BLM Tweaks Onshore Oil and Gas Leasing Policies

June 9, 2010–The changes affect only new drilling areas and may include greater consideration of environmental impacts, more public review, fewer "categorical exclusions" from environmental review, and more.

EPA's Hush-Hush Ground Rules Rile Reporters

May 5, 2010–The EPA press office continues to ask reporters not to name top EPA officials who participate in news teleconferences and brief journalists. The latest incident, remarked on by InvestigateWest's Robert McClure, was a May 4 briefing on EPA's proposed delay in issuing its coal-ash rule.

NOAA Is Soliciting Public Comment on Aquaculture Policy

April 14, 2010–Six public listening sessions in April and May will provide input for the agency's draft national policy on marine aquaculture products.

1 in 7 Wildlife Refuges Has Genetically Engineered Crops

March 17, 2010–Three organizations file a lawsuit against the USFWS, a new study finds three strains of GE maize likely damaged organs of rats that ate the foods for just three months, pesticide use associated with GE crops may actually be greater than for traditional crops, and GE seed prices skyrocket.

White House May Urge Greater NEPA Transparency

March 10, 2010–New NEPA policies proposed in February by the Council on Environmental Quality cover climate impacts; findings of no impact and requirements for monitoring; categorical exclusions; and better tools for reporting to the public on NEPA activities.

Catch Share: Fisheries Management Policy Controversy Heats Up

February 17, 2010–NOAA's proposal to apply quotas to individual fishing operations, rather than across an entire fishery, lands support from environmental groups, draws opposition from many US fishing operations.

Natural Gas Case Sparks Change in Air Pollution Assessments

November 11, 2009–Dogging the resulting developments of a new EPA policy could lead to many stories that focus on both the specific cases and the underlying principle of cumulative assessments of pollutants.

Health Care Journalists Seek End to Press Office Restrictions at FDA

November 4, 2009–The Association of Health Care Journalists and other journalism groups have co-signed a letter to the Food and Drug Administration's Transparency Task Force, calling for FDA to "end these harmful practices and restore the free flow of information."

Government Clinical Trials Database Is Missing Data

September 9, 2009–The Sunlight Foundation's Real Time Investigations blog explains the problems with a registry containing information on more than 78,000 clinical trials.

EPA's Jackson Calls for More Transparency on Water Quality, Enforcement

July 15, 2009–Jackson ordered staff to make existing information more accessible and understandable to the public, including posting on the Web state performance reports under the Clean Water Act.