Publication Items

SEJ Objects to Sportsmen's Act Section Affecting Public Lands Reporting [1]

SEJ and five other journalism groups sent a letter July 8, 2014 objecting to a bill up for debate on the US Senate floor this week that could restrict the ability of journalists to report on stories in National Parks, National Forests and other public lands. Photo: Fern Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park. Courtesy U.S. NPS.

Topics on the Beat:
Government [2]
Journalism & Media [3]
Laws & Regulations [4]
Natural Resources [5]
Region:
National (U.S.) [6]
Visibility:
Public [7]
- Read more about SEJ Objects to Sportsmen's Act Section Affecting Public Lands Reporting [1]
Legislation Moving in Congress Could Strengthen FOIA [8]

Sens. Patrick J. Leahy (D-VT) and John Cornyn (R-TX) introduced a bill that would add a balancing test and sunset to the "deliberative process" exemption in the current FOIA law. That exemption shields from disclosure records documenting internal policy debates within agencies before final decisions are made. Prospects for the Senate bill are improved by the fact that Leahy chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee and a related bill has already been passed by the House.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [9]
Topics on the Beat:
Laws & Regulations [4]
Visibility:
Public [7]
- Read more about Legislation Moving in Congress Could Strengthen FOIA [8]
Judge Orders Exxon To Produce Records on Leaky Arkansas Pipeline [10]

ExxonMobil lost a bid to keep federal regulators and prosecutors from getting records which might show criminal negligence in its operation of the pipeline that spilled oil into the Arkansas community of Mayflower in March 2013. The judge also threw out Exxon's motion to dismiss a lawsuit against the company.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [9]
Topics on the Beat:
Disasters [11]
Energy & Fuel [12]
Laws & Regulations [4]
Region:
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [13]
Visibility:
Public [7]
- Read more about Judge Orders Exxon To Produce Records on Leaky Arkansas Pipeline [10]
Will EPA Go Further in Pushing Fracking Fluid Disclosure? [14]

The agency is exploring some of its legal options for improving transparency about fracking fluid. One sign that EPA might be thinking of using its existing Clean Water Act legal authority came when the publication DeSmogBlog published on May 28 a leaked EPA draft suggesting it was considering doing precisely that.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [9]
Topics on the Beat:
Energy & Fuel [12]
Laws & Regulations [4]
Water & Oceans [15]
Visibility:
Public [7]
- Read more about Will EPA Go Further in Pushing Fracking Fluid Disclosure? [14]
Journos Fight Feds To Keep Drones As News Tool [16]

More than a dozen news media organizations filed a brief May 6, 2014, arguing that the Federal Aviation Administration is violating the First Amendment with its limits on drones. The media groups were intervening in the appeal of a judge's overturning of a $10,000 Federal Aviation Administration fine imposed on Raphael Pirker, a videographer who shot a promotional video of the University of Virginia campus.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [9]
Topics on the Beat:
Journalism & Media [3]
Laws & Regulations [4]
Technology [17]
Transportation [18]
Visibility:
Public [7]
- Read more about Journos Fight Feds To Keep Drones As News Tool [16]
Peace Group Calls for NEPA Disclosure on Construction at Bangor Base [19]

Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action wants higher courts to hear its argument that the Navy is required by the National Environmental Policy Act to disclose more information about the impacts of a nuclear submarine facility upgrade at the Kitsap-Bangor Naval Base in Washington state, especially the risk of explosion.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [9]
Topics on the Beat:
Laws & Regulations [4]
Military [20]
Nuclear Power & Radiation [21]
Region:
Northwest (OR WA) [22]
Visibility:
Public [7]
- Read more about Peace Group Calls for NEPA Disclosure on Construction at Bangor Base [19]
Wyoming Supreme Court Doubts 'Trade Secret' Loophole on Fracking Disclosure [23]

Just claiming something as "confidential business information" is not enough. Wyoming's Supreme Court said the state's drillers, and state regulators, bear the burden of showing why they are withholding disclosure of the often-toxic chemicals pumped underground in fracking operations.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [9]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [24]
Energy & Fuel [12]
Laws & Regulations [4]
Region:
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [25]
Visibility:
Public [7]
- Read more about Wyoming Supreme Court Doubts 'Trade Secret' Loophole on Fracking Disclosure [23]
Kentucky Legislature Weighs "Ag-Gag" Bill [26]

Kentucky is the latest state to consider legislation criminalizing undercover photography of animal abuse in farm operations, which often ends up in the news. But Democratic Rep. Joni Jenkins (pictured), who sponsored the measure to which the Senate attached the Ag-Gag language, says she won't call it up in the House.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [9]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [27]
Agriculture [28]
Food [29]
Laws & Regulations [4]
Region:
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [13]
Visibility:
Public [7]
- Read more about Kentucky Legislature Weighs "Ag-Gag" Bill [26]
House Passes Bipartisan FOIA Improvement Bill [30]

Don't polish your glasses — you read it right. Bipartisan. By a vote of 410-0. The bill makes several modest improvements in the Freedom of Information Act; it should strengthen the presumption in favor of disclosure of government records, authorize a central tracking system for FOIA requests and strengthen the role of the Office of Government Information Services.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [9]
Topics on the Beat:
Government [2]
Laws & Regulations [4]
Visibility:
Public [7]
- Read more about House Passes Bipartisan FOIA Improvement Bill [30]
Appeals Court Radically Expands FOIA 'Safety' Exemption [31]

A federal appeals court created a sweeping and dangerous precedent January 22, 2014, when it ruled the U.S. public had no right to know whether it is endangered by failures of federal dam safety agencies to do their jobs. If the ruling stands, federal agencies could withhold from disclosure almost any information showing federal failure to protect the public from infrastructure dangers.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [9]
Topics on the Beat:
Disasters [11]
Health [32]
Laws & Regulations [4]
Visibility:
Public [7]
- Read more about Appeals Court Radically Expands FOIA 'Safety' Exemption [31]

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