Publication Items

Did Halliburton Buy Baker Hughes Silence on Fracking Chemicals? [1]

It seemed like good news when Baker Hughes, one of the world's largest oilfield services companies, announced in Oct 2014 that it would start disclosing all the chemicals it used in its fracking operation. Now Halliburton, an even larger oilfield services company, is buying Baker Hughes. In a $34.6 billion merger. Or is it a hostile takeover?

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Economy & Business [3]
Energy & Fuel [4]
Environmental Politics [5]
Pollution [6]
Water & Oceans [7]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about Did Halliburton Buy Baker Hughes Silence on Fracking Chemicals? [1]
Washington Cities Map Crude-By-Rail Routes. Other States? [9]

Here's an idea: let people know where 100-car trainloads of crude oil might be threatening their safety. After the July 2013 Lac-Mégantic disaster that killed 47, people might want to know about this. And the Federal Railroad Administration officially agrees — saying railroads can't hide this information. Now the Association of Washington Cities has an online map for that.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Disasters [10]
Energy & Fuel [4]
Transportation [11]
Region:
Northwest (OR WA) [12]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about Washington Cities Map Crude-By-Rail Routes. Other States? [9]
Exxon Claims 900,000 Pages of Secrets on Arkansas Spill [13]

Yes, the pipeline is publicly regulated. Yes, the March 2013 rupture of Exxon's Pegasus Pipeline in Mayflower, Arkansas, quite publicly polluted people's yards and homes. Yes, it is publicly known that there were defects and poor maintenance on the pipeline. But 900,000 pages of documents that might show Exxon's neglect are being claimed as "confidential" by the company as it tries to defend against a class-action lawsuit.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Disasters [10]
Economy & Business [3]
Energy & Fuel [4]
Pollution [6]
Region:
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [14]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about Exxon Claims 900,000 Pages of Secrets on Arkansas Spill [13]
Why Doesn't Congress Want You To Read These Reports? [15]

For decades, Congress has refused to release taxpayer-funded reports by the Congressional Research Service. Fortunately, the Federation of American Scientists' Government Secrecy Project gets them and releases them. Here are some new explainers that may be of use to environmental journalists.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [16]
Air [17]
Climate Change [18]
Energy & Fuel [4]
Natural Resources [19]
Pollution [6]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about Why Doesn't Congress Want You To Read These Reports? [15]
Chemical Accident Data Won't Be Bottled Up [20]

While the idea that government neglect and public ignorance are the right approach to chemical safety and security has lost some credence, information on chemical accidents is still hard to come by. Here are tips as well as news about the National Response Center's database of oil and chemical spills.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [21]
Disasters [10]
Energy & Fuel [4]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about Chemical Accident Data Won't Be Bottled Up [20]
Will Fracking Disclosure Decisions Put Profits Above Health? [22]

Federal agencies are still grinding forward on decisions about disclosure of often-toxic ingredients pumped into the ground during "fracking" to produce gas and oil. Significant decisions may come eventually from the Interior Department, the EPA, and the Obama White House. But don't bet on any courageous decisions until after the November election.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [21]
Economy & Business [3]
Energy & Fuel [4]
Health [23]
Pollution [6]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about Will Fracking Disclosure Decisions Put Profits Above Health? [22]
"The Science Beneath the Surface: A Very Short Guide to the Marcellus Shale" [24]

SEJ Publication Types:
BookShelf [25]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [18]
Energy & Fuel [4]
Environmental Health [26]
Health [23]
Pollution [6]
Science [27]
Water & Oceans [7]
Region:
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [28]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about "The Science Beneath the Surface: A Very Short Guide to the Marcellus Shale" [24]
Pipeline Data, Maps Could Be a Reporting Resource — If Open [29]

There are many good investigative stories to be done about natural gas pipelines in your local area. You can get some maps and data about these pipelines if you try. Hard. The government is not going to help too much. One resource is the National Pipeline Mapping System (NPMS), which allows the general public to see geodata on a county-by-county basis.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Energy & Fuel [4]
Planning & Growth [30]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about Pipeline Data, Maps Could Be a Reporting Resource — If Open [29]
Constitution Wins After Court Imposes Prior Restraint on Pipeline Safety Info [31]

As a nationwide newspaper chain probed safety threats posed to the public by gas pipelines, an Alabama court imposed prior restraint on the Montgomery Advertiser, to prevent it from publishing the Alabama Gas Corporation's safety plan, citing homeland security and trade secrets. Now a judge has ruled that the court erred in granting a temporary restraining order.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Disasters [10]
Energy & Fuel [4]
Journalism & Media [32]
Laws & Regulations [33]
People & Population [34]
Region:
National (U.S.) [35]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [14]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about Constitution Wins After Court Imposes Prior Restraint on Pipeline Safety Info [31]
Interior Coal Lease Data Not Available Online [36]

You — as an owner (one of 314 million) of the coal reserves on federal land — might want to know whether the Bureau of Land Management is getting a fair return for your property when it is sold to a coal company. Good luck with that. Certainly, there is a database of federal coal lease activity. It's just that you would have a really hard time getting to it.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Economy & Business [3]
Energy & Fuel [4]
Environmental Politics [5]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about Interior Coal Lease Data Not Available Online [36]

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