TGSP Historic Timeline

Congress passes the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA) which included the landmark Section 313-the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act. Section 313 requires the U.S Environmental Protection Agency to publish an annual Toxics Release Inventory (TRI), listing regulated chemical releases for every state and major industry in the country.

First TRI  list published-Tennessee was ranked #2 containing national emissions data from 1987. Tennessee ranks second in the country (after Texas) in pounds of TRI chemicals released.

   Tennessee continues to rank among the top three states in volume of TRI emissions.

• TDEC creates the Division of Pollution Prevention and Environmental Awareness.
• TDEC announces the “Toxics 2000 Initiative” (soon renamed to the Tennessee 2000 Initiative), a collaborative effort to reduce Tennessee’s toxic releases “significantly” by the year 2000.
• The top thirteen industrial dischargers in the state (based on 1991 TRI data) form a coalition to address Tennessee’s toxic emissions. In December, they begin meeting with TDEC as an industrial subcommittee of the Tennessee 2000 Initiative.

• The Tennessee 2000 Initiative industrial subcommittee announces corporate challenge to reduce TRI emissions by 50% by 2000.
• Subcommittee of environmental organizations, higher education, and public interest groups formed.
• The Tennessee 2000 Initiative begins hosting a series of regional Pollution Prevention Conferences across the state.

TRI shows Tennessee exceeds goal of 50% reduction of total TRI emissions.

The Tennessee 2000 Initiative changes its name to the Tennessee Pollution Prevention Roundtable. The members revise their original mission and vision statements to reflect this new name and new direction. The Roundtable continues to be administered by the Department of Environment and Conservation, under its new Division of Community Assistance.

The Tennessee Pollution Prevention Roundtable changes its name to the Tennessee Pollution Prevention Partnership (TP3).

The program was re-established as the Tennessee Green Star Partnership through funds provided by an EPA grant program.

Currently there are 60 members throughout Tennessee that represent a broad range of industrial clusters.