Policy

March 24, 2015

Implications of EPA's Coal Ash Rule on Regulated Entities and the Environment

On December 19, 2014, EPA’s Administrator signed the first ever federal rule regulating the disposal of coal ash, determining it should be regulated as a solid waste. The Environmental Law Institute invites you to Washington, DC (or via teleconference) for an in-depth examination of the final coal ash rule. Panelists will explain the rule’s workings and answer questions.

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‘Anti-Petroleum’ Movement a Growing Security Threat To Canada: Mounties

"The RCMP has labelled the 'anti-petroleum' movement as a growing and violent threat to Canada’s security, raising fears among environmentalists that they face increased surveillance, and possibly worse, under the Harper government’s new terrorism legislation."

Source: Toronto Globe & Mail, 02/19/2015

Local Authority Slaps Permits, Fees on Photography in Parks

Professional photojournalists may again be facing unconstitutional requirements for permits to work in public parks — this time at the county level in a well-heeled District of Columbia suburb. But Virginia's Fairfax County Park Authority is encountering pushback as they conduct an annual review of their fee policies at various park units.

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Free Speech for Science Advisors? EPA Loosens the Leash

EPA has issued a "clarification" of its SAB scientist-muzzling policy, which acknowledges that SAB members are free to talk to reporters — mostly — as long as they are speaking for themselves. Still, the Society of Professional Journalists wrote EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy December 1 declaring their dissatisfaction with the clarification.

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J-Groups Call on Forest Service To Drop Permit Requirements

A coalition of journalism groups, including SEJ, is calling on the U.S. Forest Service to make clear in its directives that journalists, documentarians, and media photographers do not need permits to take pictures in National Forest Wilderness or other public lands.

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November 20, 2014

USFS Discussion Forum on Proposed Filming/Photography Directive

Following on the heels of a similar event in DC on Nov 18th, the U.S. Forest Service has arranged a second "open house" Thursday, Nov. 20 about its proposed directive on commercial filming and photography in federal wilderness areas that it manages. The session will be held at Oregon Public Broadcasting in Portland, OR, 5:00-7:00 p.m.

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Chief Tidwell Directs Forest Service: No Permits, Fees for Journos

"News coverage on [National Forest System] lands is protected by the Constitution," wrote U.S. Forest Service Chief Thomas L. Tidwell in a November 4, 2014, memo to agency leaders, "and it is our responsibility to safeguard this right on the lands we manage for all Americans. Journalists provide a critical public service, and this agency will ensure their access in the pursuit of that public service."

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October 24, 2014

EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy To Speak at Georgetown University

The McCourt School of Public Policy invites you to attend the 2014 LEAD Conference, The Power of Opinion: How Americans' Preferences on Energy Point a Way Forward on Climate Change on October, 24, 2014. The Honorable Gina McCarthy, current Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, will keynote the event.

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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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Report Lists State Open Data Policies and Portals

The federal government offers a launch pad for a range of journalistic projects, giving you one-click shopping for online state data portals where they exist. These portals bring together links to data from multiple agencies in a single state. Now, the nonprofit Center for Data Innovation has catalogued and rated state open-data policies.

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