To the disappointment of enviros, the Clinton administration yesterday proposed regulations that would allow the U.S. EPA to post only a limited amount of information on the web about worst-case disaster scenarios involving toxic chemicals stored at facilities around the country. The EPA had initially intended to post all available information about possible toxic accidents, as required by the Freedom of Information Act, and enviros endorsed the plan as a way to make citizens aware of dangers in their communities. But last year, the FBI raised objections, fearing that posting the data on the Net could aid terrorists looking to wreak havoc, and Congress passed a law telling the administration to come up with an alternative plan. Public interest groups and some leading Democrats in the Senate say the new proposed regulations are too restrictive.
