator 75
b) Reporting by the Member States 78
c) Releases from Diffuse Sources 78
4.Assurance and Assessment of Information Quality 79
a) Quality Objectives According to Recitals 79
b) Legal Duties of Operators, Competent Authorities and Commission 79
c) Current State on Improvement of Information Quality 81
aa) Legal Deficits in Quality Assessment by the Commission 81
bb) Information Quality Improvement Through Eco-Management and Audit Scheme? 81
5.Further Provisions 83
a) Amendment Procedures 83
b) Guidance Document 83
c) Commission Review 83
d) Additional Information to be Reported by the Member States 84
e) Raising Awareness and Public Participation for Enhancement of E-PRTR 84
f) Committee Procedure, Amendments to Other Directives and Entry into Force 85
Ⅲ.Delimitation of REACH and E-PRTR 86
1.General Aim and Scope 87
2.Acquisition of Information Through the 'No Data, No Market' Principle 87
3.Access to Information 89
a) Tasks of the European Chemicals Agency 89
b) Electronic Public Access: The REACH Inventory 89
c) Access to Information Held by the European Chemicals Agency 90
Ⅳ.Interim Result 91
B.Confidentiality and Mandatory Environmental Information Disclosure 92
Ⅰ.Confidentiality Under Article 11 of Regulation (EC) 166/2006 93
Ⅱ.Differences of Directive 2003/4/EC as Regards Environmental Information Disclosure 95
1.Scope of 'Environmental Information' 95
2.Disclosure Addressees: 'Public Authorities' 96
3.Publication on Request 96
4.Interim Result 97
Ⅲ.Member States' Refusal of a Request: Article 4 (1) of Directive 2003/4/EC 98
Ⅳ.Member States 'May Provide' Grounds for Refusal: Article 4 (2) of Directive 2003/4/EC 99
Ⅴ.Commercial and Industrial Information and Other Intellectual Property: Article 4 (2), Sentence 1, (d) and (e) 100
1.Legal Contours of Commercial and Industrial Information 100
a) Link with the Member States' Concept of Confidentiality 101
b) Differences Between Commercial and Industrial Information 103
c) Prerequisites for the Presence of the Matter of Fact 103
aa) Related to a Business Activity 104
bb) Familiar Only to a Limited Group of People 104
cc) Kept Secret According to the Will of the Business Proprietor 105
dd) Legitimate Economic Interest for Confidentiality 105
ee) 'Area Specific' Modification of the Confidentiality Concept for Pollutant Releases? 106
d) Decision Competence of the Public Authority 107
e) Absolute and Relative Protection of Confidentiality 107
f) Interim Result 107
2.Ownership of Commercial and Industrial Information and Other Intellectual Property 108
a) Article 6 (1) TEU in Conjunction with Article 17 of the Charter 108
b) Article 6 (2) TEU 110
aa) State of the Law Under the Treaty of Nice 110
bb) State of the Law Under the Treaty of Lisbon 112
cc) The European Convention on Human Rights 112
(1) Case-Law of the European Court of Human Rights 113
(2) Literature 114
(3) Interim Result 114
c) Article 6 (3) TEU 115
aa) Case-Law of the ECJ 116
bb) Case-Law of the BVerfG and Literary Reactions 116
cc) Interim Result 118
d) Delimitation of Article 345 TFEU 118
e) The Derivation of the EU Fundamental Rightto Property 119
aa) Incorporation of Fundamental Rights into EU Law: Stauder v Ulm 119
bb) Constitutional Traditions: lnternationale Handelsgesellschaft mbH 121
cc) The 'Integral Part' Formula: Nold v Commission 123
dd) Fundamental Protection of Property: Hauer v Land Rheinland-Pfalz 124
ee) Interim Result 126
f) The Scope of Protection of the EU Fundamental Right to Property in Detail 127
aa) Selected Property Positions 127
(1) Capital as Such ie a Levy: Schrader v Hauptzollamt Gronau 127
(2) Established and Running Enterprise: Biovilac v EEC 130
(3) Market Share: Germany v Council 131
(4) Interim Result 132
bb) Protection of Intellectual Property Rights 133
(1) Confidential Commercial and Industrial Information as Property and Fundamentally Protected? 133
(2) Registered Rights: Grammophon GmbH v Metro GmbH and Co KG 136
3.Right to Pursue a Freely Chosen Occupation: Article 15, 16 of the Charter and the ECJ 137
4.Interim Result 138
Ⅵ.Other Member States' Grounds for Refusal to Disclose Under Directive 2003/4/EC 138
1.Personal Data: Article 4 (2), Sentence 1, (f) 139
2.Information Requested Provided on a Voluntary Basis: Article 4 (2), Sentence 1, (g) 140
3.Confidentiality of Proceedings of Public Authorities: Article 4 (2), Sentence 1, (a) 141
4.International Relations, Public Security or National Defence: Article 4 (2), Sentence 1, (b) 141
5.Course of Justice: Article 4 (2), Sentence 1, (c) 141
6.Information Relating to the Location of Rare Species: Article 4 (2), Sentence 1, (h) 142
Ⅶ.Restrictions on the Member States' Refusal to Disclose: Article 4 (2), Sentences 2 to 4 142
1.The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU: Article 37, 21, or 2? 143
2.Union Policy on the Environment: Article 191 TFEU 144
a) Introduction 144
b) High Level of Environmental Protection: Article 191 (2)TFEU 145
aa) Ranking and Principle 145
bb) Positioning and Comment 147
c) Pursuit of Environmental Objectives: Article 191 (1) TFEU 147
aa) Preserving, Protecting and Improving the Quality of the Environment (Indent 1) 148
bb) Protecting Human Health (Indent 2) 148
d) Duties to Take Account of: Article 191 (3) TFEU (Indents 1 and 3) 149
e) Legal Obligation of Article 191 (1) to (3) TFEU 150
3.Integration Principle: Article 11 TFEU 151
a) Content 152
aa) Substantive Requirements 152
bb) Procedural Requirements 154
b) Legal Effect 154
aa) Legal Obligation 154
bb) Judicial Control 155
4.Limitations of Other Fundamental Rights: Cases Standley and Safety High Tech 155
5.Judgments of the ECJ Under Directives 90/313/EEC and 2003/4/EC 157
a) Early Case-Law Under Directive 90/313/EEC 157
aa) Scope of Environmental Information Ⅰ: Mecklenburg v Kreis Pinneberg 157
bb) Application of a Charge for an Informational Request: Commission v Germany 157
cc) Scope of Environmental Information Ⅱ: Glawischnig 158
dd) Failure to Transpose Certain Obligations Under the Directive: Commission v France 158
ee) Unlawfulness of Implied Refusal: Housieaux 159
ff) Public Participation and Payment of Fees: Commission v Ireland (Ⅰ) 160
b) Recent Case-Law Under Directive 2003/4/EC 162
aa) Failure to Transpose the Entire Directive: Commission v h'eland (Ⅱ) 162
bb) Interpretation of Exceptions: Commune de Sausheim v Azelvandre 162
(1) Facts of the Case 162
(2) Observations of Third Parties before the Court 164
(3) Opinion of Advocate General Sharpston 165
(4) Judgment of the ECJ 167
(5) Appraisal of the Judgment 169
(6) Article 4 (2), Sentences 2 to 4 of Directive 2003/4/EC Revisited 171
a) Restrictive Interpretation Under Sentence 2 171
b) Public Interest v Interest Served by Refusal Under Sentence 3 172
c) Restrictions on Refusal for Information on Emissions/Releases Under Sentence 4 173
aa) Restrictions on Confidential Commercial and Industrial Information 174
(1) Impairment 174
(2) Justification 175
bb) Other Restricted Grounds for Refusal 180
(1) Personal Data 180
(2) Information Requested Provided on a Voluntary Basis 181
(3) Confidentiality of Proceedings of Public Authorities 181
(4) Information Relating to the Location of Rare Species 181
cc) No Restrictions for Refusal on Residual Grounds? 182
(1) Intellectual Property Rights 182
(2) International Relations, Public Security or National Defence 184
(3) Course of Justice 184
Ⅷ.Article 4 (3) to (5) of Directive 2003/4/EC 184
1.Publicly Accessible List of Criteria on How to Handle Requests 185
2.Availability of Environmental Information in Part 185
3.Refusal Notification to the Applicant 185
Ⅸ.Interim Result 186
C.Role of the European Environment Agency and Enforcement Mechanisms 187
Ⅰ.European Environment Agency in a Nutshell 187
1.Establishment 188
2.Tasks and Organisation 189
3.Legal Capacity and Assignment of Sovereign Regulatory Competence 191
4.In Need of Sovereign Regulatory Competence? 193
Ⅱ.Member States' Penalty Provisions 197
Ⅲ.Access to Justice 198
1.At EU Level Under Regulation (EC) 1049/2001 198
a) Application for Documents: Article 6 199
b) Processing of Initial Applications: Article 7 199
c) Processing of Confirmatory Applications: Article 8 199
d) Article 263, Sentence 4 TFEU: Locus Standi and the Problem with 'Individual Concern' 200
e) Adding a Legal Reference to Articles 10 to 12 of Regulation (EC) 1367/2006? 203
aa) Scope of Administrative Acts and Omissions 203
bb) Request for Internal Review of Administrative Acts 204
cc) Criteria for Entitlement at Union Level 205
dd) Interpretation of 'Written Reply' and Access to the Court of Justice 205
2.At Member State Level Under Article 6 of Directive 2003/4/EC 206
Ⅳ.Interim Result 207
D.Excursus: Requested Access to Information About Other Pollutants and Ancillary Information 207
Ⅰ.The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU: Article 42 208
Ⅱ.The Treaty: Article 15 (3) TFEU 209
Ⅲ.Secondary EU Law 210
1.Regulation (EC) 1049/2001 210
2.Regulation (EC) 1367/2006 212
Ⅳ.Judgments of the EU Courts on the Right of Access to Information 213
1.Origins 213
a) Fundamental Principle of Transparency: Netherlands v Council 213
b) Existence of a Principle of the Right to Information at EU Level: Council v Hautala 214
c) Legal Effect of the Rules of Procedure: Carvel and Guardian Newspaper Ltd v Council 214
2.Contours of Access to Information of EU Institutions 214
a) Scope of Agency Discretion to Disclose Information: Municipality of Hillegom v Hillenius 214
b) Mandatory and Discretionary Exceptions: WWF UK v Commission 215
c) Administrative Burden: Verein fur Konsumenteninformation v Commission 218
d) Concrete Assessment and Statement of Reason: Interporc GmbH v Commission 219
e) Documents Drawn Up by an Institution: ClientEarth v Commission 219
3.Leadoff Contours of Exceptions for Information Disclosure 220
a) Sensitive Documents: Sison v Council 220
b) Release of Documents Containing Trade Secrets: Akzo v Commission 221
c) Court Proceedings and Legal Advice: Sweden and Turco v Council 222
d) Original 'Authorship Rule': Petrie and Others v Commission 223
e) 'Authorship Rule' Revisited: Sweden and IFAW v Commission 225
f) Partial Access: Mattila v Council and Commission 227
4.Liability for Breach of Confidentiality: Adams v Commission 228
Ⅴ.Interim Result 229
E.Conclusion of the Chapter 230
4 TRI Under US Environmental Information Laws: The Collection 233
A.Structure of the TRI 233
Ⅰ.Legislative History 234
1.TRI as Congress' Response to the Chemical Catastrophe in Bhopal 235
2.Initial Legislative Action in 1986 237
3.Significant Changes in TRI Throughout the 1990s 238
a) Pollution Prevention Act of 1990 238
b) Inclusion of Federal Government Activities in 1993 239
c) Expansion of Industrial Activities in 1997 239
d) Adding Chemicals and Lowering Thresholds in 1999 241
4.Significant Changes in TRI Throughout the 2000s 242
a) Burden Reduction Under the Bush Administration in 2006 242
b) Burden Reduction Reversal Under the Obama Administration in 2009 243
5.TRI and Its Relationship to Other Inventories/Programmes 243
6.Summary 244
Ⅱ.Current Legal Framework of the TRI 245
1.Establishment, Definitions, and Covered Environmental Media 245
a) Establishment and Access to Information 245
b) Definitions for Particular Terms 246
aa) 'Person' and 'Administrator' 246
bb) 'Establishment', 'Facility' (Both Comprising 'Site') and 'Operator' 247
cc) 'Toxic Chemical' 248
dd) 'Release' and (Absence of) 'Diffuse Sources' 248
ee) 'Off-Site Transfer' of 'Waste' (Comprising 'Hazardous Waste' and 'Waste Water') 248
ff) 'Disposal' and 'Recovery' 249
gg) 'Reporting Year' 249
hh) Exclusive EPCRA/PPA Definitions: 'Environment','State' and 'Source Reduction' 250
c) Content of the TRI 251
d) Interim Result 251
2.Informational Structure 252
a) The Standard Setting 252
b) Ease of Public Access and Website Links 253
3.Acquisition of Information Through Reporting Requirements 254
a) Reporting by the Owner/Operator 254
b) Reporting to the Sister States 257
c) Interim Result 258
4.Assurance and Assessment of Information Quality 258
a) Legal Deficits as Regards Information Quality Objectives 258
b) Information Quality Improvement Through Environmental Self-Auditing? 259
c) Interim Result 262
5.Further Provisions 263
a) Amendment Procedures 263
b) Federal Regulations and Guidance Documents 265
c) Report of the Government Accountability Office 265
d) Information Collection from Sister States 266
e) Raising Awareness and Public Participation for Enhancement of TRI 267
f) Amendments to Other Federal Laws, Fiscal Budget and Entry into Force 268
6.Interim Result 268
Ⅲ.Delimitation of TSCA and TRI 269
1.General Aim and Scope 269
2.Acquisition of Information 271
3.Access to Information 272
a) Tasks of the EPA 272
b) Electronic Public Access: The TSCA Inventory 272
c) Access to Information Held by the EPA 273
4.Interim Result 273
Ⅳ.Interim Result 274
B.Trade Secrets/Exemptions and Mandatory Environmental Information Disclosure 275
Ⅰ.Trade Secret Under 42 USC 11042 276
1.Polluter's Authority to Withhold Information 276
2.Trade Secret Factors and Regulations 277
3.Providing Information to the EPA and Availability to the Public 277
4.Information on Adverse Effects, to Sister States, and to Congress 278
Ⅱ.Differences to FOIA as Regards Environmental Information Disclosure 279
1.EPCRA's Relationship to Freedom of Information Act of 1966 279
2.Scope of 'Environmental Information' 280
3.Disclosure Addressees: 'Federal Institutions' 281
4.Publication on Request 281
Ⅲ.Sister States' Refusal of a Request: No Provision Under EPCRA 281
Ⅳ.No Sister States' Law Pre-Emption Under EPCRA: 42 USC 11041 (a) 282
Ⅴ.Trade Secrets and Other Intellectual Property: 40 Code of Federal Regulations 350 282
1.Legal Contours of Trade Secrets 283
a) Link with the Sister States' Concept of Confidentiality 286
b) Differences Between Non-Technological and Technological Trade Secrets 286
c) Prerequisites for the Presence of the Matter of Fact 287
aa) Use of Secret in a Trade or Business 287
bb) Extent to Which the Secret is Known 288
cc) Intra-Enterprise Maintenance of Secrecy 289
dd) Effect on the Relative Competitive Position 290
ee) Modification of the Trade Secrecy Concept for Toxics Releases 292
d) Decision Competence of the EPA 292
e) Absolute and Relative Protection of Confidentiality 293
f) Interim Result 294
2.Ownership of Trade Secrets and Other Intellectual Property 294
a) The Fifth Amendment of the US Constitution: The Takings Clause 294
aa) Introduction 295
bb) Is There a 'Taking'? 296
(1) Possessory Taking: Loretto 296
(2) Total Regulatory Taking: Lucas 297
(3) Investment-Backed Expectations Taking: Penn Central 297
(4) Land-Use Restriction Standards: Nollan and Dolan 298
cc) Is There 'Property'? 299
dd) Is the 'Taking' for 'Public Use'? 300
ee) Is 'Just Compensation' Paid? 300
b) Are Trade Secrets Property or Not'? 300
aa) The History of Proprietary Interests in Information 301
(1) The Property Right Bundle 301
(2) Intangibility and the Positive Externality Problem of Information 301
(3) Information as Property in the Context of Intellectual Property 302
bb) The Governmental 'Taking' of Environmental Data in Ruckelshaus v Monsanto Co 303
(1) The Facts of the Case 304
(2) Background of the Challenged Statute: The Three Phases of FIFRA 305
(3) The Supreme Court's Assessment of the Property Interest 306
c) Different Approaches Towards Trade Secrets: Selected Literary Reactions 309
aa) Samuelson 1989: Information as Property Mischaracterises the State of the Law 309
bb) Bone 1998: Trade Secrets Are Property; No Trade Secret Law is Needed 311
cc) Chiappetta 1999: Property Status of Trade Secrets Is Far from Settled 311
dd) Epstein 2004: Analogy to the Physical Taking Under the Takings Clause 312
ee) Risch 2007: An Alternate Categorisation into Collateral and Substantive Property 313
ff) Lemley 2008: Trade Secrets Are Intellectual Property 314
d) Protection of Patents and Copyrights 315
3.Positioning, Comment, and Interim Result 317
Ⅵ.Other Sister States' Grounds for Refusal to Disclose under EPCRA 319
1.Is There Whistle-Blower Protection Available Under EPCRA? 319
a) Introduction 319
b) Procedure for Complaint 320
c) Proof of Retaliation 321
d) Whistle-Blowers' Identity Protection 321
2.Other Grounds to Refuse Reporting of Environmental Information 322
3.Interim Result 322
Ⅶ.Pre-Emption of the Sister States' Refusal to Disclose Due to Environmental/Health Protection 323
1.Implausibility of Recognition of Federal Constitutional Protection of the Environment 323
2.Possibility of Protecting the Environment Through Fundamental Law 324
a) Introduction 325
b) International and Other National Constitutional Protection of the Environment 325
aa) Stockholm Declaration in 1972 325
bb) Rio Declaration in 1992 326
cc) Comparative Fundamental Law Approach for Protection of the Environment? 326
c) Sister States' Constitutional Protection of the Environment 328
aa) General Comments 328
bb) Pennsylvania's Experience with Constitutional Environmental Protection 328
(1) Limits: Government versus Private Party 328
(2) Potentials: Private Party versus Government 329
(3) Practical Concordance: Environmental Protection versus Takings Clause 330
3.US Policy on the Environment: 42 USC 4321, 4331, 4332 331
a) Introduction 332
b) Maintaining Environmental Quality: 42 USC 4321, 4331 (a) 333
aa) Preamble and Principle 333
bb) Positioning and Comment 334
c) Pursuit of Environmental Objectives: 42 USC 4331 (b) and (c) 334
aa) Preserving, Protecting and Improving the Quality of the Environment 334
bb) Protecting Human Health 335
d) Duties to Take Account of: 42 USC 4332 (1) and (2) (G), (A) and (B) 335
e) Legal Obligation and Integrating Aspects of 42 USC 4331, 4332 336
4.Case Law Rejecting a Federal Constitutional Right to a Healthy Environment 339
a) Environmental Defense Fund Inc v Corps of Engineers 339
b) Tanner v Armco Steel Corp 340
c) Stop H-3 Association v Dole 341
5.Interpreting the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments as 'Right to a Healthy Environment'? 342
a) The Doctrine of Substantive Due Process 343
aa) Lochner v New York 343
bb) Roe v Wade and Cruzan v Missouri Department of Health 344
cc) Washington v Glucksberg 345
b) Substantive Due Process in the Context of 'Right to a Healthy Environment' 345
aa) First Part of the Test: 'History, Legal Traditions, and Practices' of the Nation 346
bb) Second Part of the Test: 'Careful' Description of the Federal Constitutional Right 346
6.Pre-Emption of Trade Secrets 348
a) Different Outcome in Ruckelshaus Due to Constitutional Environmental Protection? 349
b) Pre-Emption of Information on Discharges into Air and Water 351
c) Pre-Emption of Information Provided to Health Professionals 351
Ⅷ.Interim Result 352
C.Role of the US Environmental Protection Agency and Enforcement Mechanisms 354
Ⅰ.Environmental Protection Agency in a Nutshell 354
1.Establishment 355
2.Tasks and Organisation 356
3.Legal Capacity and Assignment of Sovereign Regulatory Competence 357
Ⅱ.TRI Violations and Penalty Enforcement 358
1.Civil and Administrative Penalties for Violation of 42 USC 11023 358
2.Review and Penalties with Respect to 42 USC 11042 359
a) Petition for Review of Trade Secret Claims 359
b) Civil, Administrative and Criminal Penalties for Trade Secret Violation 361
3.Procedural Aspects of Penalty Enforcement 362
4.EPA's Enforcement Policy and Trends 363
Ⅲ.TRI Violations and Compliance Enforcement 364
1.Citizen Suits 365
a) Appraisal of Locus Standi in Citizen Suits for Environmental Matters 366
aa) Description of the Problem: Lujan and the Treatment of Citizen Suits 366
bb) Appraisal of the Supreme Court's Conclusions in Lujan 367
cc) Impact of Lujan 369
dd) Interim Result 370
b) Contextual Interpretation of Civil Actions Under 42 USC 11046 (a) (1) 370
aa) TRI Violations Enabling Citizen Suits 370
bb) Wholly Past EPCRA Violations in Federal District Courts 371
cc) Federal Appellate Courts Contradictions on Wholly Past EPCRA Violations 372
dd) Supreme Court Judgment in Steel and Its Contextual Appraisal 375
ee) Positioning, Comment, and Interim Result 376
2.Compliance Enforcement for Health Professionals and State Suits 380
3.Procedural Aspects of Compliance Enforcement 380
Ⅳ.Interim Result 381
D.Excursus: Requested Access to Information About Other Pollutants and Ancillary Information 382
Ⅰ.The First Amendment as 'Public's Right-to-Know'? 383
Ⅱ.Freedom of Information Act of 1966 384
1.Influence of Administration and Judicial Interpretation 385
2.The Latest Amendments of 2007 386
Ⅲ.Judgments of the US Federal Courts on the Rights of Access to Information 388
1.Contours of Access to Information of Federal Agencies 388
a) Scope of Agency Discretion to Disclose Information: Chrysler Corp v Brown 388
b) Judicial Control in Camera and the Vaughn Index: Vaughn v Rosen 390
2.Contours of Exemptions for Information Disclosure 391
a) National Security and Internal Government Deliberations: EPA v Mink 391
b) Law Enforcement Records: Frankel v Securities and Exchange Commission 393
c) Trade Secret and Confidentiality: Public Citizen Health Research Group v FDA 395
d) Personal Privacy: The Balancing Approach in Department of the Air Force v Rose 397
e) Well Data: Black Hills Alliance v United States Forest Service 399
f) Separable Portion of a Record: EPA v Mink 400
3.Remaining Deficits in Substantive and Procedural Law: Two Case Law Samples 400
a) Substantive Law: New York Public Interest Research Group v EPA 400
b) Procedural Law: Natural Resources Defense Council v US Department of Defense 402
4.Liability for Breach of Confidentiality: Chrysler Corp v Brown 403
Ⅳ.Interim Result 404
E.Conclusion of the Chapter 405
5 Dissemination and Utilisation of Environmental Information 409
A.Systemic Reshape Towards Mandatory Environmental Information Strategies 409
Ⅰ.Information Economics of Mandatory Environmental Information Strategies 410
1.Tackling Market Failure Due to Information Deficits: Enabling Intelligent Choices 411
2.Reducing Transaction Costs for Information Collection and Dissemination 413
Ⅱ.Overcoming the Environmental Information Capacity Shortage 414
B.Drivers for Pollutant Release Reduction 415
Ⅰ.Regulatory Monitoring and (Threat of) Legislative Adjustments 416
1.At Above-State Level 416
2.Floor at Federal/EU-Level Allows for Local Regulatory Adjustments 417
Ⅱ.Voluntary Change in the Behaviour of the Public Exclusive of Its Capacity as Polluter 417
1.Community Actions as 'Informal Regulation' 418
2.Economic Markets 419
a) Capital Markets 419
b) Labour Markets 420
c) Product Markets 421
d) Reputation Expenses and Brand Value 422
3.Judicial System 424
a) Tort Law Actions and Oversight Enforcement Actions against Competent Authorities 424
b) Direct and Indirect Citizen Enforcement Actions Against Polluter 424
Ⅲ.Voluntary Change in the Behaviour of the Polluter Exclusive of Its Capacity as Public 426
Ⅳ.Amendments or Reinterpretations of Constitutional Principles 428
C.Limitations of Mandatory Environmental Information Strategies and Instrument Assessment 428
Ⅰ.Two General Statements 429
1.The Narrow Scope and Potentially Misleading Volumes of E-PRTR and TRI 429
2.The Default of Unequal Results 430
Ⅱ.Concrete Instrument Assessment of E-PRTR and TRI 431
1.Effectiveness 431
2.Legal Conformity 432
3.Enforcement Feasibility 433
4.Cost-Effectiveness 434
5.Political Enforceability 435
6.Innovation Potential 436
7.Further Environmental-Specific Strategic Requirements 437
D.Conclusion of the Chapter 438
6 Summary 441
A.Preliminaries 441
B.Development of Pollution Reduction Instruments 442
C.Pollutant Release Inventories: E-PRTR and TRI 443
Ⅰ.Categorising Environmental Information Disclosure in the EU 444
Ⅱ.Categorising Environmental Information Disclosure in the US 445
Ⅲ.Common Deficits of E-PRTR and TRI 446
Ⅳ.Role Model Solutions for the Opposite Programme 448
Ⅴ.Requester-Driven Access to Environmental Information 448
D.Dissemination and Utilisation of Environmental Information 449
E.Outlook 449
Bibliography 451
Table of Cases 471
Legislation ＆ Documents 477