Publication Items

Court Reverses Ban on Farm Data Releasees [1]

The U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, DC, ruled Feb. 15, 2008, that the public had a legitimate interest in data from some previously unreleased Agriculture Department databases - clearing the way for their release.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Environmental Politics [3]
Region:
National (U.S.) [4]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about Court Reverses Ban on Farm Data Releasees [1]
EPA Would Suppress Info on Toxic Gases From Feedlots at Industry Urging [6]

Large feedlots would no longer have to report toxic emissions under a rule proposed Dec. 21, 2007, by EPA.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Food [7]
Pollution [8]
Region:
National (U.S.) [4]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about EPA Would Suppress Info on Toxic Gases From Feedlots at Industry Urging [6]
BLM Proposal May Limit Transparency, Public Input On Its NEPA Actions [9]

The Bureau of Land Management has proposed changing its rules for complying with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Environmental Politics [3]
Region:
National (U.S.) [4]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about BLM Proposal May Limit Transparency, Public Input On Its NEPA Actions [9]
EPA Greeenhouse Reporting Rules Goes Forward Despite White House [10]

Congress mandated a mandatory "registry" of greenhouse gas emissions with $3.5 million tucked into the final fiscal 2008 omnibus appropriations bill it passed late in 2007.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Government [11]
Region:
National (U.S.) [4]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about EPA Greeenhouse Reporting Rules Goes Forward Despite White House [10]
New Jersey Sues EPA Over NSR Air Pollution Reporting Cutbacks [12]

New Jersey filed a lawsuit Feb. 19, 2008, challenging the US-EPA's December 2007 rule that utilities could decide for themselves whether their air pollution increases are significant enough to require detailed record-keeping.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Air [13]
Pollution [8]
Region:
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [14]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about New Jersey Sues EPA Over NSR Air Pollution Reporting Cutbacks [12]
Great Lakes Study Suppressed [15]

For more than seven months, the nation's top public health agency has blocked the publication of an exhaustive federal study of environmental hazards in the eight Great Lakes states.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Pollution [8]
Water & Oceans [16]
Region:
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [17]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about Great Lakes Study Suppressed [15]
Access to Congress: A Few Coverage Tips and Tricks [18]

The U.S. Congress can be even more frustrating to cover than executive agencies.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Government [11]
Region:
National (U.S.) [4]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about Access to Congress: A Few Coverage Tips and Tricks [18]
FERC Slightly Eases Some Secrecy Requirements [19]

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has slightly relaxed some requirements for secrecy on decisions it makes on "critical energy infrastructure."

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Laws & Regulations [20]
Region:
National (U.S.) [4]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about FERC Slightly Eases Some Secrecy Requirements [19]
CRS PUBLISHES BACKGROUNDER ON JOURNALISTS' PRIVILEGE [21]

The Oct. 18, 2007 issue of Congressional Research Service has published a useful backgrounder on the current lack of a "shield law" protecting reporters from legal penalties, including jail, when they refuse prosecutors' requests to disclose the identities of confidential sources.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Journalism & Media [22]
Region:
National (U.S.) [4]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about CRS PUBLISHES BACKGROUNDER ON JOURNALISTS' PRIVILEGE [21]
PENNSYLVANIA FORBIDS LABELING OF MILK PRODUCED WITHOUT ARTIFICIAL HORMONES [23]

Consumers who want to choose milk produced without the use of artificial hormones are out of luck - if they live in Pennsylvania. That is not a choice the state will allow them.
Topics on the Beat:
Laws & Regulations [20]
Region:
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [24]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about PENNSYLVANIA FORBIDS LABELING OF MILK PRODUCED WITHOUT ARTIFICIAL HORMONES [23]

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