Publication Items

Localizing Recovery Act Spending Is Getting Easier [1]

Use OMB Watch's user-friendly database to track environmentally-related funds in many ways, such as type of project, affiliated federal or state agency, location, dollar amounts, and number of contracts awarded.
SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Government [3]
Region:
National (U.S.) [4]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about Localizing Recovery Act Spending Is Getting Easier [1]
EPA Proposes More Monitors for Airborne Lead [6]

Spurred in part by a petition filed in January 2009, the Agency's new rule, if finalized, could add approximately 240 monitors in about 40 states near known lead emission sources.
SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [7]
Government [3]
Region:
National (U.S.) [4]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about EPA Proposes More Monitors for Airborne Lead [6]
Mapping Tool Allows New Way To Cover EPA Enforcement Actions [8]

With data on ~4,600 civil and criminal enforcement actions in fiscal year 2009, you can determine trends by state and EPA Region for type and extent of enforcement; track down enforcement actions in areas of interest to your audience; and serve as a starting point for stories that are seemingly unrelated to an enforcement action.
SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Laws & Regulations [9]
Government [3]
Region:
National (U.S.) [4]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about Mapping Tool Allows New Way To Cover EPA Enforcement Actions [8]
Feds Release New Info on Climate-Plant Connections [10]

Research and policy discussions are focusing on both natural plant systems and domesticated ones, especially agriculture — one possible effect being shifts in water availability.
SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [11]
Biodiversity [12]
Region:
National (U.S.) [4]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about Feds Release New Info on Climate-Plant Connections [10]
After Copenhagen: Many Climate Stories at Home Still Unwritten [13]

For journalists not lucky enough to go to the Copenhagen climate talks, the good news is that climate will be news at home and abroad for years to come. Many regional, state, and local climate stories are still waiting to be written.
SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [11]
Region:
National (U.S.) [4]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about After Copenhagen: Many Climate Stories at Home Still Unwritten [13]
Senate Judiciary Panel OKs Shield Law, Sends Bill to Floor [14]

There is no word yet on when the full Senate will take it up. The House has already passed a different shield bill — raising hopes that one could become law during this Congress.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [15]
Topics on the Beat:
Laws & Regulations [9]
Government [3]
Region:
National (U.S.) [4]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about Senate Judiciary Panel OKs Shield Law, Sends Bill to Floor [14]
TRI Analysis Offers State-Level Toxics Info [16]

It's easier to see trends now, and the analysis includes state-by-state fact sheets summarizing statistics for the year, as well as contacts at state agencies.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [15]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [7]
Government [3]
Region:
National (U.S.) [4]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about TRI Analysis Offers State-Level Toxics Info [16]
New OMB Open Government Directive Offers FOI Opportunities [17]

While there are plenty of EPA databases already on line, not all of them are in a form that can be quickly downloaded in their entirety and imported into standard database software. That's a key criterion specified, and one that will ease computer-assisted reporting for journalists.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [15]
Topics on the Beat:
Laws & Regulations [9]
Government [3]
Region:
National (U.S.) [4]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about New OMB Open Government Directive Offers FOI Opportunities [17]
Regulations.gov Sharpens Info Tools Useful to Reporters [18]

Now it's easier than ever to find and read documents submitted for the record at most federal regulatory agencies. Sign up for Federal Register email or RSS-feed notifications.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [15]
Topics on the Beat:
Government [3]
Region:
National (U.S.) [4]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about Regulations.gov Sharpens Info Tools Useful to Reporters [18]
Construction Water Pollution: New EPA Rule [19]

Stormwater runoff from construction sites is a significant source of soil and sediment runoff. The new rule addresses building construction, as well as heavy and civil engineering construction
SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Pollution [20]
Water & Oceans [21]
Government [3]
Region:
National (U.S.) [4]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about Construction Water Pollution: New EPA Rule [19]

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