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House Passes Bipartisan FOIA Improvement Bill

Don't polish your glasses — you read it right. Bipartisan. By a vote of 410-0. The bill makes several modest improvements in the Freedom of Information Act; it should strengthen the presumption in favor of disclosure of government records, authorize a central tracking system for FOIA requests and strengthen the role of the Office of Government Information Services.

"GOP Accused of 'Environmental Racism'"

"House Republicans are being accused of 'environmental racism' by an environmental group that argues GOP efforts to reform decades-old chemical laws would disproportionately harm minority groups."

Source: E2 Wire/The Hill, 03/05/2014

"US Faces Setbacks on 2 Fronts in Handling Radioactive Waste"

"The Energy Department, dealing with twin setbacks in its long effort to deal with Cold War-era radioactive waste, said Tuesday it was stopping construction of a massive plant in South Carolina to handle surplus plutonium and proceeding with an investigation into a leak at a nuclear dump in New Mexico that exposed 13 workers to airborne plutonium."

Source: LA Times, 03/05/2014

"Court Says BP’s Spill Agreement Is Binding"

"NEW ORLEANS — In a setback for BP as it deals with the aftermath of the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, a federal appeals court on Monday ruled that the company would have to stick to its agreement and pay some gulf businesses for economic damage without their having to prove it was caused by the spill."

Source: NY Times, 03/05/2014

"Divers Find 65-Foot Crack In Columbia River Dam"

"A large dam in Washington state has a 65-foot-long crack below its waterline, say officials who are planning repairs at the Wanapum Dam, which is owned by a county utility. Divers found the 2-inch-wide crack that runs sideways after an engineer noticed an odd curve in a conduit near the dam's roadway."

Source: NPR, 03/05/2014

"Big Victory for Chevron Over Claims in Ecuador"

"Since losing a $19 billion judgment in an Ecuadorean court three years ago, Chevron has drawn the condemnation of human rights and environmental activists by refusing to pay anything in fines or accept blame for polluting the Ecuadorean rain forest."

Source: NY Times, 03/05/2014

"Illinois Expands Crackdown on Petroleum Coke"

"Already targeted as a source of lung-damaging air pollution, a company that has been piling petroleum coke on Chicago's Southeast Side now faces new accusations that it illegally allowed contaminated runoff to spill into the Calumet River."

Source: Chicago Tribune, 03/05/2014

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