WatchDog TipSheet

Reporters looking for help in penetrating the labyrinth of federal information have a new ally: librarians.

Two House Science subcommittees are investigating allegations that the Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease Registry (ATSDR) suppressed information on harmful levels of formaldehyde in FEMA trailers given out after Hurricane Katrina.

The latest fad on SEJ's members-only listserve is "FOIA Friday."

The idea was to set up an independent ombudsman's office to mediate time-consuming disputes over what documents the feds would release in response to Freedom of Information Act requests.

Two conservation groups are suing the Interior Department to get hidden documents they say could show the sale would harm polar bears and other marine mammals.

Suppose there were a catastrophe and you needed information fast. Would you call FEMA?

Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell (D) overruled a ban by the state's Department of Agriculture on the labelling of milk as "hormone free."

Two House subcommittees are investigating charges that federal agencies censored scientific information about the health risks posed by FEMA trailers to people living in them.

Reporters starved for environmental information and desperate for local story ideas, rejoice. Well, at least don't look so glum. EPA has thrown you a bone or two with its newly redesigned web site.

The Smithsonian Institution, a federal agency with many environment-related research and public education activities, opposes a Congressional move that would subject it to the same open-records law that applies to other executive branch agencies.