Publication Items

White House Met in Secret with Industry Before Frack Rule [1]

Government rulemaking takes place with everything on the record in a public docket, right? Well ... actually not. EnergyWire reporter Mike Soraghan revealed in an April 12, 2013 story that presidential aide Heather Zichal met more than 20 times with industry groups lobbying on the proposed rule for fracking on federal lands.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Laws & Regulations [3]
Government [4]
Environmental Politics [5]
Energy & Fuel [6]
Economy & Business [7]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about White House Met in Secret with Industry Before Frack Rule [1]
Voluntary Fracking Disclosure Database Gets 'F' from Harvard Study [9]

We told you so. But now a Harvard study also says it: the FracFocus registry designed and operated by the drilling industry (and its close friends) fails to meet the public's right to accountability and complete disclosure of chemicals pumped into underground formations that may impact people's drinking-water wells.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Water & Oceans [10]
Health [11]
Environmental Health [12]
Energy & Fuel [6]
Chemicals [13]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about Voluntary Fracking Disclosure Database Gets 'F' from Harvard Study [9]
SEJournal Spring 2013, Vol. 23 No. 1 [14]

In this issue: Special report on energy and climate change; first installment of new column 'Freelance Files' on goal setting; database helps track illegal parkland conversions; members cover sprawl, science and chickens; annual Sundance Film Festival report; and six book reviews.

SEJ Publication Types:
SEJournal Online [15]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [16]
Climate Change [17]
Energy & Fuel [6]
Journalism & Media [18]
Natural Resources [19]
Planning & Growth [20]
Science [21]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about SEJournal Spring 2013, Vol. 23 No. 1 [14]
"The New New Deal: The Hidden Story of Change in the Obama Era" [22]

SEJ Publication Types:
BookShelf [23]
Topics on the Beat:
Energy & Fuel [6]
Environmental Politics [5]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about "The New New Deal: The Hidden Story of Change in the Obama Era" [22]
Exxon "Unified Command" Locks Down Ark. Spill Site; Threatens Reporter [24]

The March 29, 2013, spill from ExxonMobil's Pegasus Pipeline near Mayflower, Arkansas is a big deal for several reasons. But the most important thing about the Mayflower spill may be that ExxonMobil and the federal agencies involved seem to be trying to keep news media from getting close enough to see what is going on. Read SEJ's letter protesting the media treatment, and EPA's response.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Disasters [25]
Energy & Fuel [6]
Environmental Health [12]
Environmental Politics [5]
Government [4]
Health [11]
People & Population [26]
Region:
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [27]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about Exxon "Unified Command" Locks Down Ark. Spill Site; Threatens Reporter [24]
Fracking Disclosure Loses a Round in Wyoming [28]

Natrona County District Judge Catherine Wilking ruled March 25, 2013, that a company could withhold as trade secret the ingredients used in the fluids it pumped under high pressure to fracture gas- and oil-bearing rock. Environmentalists had sought to make the ingredient list public.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Laws & Regulations [3]
Energy & Fuel [6]
Region:
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [29]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about Fracking Disclosure Loses a Round in Wyoming [28]
Court Lifts Settlement Secrecy in Pennsylvania Fracking Case [30]

The unsealed documents revealed that the potential plaintiffs had received $750,000 from frackers Range Resources, which has been accused of high-handed tactics. The case is important in several respects — even beyond the broader controversy over sealing of civil settlements.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Laws & Regulations [3]
Energy & Fuel [6]
Region:
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [31]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about Court Lifts Settlement Secrecy in Pennsylvania Fracking Case [30]
State Department KXL Report Secrecy Hides Conflict, Criticism [32]

The State Department is trying to hide at least two different kinds of information about its Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the Keystone XL pipeline, including graying out key information in the work histories of people involved in the consultation process.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Government [4]
Environmental Politics [5]
Energy & Fuel [6]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about State Department KXL Report Secrecy Hides Conflict, Criticism [32]
Recent Secret CRS Reports Liberated [33]

Now you can read reports on key topics on the environmental beat — compiled by the Congressional Research Service and paid for with your tax dollars. Congress does not allow CRS to release them to the public. Thanks to the Government Secrecy Project at the Federation of American Scientists for making them available.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Government [4]
Food [34]
Environmental Politics [5]
Energy & Fuel [6]
Economy & Business [7]
Agriculture [16]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about Recent Secret CRS Reports Liberated [33]
Judge Rules BLM Must Disclose Companies Nominating Drilling Tracts [35]

A small chink appeared this month in the armor of nondisclosure that protects the oil and gas industry's relationship with federal leasing agencies. BLM had refused to disclose the nominating entities. Federal District Judge Matsch ruled that the Freedom of Information Act requires the disclosure.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Laws & Regulations [3]
Government [4]
Energy & Fuel [6]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about Judge Rules BLM Must Disclose Companies Nominating Drilling Tracts [35]

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