EPA Proposes Fuel Efficiency Standards for Heavy Trucks, Buses

November 10, 2010–The standards, now in a 60-day comment period, cover three types of heavy trucks but would not apply to vehicles built before the 2014 model year.

As TRI Goes Electronic, Speed Records Fall

November 3, 2010–The new record for getting raw data reported by industry to the general public: 28 days. Nearly 95 percent of reporting companies filed their reports electronically.

Cool Tools for Reporters Showcased at 2010 TRI Meeting

November 3, 2010–The WatchDog attended EPA's annual training conference for government workers on the Toxics Release Inventory, Nov. 1-3, 2010. See a preview of the showcased offerings, which have extra emphasis on environmental justice and EPA data tools ranging far beyond TRI. 

Envirofacts Warehouse Gets Geographic Makeover, Update

November 3, 2010–This newly powerful, easy-to-use mapping tool can help environmental journalists find and report great local and regional stories.

EPA Gives Public an Environmental Justice Mapping Tool: EJView

November 3, 2010–This new tool allows any user online to create custom study areas based on a wide range of variables: address, ZIP code, county, city, township, facility, watershed, or geographic coordinates. Other environmental data can then be mapped onto that study area.

Got TMDLs? Sneak Peek of New Pollutant Loading Tool Could Raise Ruckus

November 3, 2010–EPA in-house tool may be released to public within months. It will give reporters themselves the ability to estimate the cumulative impacts of pollution on water bodies.

MY-RTK Lets Users Probe Toxic Emissions from Their Smartphones

November 3, 2010–myRTK lets you thumb in an address or ZIP code and get back a map or list of Toxics Release Inventory facilities on your feature phone or smart phone.

TRI Offers New "Comparative Query" Tool

November 3, 2010–The beta tool allows anyone to compare TRI information from a facility to air pollution data from the same facility or a related one. For example, an investigator could find inconsistencies in the amount of pollution reported by a facility under the two separate laws.

25,000 Abandoned Mines Are Just the Beginning

October 27, 2010–The BLM is documenting where the mines are, and ramping up efforts to mitigate threats from them, such as water contamination, traps for people and animals, and deteriorating old explosives lurking in some dark corners.

New Ozone Standards Could Have Big Impact

October 27, 2010–If EPA's health-based primary standard is reduced from its current level of 75 parts per billion to 60 ppb, which is the low end of what the agency's science advisors have recommended, about 67% of the US population would live in monitored counties that would be out of compliance.