Dear Representatives Barton, Dingell, Gillmor and Solis:

On behalf of the Alliance for the Responsible Use of Chlorine Chemistry (ARCC), an alliance of major American unions and companies concerned with jobs and investments in the chlorine chemical industries, we wish to express our continued support for Congress's efforts to implement the Stockholm Convention and Long Range Toxic Air Pollutants (LRTAPs) Treaties covering Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs). The U.S. needs a bipartisan agreement to ratify these treaties so it can participate directly in forthcoming treaty implementation decisions that may impact U.S. businesses, workers and markets.

As we communicated in ARCC letters to the Senate, House, and the Department of State (Feb. 10, 2000; Sept. 22, 2000; May 24, 2001; Sept. 23, 2003; and July 13, 2004), ARCC's support of the POPs Treaties is based on three goals: consideration of the legitimate interests of America's workers and companies; identification and adoption of global environment protections; and the promotion of economic growth for both developed and developing nations.

To implement the POPs Treaties and protect legitimate U.S. interests, ARCC believes:

1. The U.S. needs an agreed mechanism for exercising its right to use the "opt-in" provision outlined in the Treaties. This is essential to preserve U.S. sovereignty and ensure that any changes to the Convention are consistent with U.S. law and U.S. interests. Without the procedural safeguard of the "opt-in" - fundamental to the U.S. system of checks and balances - the U.S. could be obligated to take action domestically that it does not support. Both Democratic and Republican Administrations, as well as all major interest groups, support the U.S. use of the "opt-in" provision.

2. In this regard, when determining whether domestic action is appropriate for a chemical that has been added to the Treaties, the U.S. should make an explicit domestic determination based on clear criteria. Clearly, in some cases, a substance proposed for addition to the Treaties may be non-controversial with regard to the need for further domestic regulatory action. However, the U.S. should not be forced to take such action if it is not warranted to achieve the goal. For example, if the U.S. has already regulated the substance being proposed, new additional U.S. regulation may not be necessary. In addition, the U.S. might support a different method to regulate a proposed substance than the method supported by some others at the global level. Further, a clear domestic determination is needed to assist the U.S. in determining what, if any, domestic exemptions or permitted uses might be needed for a substance.

U.S. ratification and implementation of the POPs Treaties is supported by most U.S. industries, environmental groups and scientific organizations. The ARCC urges you to support ratification and implementation, taking into account the above considerations.

Sincerely,

H. James Byers
Executive Director

CC: Members of the Energy and Commerce Committee