Public information- information provided to the general public by federal, state or local government on a range of issues- can be a vital resource for nonprofit organizations. This information is used by many groups to prepare testimony, educate the public, build grassroots support for a cause, and lobby for policy change. Two groups who rely on this resource to further their cause comment on the successes they have had and the challenges they face as they continue to mine the government for information.

Rubbertown Emergency Action (REACT)

Eboni Cochrane, is a spokesperson for Rubbertown Emergency Action (REACT), a campaign of Kentucky residents pushing to stop toxic air pollution coming from ten chemical plants located in the Rubbertown area of Louisville. In June of 2005, these area residents won an important victory in the battle against toxic air. After years of debate between industry representatives, city officials, and local action groups such as REACT, the Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control District passed the Strategic Toxic Air Reduction (STAR) program, a far-ranging plan which sets standards for industrial emissions that are more stringent than state or federal standards. This victory demonstrates the potential of using government information to empower citizen groups.

Despite repeated denials by the plants operating in Rubbertown, REACT compiled shocking data from Environmental Protection Agency's Toxic Release Inventory (TRI). TRI is a publicly available EPA database that contains information on toxic chemical releases and other waste management activities reported annually by certain covered industry groups as well as federal facilities. It was established under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act of 1986 (EPCRA) and expanded by the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990. By just plugging in a zip code, visitors to the TRI site can obtain a list of all area facilities required to report and information on the number of pounds of toxic chemicals they release, whether they are intended or accidental.

Resident activists also relied on EPA air monitors which were placed throughout Louisville to provide readings on the presence of 18 different air pollutants in different locations. As Cochrane points out, the information obtained from these air monitors is particularly compelling as it gives a snapshot of the danger posed to specific neighborhoods, making the issue more personal for residents. According to REACT member Tim Duncan, "Without the air monitoring, and citizen access to that data, industries could have kept saying there is not a problem, and we would not have been able to push the city to deal with the industrial sources of our air pollution problems."

REACT bolstered the EPA facts and figures with information obtained from the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, which offers a fact sheet on the adverse health effects of different toxic chemicals. REACT members used this information to write letters, make phone calls, canvass neighborhoods, and reach out to other organizations and cities to solicit help. According to Cochrane, this combination of data also proved particularly invaluable in preparing testimony for public hearings and in speaking with the Metro Council in Louisville. "We were there at every stakeholders meeting ever" she said.

The Illinois Sierra Club

Joyce Blumenshine, the conservation chair for the Illinois Sierra Club, a statewide organization committed to protect the environment, has a local chapter, the Heart of Illinois Group Sierra Club that also relies on TRI data. Along with many other volunteers and organizations, the local Heart of Illinois Group Sierra Club is campaigning to block a permit expansion and continuation request by the Peoria Disposal Company's (PDC) Hazardous Waste Landfill in Peoria, Illinois. Blumenshine and others are using the TRI to gather information regarding what is going into the site and what type of emissions are released. In addition, the EPA's Enforcement and Compliance History Online (ECHO) provides pertinent information regarding facilities and whether or not compliance inspections have been conducted, whether there has been a detection of violations, and if enforcement actions were taken. She has also used ECHO to collect information on the demographic profile of a certain area.

This information is vital to their efforts to educate the public, as well as county board members who will ultimately be deciding on the permit request. Armed with fact sheets, charts and leaflets made from information collected from the TRI, the group joined forces with neighborhood associations and churches to conduct outreach to communities within a three square mile radius of the site. Many residents did not know about the waste site or its planned expansion, so Blumenshine feels that educating local residents about the chemicals they are exposed to is an effective way to stimulate grassroots advocacy efforts. Many activists have since written letters to the editors of local papers, and the local Sierra Club newsletter has featured several articles updating the public on the status of the campaign. Blumenshine and others are planning to further increase media and public attention- possibly through a march or vigil- as the date of the County Board Meeting approaches.

Issues and Challenges

Both Cochrane and Blumenshine report that while the EPA website is helpful and easy to use, it is somewhat out of date: the most recent TRI on the EPA website is from 2003. In addition, Cochrane points out that because the data is self reported by the facilities, under-reporting is most likely an issue.

As consumers of public information, citizens and organizations may also find themselves facing the more general challenge of access. Pertinent information is not always available to the public, and some groups worry that they will be cut off from sources of information they currently rely on to drive informational campaigns and advocacy efforts. For example, through recently proposed modifications in TRI reporting, the EPA seeks to eliminate every other year of TRI data by switching from annual reporting to biennial, and to allow companies to pollute ten times as much (raising thresholds from 500 to 5,000 lbs.) before requiring them to report the details on quantity and media.

Yet despite these challenges, a growing number of organizations are taking advantage of diverse sources of public information to inform and empower their communities. With increased use and demand for public information, nonprofit organizations can continue to ignite advocacy efforts and strengthen the case for greater access.