Searchable archives of the biweekly WatchDog TipSheet's story ideas, articles, updates, events and other information with a focus on freedom-of-information issues of concern to environmental journalists in both the U.S. and Canada are posted here on the day of publication. Includes a database of State FOI Resources and Actions. Journalists are eligible for a free email subscription; send name and full contact information to the SEJ office. WatchDog TipSheet is also available via RSS feed. 
Latest WatchDog TipSheet Items
July 1, 2009
07/01/2009 – Proposed legislation would repeal a provision allowing secrecy over chemicals injected underground during high-tech gas drilling — such as benzene and toluene, which are known to be toxic.Bills Seek Disclosure of "Fracking" Chemicals That May Threaten Drinking Wells
07/01/2009 – 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.Coal-Waste Impoundment Database Offers Journalists a Tool
07/01/2009 – FOIA requests and Congressional pressure got the Obama administration to reverse its decision to withhold key information about dangers to communities from coal-ash ponds operated by electric utilities.EPA Relents, Releases List of 44 High-Hazard Coal-Ash Ponds
07/01/2009 – This case may make it illegal for journalists to cover animal cruelty cases like the Michael Vicks dogfighting prosecution — or even to shoot investigative video of out-of-season fishing.High Court To Rule on Whether "Animal Cruelty" Is Exempt From 1st Amendment
07/01/2009 – Rockefeller's bill keeps FOIA exemptions for real security information, but forbids using the "sensitive security information" stamp.Rockefeller Introduces Bill To Outlaw Bayer Chem-Secrecy RuseJune 17, 2009
06/17/2009 – US EPA and Army Corps of Engineers say they "cannot make the list of 'high hazard' coal ash impoundment sites public," even though risk to communities exists -- like the December 2008 pond failure at the Kingston Fossil Plant in Tennessee.Two Agencies Hide Neglect of Coal-Dam Safety with SecrecyJune 3, 2009
06/03/2009 – New evidence indicates the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry fails to protect communities from dangers such as the now-disappearing plumes of toxic groundwater carrying cancer-causing chemicals far beyond the Kelly Air Force Base near San Antonio, TX."Crime Scene Cleanup" in Kelly AFB Toxics Case
06/03/2009 – NYT: "The goal is to open up a system in which the agency failed to inform the public that a widely prescribed heartburn drug was especially toxic to babies; that a diabetes medicine and a painkiller increased heart attack risks; and that antidepressants increased suicidal thoughts and behavior in children and teenagers."FDA Mulls Putting Public's Health Above Companies' Trade Secrets
06/03/2009 – The Government Printing Office web site apparently took down the publication after discovery of the mistake -- but the entire report is still available on the site of the Federation of American Scientists' Project on Government Secrecy.List of Nuclear Sites Released in Flub
06/03/2009 – The Obama EPA partially reverses a Bush-era procedure for setting health-based standards under the Clean Air Act.New EPA Procedure Improves Transparency on Air Standards