Coal-Waste Impoundment Database Offers Journalists a Tool

July 1, 2009–A cooperative effort of federal and state agencies, coal companies, and environmental groups, the database lists coal-waste impoundments in West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, and Ohio.

Rockefeller Introduces Bill To Outlaw Bayer Chem-Secrecy Ruse

July 1, 2009–Rockefeller's bill keeps FOIA exemptions for real security information, but forbids using the "sensitive security information" stamp.

New Trails Are in 13 States

June 10, 2009–Twenty-two new National Recreational Trails, covering more than 525 miles, provide a good opportunity to cover outdoor recreation topics.

Toolbox: RMP*Comp Projects Chemical Disaster Scenarios

May 20, 2009–Use this free software tool, downloadable from EPA, to calculate how much injury a chemical spill could cause.

WV Reporter Uses FOIA To Probe Drilling Waste

May 20, 2009–Billy Wolfe, of the Clarksburg Exponent Telegram, learns more about the chemicals in the hydraulic fracturing fluid used by gas-drilling companies.

Congress Chiefs Want Probe into Secret Bayer Poison Gas

May 7, 2009–House Energy Chair Waxman and Senate Commerce Chair Rockefeller call for investigation of whether Bayer could use safer chemicals at its Institute WV plant.

After Secrecy Claims, Bayer's Own Lapses Revealed as Biggest Threat

April 22, 2009–A U.S. Chemical Safety Board public hearing, delayed for a month due to Bayer's pleas for secrecy, finds lack of safety to be contributing factors to the 'accident' that killed two at an Institute, WV, plant in August 2008.

CSB Reschedules W.VA. Meeting After Bayer Secrecy Demands

March 25, 2009–A public meeting regarding the U.S. Chemical Safety Board's investigation of the August 2008 explosion at Bayer CropScience which killed two workers, originally scheduled for March 19, was postponed to April 23, 2009.

Top 10 Endangered Southern Areas

January 21, 2009–The Southern Environmental Law Center's top 10 places in America's South that face "immediate, potentially irreparable threats in 2009" represent a cross-section of the major environmental issues facing these states.

Smithsonian Adopts FOIA-Like Policies

November 20, 2008–The Smithsonian Institution's Board of Regents held its first public meeting in 162 years November 17, 2008. This marks a move away from existing policies that have made the institution's meetings and records less open to public scrutiny than other federal entities.