Seven years ago SEJ members came together to help colleagues impacted by Hurricane Katrina to get back on their feet. Hurricane Sandy has created a similar disaster. SEJ has set up a small fund for those who want to help fellow members. Donate or request assistance.
Watchdog group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility's new guide to state whistleblower laws starts with a map — click on any state to link to its whistleblower law and other related info. Federally, there is currently a bill in play in Congress which would strengthen the notoriously weak federal whistleblower protections.
The gas industry won itself an exemption from disclosure requirements of the Safe Drinking Water Act in 2005. But now environmentalists have a new angle, claiming EPA has authority to compel disclosure under a different law (the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act) — and urging EPA to use it.
Gripes about PIO policies are not new. Now an article in the Society of Professional Journalists' Quill magazine takes the complaint to a higher level, arguing PIO restrictions are not aimed at access and accuracy, and urging journalists to resist the PIO requirements in their own work — and to work together nationally to elevate the PIO censorship issue.
Fifteen environmental and public health groups say EPA had not allowed sufficient time for public review, only put relevant information into its docket at the last minute, and emphasized easing a "burden" utilities had lived with for years at the expense of protecting the public.
"Today, OMB Watch and 16 local, regional, and national organizations filed a petition under the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI), calling on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to require the oil and gas industry – including companies engaged in fracking – to report their toxic emissions. Such reporting would provide EPA with more information on the identity, use, and quantity of chemicals used by the oil and gas industry and would help the agency evaluate their health and environmental risks."
"PARIS — The hammer blow dealt to New York by superstorm Sandy should raise the alarm for coastal mega-cities in Asia which are more exposed but less equipped to deal with such threats, experts said on Tuesday."
"SANTA TERESA, N.M. -- An unknown hazardous material sickened about 200 people Tuesday just northwest of El Paso, Texas, as some workers in the industrial area where the substance released described feeling a burning sensation on their skin, according to New Mexico authorities."
"WASHINGTON -- As Sandy lashed the Eastern Seaboard this week, some environmental groups raised concerns that the superstorm’s brute force could overwhelm feeble storage pits adjacent to fracking sites."
"TEXAS CITY — A fire at BP's Texas City refinery sent a large plume of black smoke over the industrial sector of the city. The fire broke out at about 1:30 p.m. and was out by 3:05 p.m., BP officials said."
