I. Introduction

Since 1970, "command-and-control" has been the predominate form of regulation used to implement environmental protection policy in the United States.¹ This regulatory model is credited with significant successes in achieving improved environmental performance by industry during this period.² Nonetheless, many environmental stakeholders believe that traditional regulatory approaches have reached a point of significantly diminishing returns. For significant additional progress in environmental protection to be obtained, traditional approaches should be reexamined and new approaches considered.³ Thus, substantial public and private sector effort and resources have been invested over the past several years in developing alternative policy tools to supplement or, where appropriate, replace traditional regulation.⁴ The goal is to seek more flexible and effective methods of obtaining greater environmental protection at lower cost to government and the regulated community alike.⁵

During this period, information disclosure has emerged as a key component ofstrategies to promote more effective, less costly alternatives to command-and-control regulation. A number of consensus-building forums, expert panels, and policy reports argue that public distribution of information can serve as an effective policy tool for driving improvements in environmental performance.⁶ Indeed, in recent [31 ELR 10774] years, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has established expanded public environmental information disclosure as one of 10 strategic, long-term goals in furtherance of the Agency's mission to protect human health and the environment.⁷