Publication Items

Exxon "Unified Command" Locks Down Ark. Spill Site; Threatens Reporter [1]

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 [3]
Energy & Fuel [4]
Environmental Health [5]
Environmental Politics [6]
Government [7]
Health [8]
People & Population [9]
Region:
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [10]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about Exxon "Unified Command" Locks Down Ark. Spill Site; Threatens Reporter [1]
EPA Pilot-Tests New Data Mapping Tool on Community Exposures [12]

The Community-Focused Exposure and Risk Screening Tool (C-FERST), available currently to some agencies, communities, and researchers, could be helpful in tracking environmental justice stories: the impact of specific pollutant exposures on particular geographic and demographic communities.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Technology [13]
Pollution [14]
People & Population [9]
Government [7]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about EPA Pilot-Tests New Data Mapping Tool on Community Exposures [12]
Fracking Disclosure Loses a Round in Wyoming [15]

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 [16]
Energy & Fuel [4]
Region:
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [17]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about Fracking Disclosure Loses a Round in Wyoming [15]
Court Lifts Settlement Secrecy in Pennsylvania Fracking Case [18]

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 [16]
Energy & Fuel [4]
Region:
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [19]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about Court Lifts Settlement Secrecy in Pennsylvania Fracking Case [18]
State Department KXL Report Secrecy Hides Conflict, Criticism [20]

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 [7]
Environmental Politics [6]
Energy & Fuel [4]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about State Department KXL Report Secrecy Hides Conflict, Criticism [20]
Keeping Up on Chemical Databases [21]

Find a rich collection of online resources courtesy of the National Library of Medicine and others, compiled by SEJ member and NLM technical information specialist Philip Wexler.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [23]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [24]
Technology [13]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about Keeping Up on Chemical Databases [21]
New FOIA Bill Would Speed Federal Response, Ease Tracking [25]

A bipartisan House bill was released March 12, 2013, marking Sunshine Week with proposed steps forward in implementing the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The bill, sponsored by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee's Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Elijah Cummings (D-MD), was put out in draft form for discussion and has yet to be formally introduced.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Laws & Regulations [16]
Government [7]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about New FOIA Bill Would Speed Federal Response, Ease Tracking [25]
AP Analysis: Feds Cite Security More Often As Reason for Withholding Information [26]

An Associated Press analysis of data on Freedom of Information Act requests showed little increase in the number of FOIA requests from the public, a slight increase in rejection of such requests, and an increase in federal claims that such rejections were justified by security and internal deliberations.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Laws & Regulations [16]
Journalism & Media [27]
Government [7]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about AP Analysis: Feds Cite Security More Often As Reason for Withholding Information [26]
Effort To Reform Secret Federal Advisory Committees Soldiers On [28]

Secret meetings and conflicts of interest for experts on federal advisory committees are still problems, openness advocates told Congress during Sunshine Week 2013. The searchable Federal Advisory Committee Act online database is a great aid for reporters in searching for this type of information on a particular beat.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Laws & Regulations [16]
Government [7]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about Effort To Reform Secret Federal Advisory Committees Soldiers On [28]
Canada, Not Content To Gag Its Own Scientists, Urges US To Do Same [29]

Some U.S. scientists are refusing to sign nondisclosure agreements called for by the Canadian government's Fisheries and Oceans department on an Arctic science project. The story was reported by Margaret Munro for Postmedia News.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Region:
Canada [30]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about Canada, Not Content To Gag Its Own Scientists, Urges US To Do Same [29]

Pages