Publication Items

State Fracking Disclosure Rules Don't Protect Public: Report [1]

A new OMB Watch report calls full advance disclosure of fracking fluid ingredients "the necessary first step" to protecting people's drinking water and concluded "no state has yet established all of the elements of a chemical disclosure policy strong enough to ensure the quality of the water and the health of communities near gas wells."

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Water & Oceans [3]
Policy [4]
People & Population [5]
Laws & Regulations [6]
Energy & Fuel [7]
Chemicals [8]
Visibility:
Public [9]
- Read more about State Fracking Disclosure Rules Don't Protect Public: Report [1]
Senate Stifles Amendment on Crop Insurance Disclosure [10]

That left journalists and the taxpayers — for now — at least partly in the dark about where tax dollars subsidizing agriculture are really going. But disclosure advocates think they may get another opportunity when the House takes up its own version of the Farm Bill.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Policy [4]
Laws & Regulations [6]
Environmental Politics [11]
Economy & Business [12]
Agriculture [13]
Visibility:
Public [9]
- Read more about Senate Stifles Amendment on Crop Insurance Disclosure [10]
Getting into the (Clean Water) Act [14]

InvestigateWest's Robert McClure gets into the (clean water) act by asking, "Four decades later, is our water cleaner?" You'll find shocking answers and a flood of ways to localize this issue.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [15]
Topics on the Beat:
Laws & Regulations [6]
Water & Oceans [3]
Visibility:
Public [9]
- Read more about Getting into the (Clean Water) Act [14]
Enviros Challenge Transparency of Virginia Uranium Mining Deliberations [16]

A company wants to mine Virginia's major uranium deposit so the state formed a multi-agency panel to study ending the three-decade ban on uranium mining. That panel hired a consulting firm that critics say was stacked with experts affiliated with the nuclear industry.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Nuclear Power & Radiation [17]
Natural Resources [18]
Laws & Regulations [6]
Environmental Politics [11]
Energy & Fuel [7]
Region:
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [19]
Visibility:
Public [9]
- Read more about Enviros Challenge Transparency of Virginia Uranium Mining Deliberations [16]
Justice Department Says Citizens Can Record Police Activity [20]

The JD said that individuals have a First Amendment right to record police officers in the public performance of their duties. It also said police can not seize or destroy such recordings without a warrant and due process.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Laws & Regulations [6]
Journalism & Media [21]
Visibility:
Public [9]
- Read more about Justice Department Says Citizens Can Record Police Activity [20]
Clear Channel Mounts FBI Billboards Promoting Trade Secrecy [22]

Claims of trade secrecy — often unsubstantiated — are a huge barrier to environmental reporters and others trying to find the truth about chemicals that may harm human health and the environment. But the FBI's billboards urge Americans to be vigilant against corporate insiders who may appear suspicious, and presumably to turn them in.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Laws & Regulations [6]
Health [23]
Environmental Health [24]
Economy & Business [12]
Chemicals [8]
Visibility:
Public [9]
- Read more about Clear Channel Mounts FBI Billboards Promoting Trade Secrecy [22]
New Ohio Law Limits Disclosure of Fracking Fluid Ingredients [25]

The Ohio legislature cleared a fracking bill May 24, 2012 that increases inspections of wells and requires drillers to hold liability insurance. But Reuters reports: "Many Democrats said the bill paves the way for the industry to hide information about toxic chemicals that could contaminate groundwater."
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Water & Oceans [3]
Pollution [26]
Laws & Regulations [6]
Energy & Fuel [7]
Economy & Business [12]
Chemicals [8]
Region:
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [27]
Visibility:
Public [9]
- Read more about New Ohio Law Limits Disclosure of Fracking Fluid Ingredients [25]
Dark Hand of OMB Lifted from FOIA Recommendations — Or So They Say [28]

OMB sat on the Office of Government Information Services recommendations for over a year, until a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in March 2012 demanded OMB release the recommendations, which finally happened April 24th. However, no recommendations for legislative change were included. Nobody knows what, if any, legislative recommendations OGIS may have originally proposed.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Policy [4]
Laws & Regulations [6]
Government [29]
Visibility:
Public [9]
- Read more about Dark Hand of OMB Lifted from FOIA Recommendations — Or So They Say [28]
Data Accumulates Slowly on What's in Fracking Fluid [30]

If you have a fracking story in your beat, getting information about what's in the controversial fracking fluids may be like pulling teeth. But there are a few resources that can help, such as the "FracFocus" chemical disclosure registry.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Water & Oceans [3]
Natural Resources [18]
Laws & Regulations [6]
Energy & Fuel [7]
Economy & Business [12]
Chemicals [8]
Visibility:
Public [9]
- Read more about Data Accumulates Slowly on What's in Fracking Fluid [30]
New Arizona Law Limits Disclosure of Companies' Environmental Self-Audits [31]

The information would still have to be provided to the state. Companies would not gain immunity from enforcement merely by auditing themselves.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Laws & Regulations [6]
Economy & Business [12]
Region:
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [32]
Visibility:
Public [9]
- Read more about New Arizona Law Limits Disclosure of Companies' Environmental Self-Audits [31]

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