Publication Items

EPA Pilot-Tests New Data Mapping Tool on Community Exposures

The Community-Focused Exposure and Risk Screening Tool (C-FERST), available currently to some agencies, communities, and researchers, could be helpful in tracking environmental justice stories: the impact of specific pollutant exposures on particular geographic and demographic communities.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet
Topics on the Beat:
Technology
Pollution
People & Population
Government
Visibility:
Public
- Read more about EPA Pilot-Tests New Data Mapping Tool on Community Exposures
Fracking Disclosure Loses a Round in Wyoming

Natrona County District Judge Catherine Wilking ruled March 25, 2013, that a company could withhold as trade secret the ingredients used in the fluids it pumped under high pressure to fracture gas- and oil-bearing rock. Environmentalists had sought to make the ingredient list public.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet
Topics on the Beat:
Laws & Regulations
Energy & Fuel
Region:
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY)
Visibility:
Public
- Read more about Fracking Disclosure Loses a Round in Wyoming
Court Lifts Settlement Secrecy in Pennsylvania Fracking Case

The unsealed documents revealed that the potential plaintiffs had received $750,000 from frackers Range Resources, which has been accused of high-handed tactics. The case is important in several respects — even beyond the broader controversy over sealing of civil settlements.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet
Topics on the Beat:
Laws & Regulations
Energy & Fuel
Region:
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV)
Visibility:
Public
- Read more about Court Lifts Settlement Secrecy in Pennsylvania Fracking Case
State Department KXL Report Secrecy Hides Conflict, Criticism

The State Department is trying to hide at least two different kinds of information about its Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the Keystone XL pipeline, including graying out key information in the work histories of people involved in the consultation process.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet
Topics on the Beat:
Government
Environmental Politics
Energy & Fuel
Visibility:
Public
- Read more about State Department KXL Report Secrecy Hides Conflict, Criticism
Keeping Up on Chemical Databases

Find a rich collection of online resources courtesy of the National Library of Medicine and others, compiled by SEJ member and NLM technical information specialist Philip Wexler.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals
Technology
Visibility:
Public
- Read more about Keeping Up on Chemical Databases
New FOIA Bill Would Speed Federal Response, Ease Tracking

A bipartisan House bill was released March 12, 2013, marking Sunshine Week with proposed steps forward in implementing the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The bill, sponsored by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee's Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Elijah Cummings (D-MD), was put out in draft form for discussion and has yet to be formally introduced.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet
Topics on the Beat:
Laws & Regulations
Government
Visibility:
Public
- Read more about New FOIA Bill Would Speed Federal Response, Ease Tracking
AP Analysis: Feds Cite Security More Often As Reason for Withholding Information

An Associated Press analysis of data on Freedom of Information Act requests showed little increase in the number of FOIA requests from the public, a slight increase in rejection of such requests, and an increase in federal claims that such rejections were justified by security and internal deliberations.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet
Topics on the Beat:
Laws & Regulations
Journalism & Media
Government
Visibility:
Public
- Read more about AP Analysis: Feds Cite Security More Often As Reason for Withholding Information
Effort To Reform Secret Federal Advisory Committees Soldiers On

Secret meetings and conflicts of interest for experts on federal advisory committees are still problems, openness advocates told Congress during Sunshine Week 2013. The searchable Federal Advisory Committee Act online database is a great aid for reporters in searching for this type of information on a particular beat.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet
Topics on the Beat:
Laws & Regulations
Government
Visibility:
Public
- Read more about Effort To Reform Secret Federal Advisory Committees Soldiers On
Canada, Not Content To Gag Its Own Scientists, Urges US To Do Same

Some U.S. scientists are refusing to sign nondisclosure agreements called for by the Canadian government's Fisheries and Oceans department on an Arctic science project. The story was reported by Margaret Munro for Postmedia News.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet
Region:
Canada
Visibility:
Public
- Read more about Canada, Not Content To Gag Its Own Scientists, Urges US To Do Same
Recent Secret CRS Reports Liberated

Now you can read reports on key topics on the environmental beat — compiled by the Congressional Research Service and paid for with your tax dollars. Congress does not allow CRS to release them to the public. Thanks to the Government Secrecy Project at the Federation of American Scientists for making them available.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet
Topics on the Beat:
Government
Food
Environmental Politics
Energy & Fuel
Economy & Business
Agriculture
Visibility:
Public
- Read more about Recent Secret CRS Reports Liberated