INDUSTRY PLANS TO LOBBY EPA, CANDIDATES TO CONTINUE CHAMP PROGRAM

A chemical industry trade group is launching a lobbying push for the final 100 days of the Bush administration to pressure EPA to complete and implement stalled reforms for the agency's chemical management program, known as the Chemical Assessment and Management Program (CHAMP), so that it will survive into the next administration. Officials from the Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturers Association (SOCMA), a trade group that works with companies producing smaller batches of specialty chemicals, are meeting with EPA officials to...