Disasters

Maine Law Hid Threats to Public from Oil Trains

Maine passed a law in 2015 that allowed railroads to keep oil-train routing information from the public — over the governor's veto. In the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting's Pine Tree Watchdog, Dave Sherwood reports how the provision was a bait-and-switch.

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Failure to Disclose Lead Threats in Drinking Water: Widespread Problem

Bad as it is, the Flint drinking water disaster is hardly uncommon. Even though the law requires authorities to tell the public of dangerous levels of lead in drinking water, they often don't.

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"Maine Rail Cargo Secrecy Law Bypassed Public Access, Safety Defenses"

"After a runaway oil train killed 47 people in Lac-Megantic, Quebec, just miles from the Maine border in 2013, Mainers demanded to know more about the state’s railways."

"Snyder Ordered DEQ To Withhold Flint Lead Test Results, Emails Claim"

"Gov. Rick Snyder and other state officials allegedly withheld lead testing results from county health officials while they worked to find ways to present the information to the public, according to emails obtained by The Flint Journal."

Source: Flint Journal, 02/11/2016

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