Publication Items

Some Unpublished CRS Reports on Environmental Topics: Published [1]

Topics of the latest reports, published by the Federation of American Scientists, include Arctic changes, mountaintop mining controversies, pollution control law enforcement, climate change, midnight rulemaking, scientific papers/security risks, oil sands enviro issues, and fracking/drinking water.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Water & Oceans [3]
Pollution [4]
Natural Resources [5]
Laws & Regulations [6]
Energy & Fuel [7]
Climate Change [8]
Chemicals [9]
Region:
Antarctica & Arctic [10]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about Some Unpublished CRS Reports on Environmental Topics: Published [1]
Reporters Committee Gets New Director [12]

Bruce D. Brown, a former reporter and media lawyer, will be the new executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press — a key advocate for press freedom and freedom of information in the United States.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Journalism & Media [13]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about Reporters Committee Gets New Director [12]
Senate Balks at Limiting Drinking Water Reports [14]

A bid to drop the legal requirement that drinking water utilities mail annual "Consumer Confidence Reports" reports on any contaminants in water delivered to customers fell short in the Senate June 21, 2012. An amendment, by Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA), would have allowed utilities to deliver the CCRs to their customers online, rather than via US Postal Service.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Water & Oceans [3]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about Senate Balks at Limiting Drinking Water Reports [14]
Toolbox: Hazmat Table a Key Tool for Environmental Reporters [15]

What's in that derailed railcar or overturned tanker truck? The answer is often visible on a hazmat placard affixed to the vehicle (we suggest binoculars). The placard often includes a "UN number" which you can look up in the "Hazardous Materials Table" published in the Code of Federal Regulations, among other places.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Transportation [16]
Disasters [17]
Chemicals [9]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about Toolbox: Hazmat Table a Key Tool for Environmental Reporters [15]
PEER Charges Secrecy in Denials of National Park System Status to 3 Trails [18]

Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility is charging the National Park Service with duplicity for multiple reasons regarding demotion of the North Country, Ice Age, and New England Trails, which collectively span 6,020 miles.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Natural Resources [5]
Government [19]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about PEER Charges Secrecy in Denials of National Park System Status to 3 Trails [18]
Were Carbon-Tax Meetings Secret? Maybe Not [20]

The blog "Right Side News" took a shot at a meeting hosted by the American Enterprise Institute, which had in fact been covered in several articles in E&E News publications.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Environmental Politics [21]
Energy & Fuel [7]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about Were Carbon-Tax Meetings Secret? Maybe Not [20]
FDA E-Mail Tracking Included Reporters [22]

The Food and Drug Administration secretly captured e-mails of FDA employees suspected of whistleblowing for agency laxity in protecting the public — but ended up also reading correspondence with reporters, lawyers, and Congress.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Journalism & Media [13]
Government [19]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about FDA E-Mail Tracking Included Reporters [22]
EPA Withdraws CAFO Database Rule [23]

EPA says it could instead compile a database partly from information collected by some states. But that information is often spotty and inconsistent — which will make it hard for EPA to compile it and even harder to make useful conclusions from it. And the withdrawal may make it harder to get the information disclosed.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Food [24]
Environmental Politics [21]
Agriculture [25]
Region:
Northwest (OR WA) [26]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [27]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [28]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [29]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about EPA Withdraws CAFO Database Rule [23]
Coal Ash: Has It Come to a Storage or Disposal Site Near You? [30]

If your local utility burns coal, there is likely an environmental story about coal ash to be reported near you. A FOIA request by the Environmental Integrity Project and Earthjustice has produced the identities of another 451 coal ash dumps (than previously listed by EPA), raising the total to at least 1161.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Water & Oceans [3]
Energy & Fuel [7]
Disasters [17]
Chemicals [9]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about Coal Ash: Has It Come to a Storage or Disposal Site Near You? [30]
Got Corruption? Data on State Lawmaker Conflicts Hard To Get [31]

A large and diverse array of businesses have an interest in the environmental and energy laws that state legislatures consider: including coal, oil, plastics, chemicals, mining, forest products, and others. The possible financial stake lawmakers may have in the bills before them is fertile ground for investigation. Here's help in finding story ideas.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Natural Resources [5]
Laws & Regulations [6]
Government [19]
Forests [32]
Energy & Fuel [7]
Chemicals [9]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about Got Corruption? Data on State Lawmaker Conflicts Hard To Get [31]

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