Pennsylvania: "Conservationists Say State Waterways at Risk"
"Pennsylvania has 86,000 miles of rivers, streams and creeks — a total length eclipsed only by the vast wilderness in Alaska."
Source: Bucks County Courier Times, 08/04/2014
Laws & Regulations
"A Dozen States File Suit Against New Coal Rules"
"Twelve states filed a lawsuit against the Obama administration on Friday seeking to block an Environmental Protection Agency proposal to regulate coal-fired power plants in an effort to stem climate change."
Source: NY Times, 08/04/2014
"Lobbyists Use Secretive White House Office To Block Gov't Regs"
"When Washington lobbyists fail to derail regulations proposed by federal agencies, they often find a receptive ear within the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, an arm of the White House Office of Management and Budget that conducts much of its business in secret."
Source: ProPublica, 08/04/2014
"PG&E Charged With Obstruction Over San Bruno Blast"
"SAN FRANCISCO — Pacific Gas & Electric was charged Tuesday with lying to regulators in connection with a fatal pipeline explosion that killed eight people and leveled a suburban Northern California neighborhood in 2010."
Source: AP, 07/31/2014
Company Subpoenas Journalists in "Pink Slime" Suit
Four journalists and a food writer have had their notes subpoenaed in a company's $1.2-billion defamation lawsuit against ABC News for calling its product, a common hamburger additive, "pink slime."
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Fresh Secret Reports from the Congressional Research Service
Here are some recent explainers of interest to environmental journalists from the CRS, which Congress does not allow to be released to the taxpaying public who paid for them. The WatchDog thanks those who leaked them and the Federation of American Scientists' Project on Government Secrecy for publishing them.
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Support Mounts for FOIA Upgrade Bill in Senate
Pressure to bring a bipartisan power-boost bill for the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to the Senate floor mounted June 26, 2014, when a coalition of some 50 groups urged action. The bill would narrow a broad exemption that has in some cases shielded from disclosure almost anything not published in official and final form.
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What the Public Isn't Allowed To Know Could Kill You
The federal government has not only done very little to protect the public from the mass-casualty threats chemical facilities present to neighboring communities, they've focused efforts on keeping the public from knowing about those threats or the government's own failures to keep them safe. Now the U.S. EPA has signaled that it is about to revise a key rule governing chemical facility safety and security.
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"House Passes Bill To Amend Endangered Species Act"
"The House passed legislation Tuesday that would modify the Endangered Species Act."
Source: The Hill, 07/30/2014
"5 Food Writers Subpoenaed in 'Pink Slime' Lawsuit"
"Several food writers, including a New York Times reporter, have been subpoenaed by a meat producer as part of its $1.2 billion defamation lawsuit against ABC in regards to the network's coverage of a beef product dubbed 'pink slime' by critics."
Source: AP, 07/30/2014
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