"What Is Idaho Wilderness in a Changing World?"
"The future will require tough trade-offs over protecting species, wildness and the way humans experience the backcountry"
Source: Idaho Statesman, 09/03/2014
Laws & Regulations
Halliburton to Pay $1.1 Billion to Settle Damages in Gulf Oil Spill
"Halliburton, the company contracted by BP to cement the ill-fated Macondo oil well in the Gulf of Mexico, has reached a $1.1 billion settlement with thousands of businesses, individuals and local governments that suffered losses from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion, the company and plaintiffs announced on Tuesday."
Source: NY Times, 09/03/2014
"$1.4 Billion Penalty Urged for PG&E in San Bruno Blast"
"Pacific Gas and Electric Co. must pay a record $1.4 billion in fines and other penalties for more than 3,700 violations of pipeline safety laws leading up to the deadly San Bruno natural-gas explosion, two administrative law judges said Tuesday."
Source: San Francisco Chronicle, 09/03/2014
"Obama To Nominate New Energy Regulator"
"President Obama said Thursday that he would nominate Colette Honorable to fill the vacant seat in the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission."
Source: The Hill, 09/01/2014
Calif. Overhauls 'Pump-As-You-Please' Groundwater Rules Amid Drought
"SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The worst drought in a generation has pushed California lawmakers to overhaul the state's longstanding "pump-as-you-please" groundwater policy under a package of bills lawmakers sent Friday to Gov. Jerry Brown."
Source: AP, 09/01/2014
"EPA Blasts ‘Myths’ on Water Jurisdiction Rule"
"The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) hit back Thursday after a top Republican accused it of trying to take over large pieces of private land and water."
Source: The Hill, 08/29/2014
"Supreme Court: Big Wins Elusive for EPA in Clean Water Act Showdowns"
"For U.S. EPA at the Supreme Court, it's been the best of times -- and the worst.
Source: Greenwire, 08/28/2014
"Food Producers to Offer Data on Chemical Additives"
""Big food producers are moving to try to head off criticism of how they use additives, with a main industry group saying it plans to give more information to regulators about how companies determine the safety of the thousands of chemicals and other ingredients in processed foods."
Source: Wall St. Journal, 08/28/2014
Congress Doesn't Want You To Read These Reports
More evidence of Congress' ineffectiveness comes in its ongoing failure to keep its secrets actually secret. Its official policy is to keep the Congressional Research Service from publicly releasing the handy explainers it produces at taxpayer expense. Thanks again to the Federation of American Scientists' Government Secrecy Project for unauthorized publication of these reports.
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Shouldn't "Trade Secrets" Face a Sunset in Interests of Public Health?
One of the oldest tricks U.S. industry has used to hide the potential harm to public health done by chemicals it puts into the environment is to claim that their identities are trade secrets via a loophole established under the antiquated Toxic Substance Control Act of 1976. On August 21st, a coalition of groups petitioned EPA for toxic trade secrets to have an expiration date.
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