Publication Items

NICAR To Publish Long-Suppressed National Inventory of Dams [1]

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has for years suppressed full disclosure of the National Inventory of Dams, once a key tool for journalists reporting on dam safety — or the government's failure to ensure it. Now that tool is back in the toolbox ... mostly.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Disasters [3]
Government [4]
People & Population [5]
Water & Oceans [6]
Region:
National (U.S.) [7]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about NICAR To Publish Long-Suppressed National Inventory of Dams [1]
Was EPA Forthcoming with Mine Spill Water Data? Depends Whom You Ask [9]

Access to water quality data was an issue at one highly politicized House hearing on the August 5, 2015, toxic spill from a long-abandoned mine near Silverton, Colorado, where New Mexico Secretary of Environment Ryan Flynn accused EPA of refusing for weeks to share data on the quality of waters fouled by the spill.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Disasters [3]
Environmental Politics [10]
Government [4]
Pollution [11]
Region:
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [12]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [13]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about Was EPA Forthcoming with Mine Spill Water Data? Depends Whom You Ask [9]
Settlement Sets Disclosure on Decade-old Gulf Oil Leak [14]

You'd think there shouldn't be such a thing as a secret oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Earlier this year, the Associated Press uncovered an offshore well in the Gulf that had been leaking for a decade. Now — thanks to a lawsuit from environmentalists — the details will be revealed.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Disasters [3]
Energy & Fuel [15]
Environmental Politics [10]
Fish & Fisheries [16]
Pollution [11]
Water & Oceans [6]
Region:
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [17]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about Settlement Sets Disclosure on Decade-old Gulf Oil Leak [14]
CAMEO Still Making Appearance as First Responders Face Hazmats [18]

CAMEO is a free and publicly available suite of applications useful to reporters. Developed by the U.S. EPA and NOAA, it includes information about the hazards of various chemicals, as well as map overlays that may show how close a spill site is to the nearest facility of interest, such as a nursery school or retirement home.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Disasters [3]
Technology [19]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about CAMEO Still Making Appearance as First Responders Face Hazmats [18]
State Judge Orders Disclosure of Maryland Oil Train Data [20]

A Maryland state judge this month ordered a state agency to give news media routing information about oil trains within Maryland — adding momentum to efforts to warn firefighters and communities about dangers they face. Photo: 2013 Lac Megantic, Quebec, disaster, by Elias Schewel/Flickr. [21]

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Disasters [3]
Energy & Fuel [15]
People & Population [5]
Transportation [22]
Region:
National (U.S.) [7]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [23]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about State Judge Orders Disclosure of Maryland Oil Train Data [20]
"Island on Fire: The Extraordinary Story of a Forgotten Volcano That Changed the World" [24]

SEJ Publication Types:
BookShelf [25]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [26]
Disasters [3]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about "Island on Fire: The Extraordinary Story of a Forgotten Volcano That Changed the World" [24]
Men in Trees in Indie Films [27]

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [28]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [29]
Disasters [3]
Energy & Fuel [15]
Forests [30]
Journalism & Media [31]
Natural Resources [32]
Nuclear Power & Radiation [33]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about Men in Trees in Indie Films [27]
Railroads Still Don't Want Public To Know Oil Train Danger [34]

If you want to know whether an oil train is going by your community, just go down to the railroad tracks and watch for it. But don't ask the railroad or the state. In many cases, they don't think you can be trusted with this secret.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Disasters [3]
Energy & Fuel [15]
People & Population [5]
Transportation [22]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about Railroads Still Don't Want Public To Know Oil Train Danger [34]
EPA Crisis Communications Plan: Accurate, Timely, Approved Information [35]

EPA's Plan, approved back on January 15, 2009, mandates giving "understandable, timely, accurate, and consistent information to the public." The plan laudably emphasizes coordination with other agencies — but it also leads to strong message control.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Disasters [3]
Environmental Politics [10]
Government [4]
Journalism & Media [31]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about EPA Crisis Communications Plan: Accurate, Timely, Approved Information [35]
SEJ Urges Agency Openness During National Spill Crises [36]

At the Spills of National Significance (SONS) Draft Communications Strategy forum on June 8, and in a June 30 letter, SEJ urged SONS communicators to release data fully and promptly, to acknowledge uncertainties and gaps, and to give journalists good access to officials, experts and places.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [37]
Disasters [3]
Environmental Politics [10]
Pollution [11]
Water & Oceans [6]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about SEJ Urges Agency Openness During National Spill Crises [36]

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