Government can withhold studies about lingering oil in Alaskan waters from ExxonMobil

A federal judge said the Environmental Protection Agency did not have to release studies about lingering oil in the Prince William Sound and the Gulf of Alaska, the site of the devastating Exxon Valdez spill over 21 years ago. Exxon Valdez had requested the information through the Freedom of Information Act. -db From the Courthouse [...]

Journalists say Obama administration withholding science data

A panel of health and science journalists said that many government agencies key to their investigations are not supporting President Obama’s transparency pledge. Delays in releasing data make it impossible for reporters to meet deadlines. The journalists complained that when requests are made, decisions often have to be made at the highest level of political [...]

No plan yet to improve public access to information in EPA libraries

The Environmental Protection Agency is still working on a strategic plan to inventory its information and make it easily accessible to the public. -db OMB Watch Analysis November 9, 2010 After more than three years of development, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has yet to complete a strategic plan for its library network or [...]

Judge to EPA: Stop destroying records Union Pacific wants

A federal judge ordered the Environmental Protection Agency yesterday to stop destroying records Union Pacific requested about lead contamination in Omaha. An expert was appointed to make sure the agency complies. August 27, 2010 By The Associated Press OMAHA, Neb. —The judge’s order resolved several issues the railroad and EPA couldn’t agree on when discussing [...]

Railroad worries EPA will keep destroying records

The Environmental Protection Agency has agreed to stop destroying records Union Pacific requested about lead contamination in Omaha, but the railroad worries the federal agency won’t protect all relevant information. August 25, 2010 By The Associated Press OMAHA, Neb. — Documents filed yesterday show Union Pacific Corp. and the EPA agreed on most aspects of [...]

Chemical security bills lack provisions for transparency

Two chemical facility security bills introduced in the U.S. senate are designed to reduce the consequences of accident or attack on chemical plants and drinking water facilities but fail to provide for accountability and transparency to ensure safety says OMB Watch. -db Chemical security bills lack provisions for transparency OMB Watch Commentary July 27, 2010 [...]

BP has steady sales at Defense Department despite U.S. scrutiny

BP is currently one of the biggest suppliers of fuel and other petroleum products to the U.S. Defense Department, despite scrutiny over the company’s potential violations of federal and state laws. -SMD The Washington Post BP Oil Disaster News July 5, 2010 By  R. Jeffrey Smith The Defense Department has kept up its immense purchases [...]

Environmental Protection Agency unveils new policy to discourage stonewalling on health and safety

The EPA announced a new policy that promises greater scrutiny of industry claims of trade secret in their attempts to conceal threats to health and safety. BP is currently using the trade secret claim to block access to chemical information related to the oil spill. -db OMB Watch Analysis June 2, 2010 The U.S. Environmental [...]

British Petroleum not divulging test results on worker safety in gulf oil spill

Critics are saying that the federal government is not doing enough to get BP to improve monitoring in the gulf oil spill and to release test results on worker exposure to evaporating oil and burning oil. -db McClatchy Newspapers Commentary May 18, 2010 By Marisa Taylor and Renee Schoof WASHINGTON, D.C. — BP, the company [...]

Environmental Protection Agency puts critical information online

In keeping with the Obama open government initiative, the EPA is providing new online tools to provide information about enforcement action against polluters, health risks from toxic chemicals and environmental disasters including the recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. -db OMB Watch May 4, 2010 Several new online tools developed by the U.S. [...]

Environmental Protection Agency stonewalls on hazards of New Mexico landfills

According to a report from the EPA Inspector General, the EPA circumvented the Freedom of Information Act by not keeping records and marking unclassified records as confidential. The EPA blocked efforts of a New Mexico group investigating hazardous landfills and Albuquerque’s groundwater. -db Secrecy News Federation of American Scientists May 5, 2010 By Steven Aftergood [...]

Transparency: Environmental Protection Agency launches model web site

Transparency activists are expressing their approval of the EPA’s new site, the Rulemaking Gateway, that provides information about regulatory actions such as the control of greenhouse gas emissions in large vehicles. -db NextGov February 19, 2010 By Aliya Sternstein As more agencies deploy online score cards that publicly chart the progress of specific missions, the [...]

Novato sanitary board member accuses colleagues of open government violations

A Novato Sanitary District board member said his fellow board members excluded him from closed-door meeting in violation of the Brown Act, California’s open government law. -DB Marin Independent Journal January 11, 2010 By Jim Welte When Dennis Welsh became the lone opposition candidate elected to the Novato Sanitary District board last November, he and [...]

Open government group publishes information about risks to public health from chemical facilities

OMB Watch posted updated information on the risks of over 140 dangerous chemicals from facilities nationwide. The information can be found on the website of the Right-to-Know Network. -DB OMB Watch Press Release October 29, 2009 WASHINGTON, D.C. — OMB Watch today posted updated information about the risks of serious public harm posed by thousands [...]

OMB Watch posts details of risks posed by U.S. chemical facilities

A government watchdog agency, OMB Watch, has posted updated risks to public health of thousands of chemical facilities allowing the public information needed to protect families and communities. The government has been derelict in providing the information. -DB OMB Watch Press Release October 29, 2009 WASHINGTON, D.C.—OMB Watch today posted updated information about the risks [...]

Protection agency’s report on safety of artificial turf still not released

School officials in the Philadelphia area are asking for results of the Environmental Protection Agency’s study of the safety of artificial turf as they are increasingly installing the turf to save on maintenance costs. The EPA says they are just in the preliminary steps in devising a study that could give definitive answers. -DB The Philadelphia [...]

Environmental Protection Agency releases 2007 global warming report Bush kept secret

After receiving requests under the Freedom of Information Act, the EPA released a report this week that said six gases were linked to global warming and endangered public health. The Bush administration kept the report buried as they stalled action on environmental challenges. -DB SolveClimate October 14, 2009 By SolveClimate Staff In December 2007, while George [...]

Federal agency withholds information about weed-killer in drinking water

The Environmental Protection Agency has failed to warn consumers that herbicides exceeding safety limits have been found in drinking water in four states. -DB Huffington Post Investigative Fund August 24, 2009 By Danielle Ivory One of the nation’s most widely-used herbicides has been found to exceed federal safety limits in drinking water in four states, [...]