In the name of reducing the reporting burden placed on industry, the Environmental Protection Agency is considering a rule change that could significantly handicap Maine’s efforts to track and regulate toxic materials.

The proposed rule change, which currently is in the comment period, would also choke off the public’s access to information about the hazardous materials within their communities.

Maine’s Department of Environmental Protection is correct in opposing the change.

In a letter from acting Commissioner David Littell to the EPA, Maine asks the EPA to reconsider rolling back the requirements.

If enacted, the change would cut by 70 percent the amount of data available to the state and would increase the threshold for reporting from the current 500 pounds of dangerous chemicals released to 5,000 pounds. Most businesses in Maine, thankfully, don’t approach the 5,000 pounds.

The DEP rightly maintains that 500 pounds of toxic chemicals is significant and justifies scrutiny. Without the data that would be lost if the EPA moves forward, the state loses its ability to monitor toxic releases.

According to the DEP, more than 650 chemicals must now be tracked. In 2001, 86 of them were released in Maine. The chemicals are included because they have the potential to create acute public health risks and cause chronic health problems, including cancer, neurological disorders and reproductive dysfunction.

In the letter, Littell offers an alternative that could ease reporting requirements but not hamper the public’s right to know or the state’s regulatory efforts. He suggests using improved information technology and eliminating data that’s less important for protecting public health. Both sound like good ideas.

Instead of curtailing its requirements, the EPA should be looking for ways to increase the amount of useful information collected on the release of dangerous substances. The mission should be to protect public health and the environment, not make it easier for polluters to avoid regulation.