Regarding Section 202: It seemed a bit alarmist, so I looked at the document you provided, The_Dunedan. It's not quite so black and white. It says that worst case scenarios will, in regards to the public, only be accessible to those in the region which the worst case scenario affects, and only in "read-only" methods (I have no idea what this implies). In other words, things aren't completely secret.
However, one could foresee a corporation doing massive polluting around a small community in Alaska, and only those people would be allowed to know about it. That is pretty bad news still.
Another point: Why is this in the DSEA anyway? Well apparently terrorists could get a hold of this vital "worst case scenario" information and use it to set up a disaster.
The actual content follows (from page 14):
Quote:
...the Clean Air Act...requires private companies that use potentially dangerous chemicals to submit to the Environmental Protection Agency a "worst case scenario" report detailing what would be the impact on the surrounding community of release of specified chemicals. Such reports are a roadmap for terrorists, who could use the information to plan attacks on the facilities.
This provision would revise...the Clean Air Act to better manage access to information contained in "worst case scenario" reports. This revised section would continue to allow such information to be shared with federal and state officials who are responsible for preventing or responding to accidental or criminal releases. However, the revised section will require that public access be limited to "read-only" methods, and only to those persons who live or work in the geographical area likely to be affected by a worst-case release from a facility.
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