Keystone Pipeline Derailed – For Now
Jan 24, 2012
On Jan. 18, President Obama rejected the permit for the controversial Keystone XL pipeline project, which was sought by Canadian firm TransCanada and Big Oil interests. The Obama administration determined that more study was needed to see whether the project was in the long-term national interest of the United States. Communities along the proposed pipeline route that are concerned about public health and safety issues welcomed the administration's decision, even as Republican lawmakers vowed to continue fighting for the project.
Third-Party Audits Aren't a Panacea for Increasing Safety
Jan 24, 2012
The third-party audit system, in which private companies take over responsibility for inspecting worksites and production facilities, has been shown to expose Americans to significant health and safety risks while eating, working, and breathing.
House Attack on Public Protections Continues with Passage of the REINS Act
Dec 7, 2011
WASHINGTON, Dec. 7, 2011—The House today passed the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Geoff Davis (R-KY), represents an extreme attack on safeguards that protect our environment, food, children's toys, workplaces, health, civil rights, and economy.
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House Passes Regulatory Accountability Act in Attempt to Make It More Difficult to Protect the Public
Dec 2, 2011
WASHINGTON, Dec. 2, 2011—Today, the House passed the so-called Regulatory Accountability Act (RAA), which was sponsored by Reps. Lamar Smith (R-TX) and Collin Peterson (D-MN). The bill, if passed by the Senate and signed by President Obama, would make it far more difficult to protect the public from environmental, health, safety, and economic hazards.
read in fullRegulatory Accountability Act Threatens Essential Public Protections
Nov 22, 2011
For the past six decades, our nation's system of public protections has developed safeguards that protect us from health and safety threats. Now, however, the misleadingly titled Regulatory Accountability Act could turn this system on its head, allowing more special interest influence and inviting endless rounds of litigation.
read in fullCommunities Across the Nation Struggle to Combat Air Pollution
Nov 22, 2011
Though the Clean Air Act and rules from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have reduced national air pollution levels, hundreds of communities around the country still struggle with dangerously poor air quality. Released on Nov. 7, Poisoned Places: Toxic Air, Neglected Communities is an investigative journalism project that raises awareness about these communities. The project includes a series of in-depth stories and an interactive mapping tool that raise important questions at a time when Congress is seeking to weaken the act and its enforcement.
Despite Delays and Threats, EPA Finally Classifies TCE as a Cancer-Causing Chemical
Oct 12, 2011
After more than 20 years, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has finally determined that trichloroethylene (TCE), a chlorinated solvent used primarily for removing grease from metal, causes cancer. The assessment was finalized by the EPA’s Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS), an important but troubled program that is tasked with providing the public with critical information about dangerous chemical exposures.
Analysis of the Regulatory Accountability Act: An Unjustified, Dangerous Overhaul of Federal Rulemaking Law
Sep 30, 2011
The Regulatory Accountability Act (RAA), announced by Sens. Rob Portman (R-OH), Mark Pryor (D-AR), and Susan Collins (R-ME) and Reps. Lamar Smith (R-TX) and Collin Peterson (D-MN) on Sept. 22, is a radical overhaul of the federal rulemaking process that would result in a system that allows powerful special interests to dominate. The bill would cast aside public health, worker safety, and environmental quality goals that are the basis of so many public protections and make estimated costs to businesses and the economy the most important consideration in rulemaking.
EPA Both Increases and Delays Public Access to Critical Greenhouse Gas Data
Sep 13, 2011
In August, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) made several changes to the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Mandatory Reporting Rule that will improve, but also delay, public access to critical air pollution data. The EPA will launch an electronic tool to collect and make public GHG pollution data from companies. However, the agency allowed firms in several industries to delay disclosing the factors used to calculate their GHG emissions.
Obama Administration Issues Environmental Justice MOU
Aug 16, 2011
On Aug. 4, 17 federal agencies signed a memorandum of understanding that aims to address and reduce the disproportionate harm from environmental degradation that affects indigenous, low-income, and minority communities. The "Memorandum of Understanding on Environmental Justice and Executive Order 12898" (MOU EJ) is the most recent step taken by the Obama administration to address the environmental burdens facing these communities and to encourage people from affected communities to participate in public processes designed to improve environmental health and safety.
