Watchdog Says Obama Not Protecting Whistleblower Scientists

June 15, 2011–New documents, released only after a lawsuit, to Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility show the White House is telling agencies they can stick with existing practices when it comes to political interference with science — and do just about anything they want.

With 800k Facilities, EPA's ECHO Database Holds News for Your Town

June 15, 2011–It's a convenient way to access inspection, violation, and enforcement information under the Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, and hazardous waste laws. It's more visual than ever, and includes map interfaces and reports that help you tell your readers and viewers how pollution affects their locality.

Budget Cuts Will Mean Scrapping Open-Government Sites

June 1, 2011–Washington Post reporter Ed O'Keefe reports that White House negotiators from both parties substantially slashed the Electronic Government Fund which "helps finance government sites that track federal data, government contracting, government information technology and overall performance."

For FOIA-Phobic: MuckRock Will File It for You

June 1, 2011–If you find using the Freedom of Information Act daunting, try this open government tool conceived by journalist Michael Morisy and start-up guru Mitchell Kotler. It will embargo a journalist's request before story publication.  

House OKs Secret Contributions from Govt Contractors

June 1, 2011–The vote came on an amendment by Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK) to the defense authorization bill, in response to a draft executive order from President Obama that would require federal contractors to disclose their campaign contributions. The matter remains unresolved.

Cool But Unsung EPA Databases Can Help Environmental Reporters

May 18, 2011–There has been a data renaissance going on at EPA for the past two years, and not all reporters have gotten the news that data-driven reporting has become a time-saver instead of a time-suck.

EPA Suspends Chemical Reporting After Industry Complaints

May 18, 2011–Reporting of potentially toxic chemicals in commerce under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)will not be required during the next reporting period, which runs from June through September.

Court Rejects 'National Security' Claim on Secret Trade Docs

May 4, 2011–The Trade Representative had denied a Freedom of Information Act request by the Center for International Environmental Law for documents related to the Chile-US Free Trade Agreement. It claimed some documents should remain secret on the grounds of "national security."

Energy Markets Partly Blinded by EIA Budget Cuts

May 4, 2011–In response to deep cuts in its budget, EIA announced that it would not be able to compile and publish products like its ongoing estimates of US oil reserves. In fact, EIA will not even be able to continue its investigation of whether speculators are driving up oil prices.

Gumshoes Can Use Bankers' Tool for EPA Info on Properties

May 4, 2011–The "MyPropertyInfo" online tool will search multiple EPA databases for any information related to a specific street address. Or it will search for all records on a given street in a given ZIP code.