Safeguarding Public Health and the Environment

Feb 8, 2016

Top 400 Taxpayers See Tax Rates Rise, But There’s More to the Story

As Americans were gathering party supplies to greet the New Year, the Internal Revenue Service released their annual report of cumulative tax data reported on the 400 tax r...

read in full

Feb 4, 2016

Chlorine Bleach Plants Needlessly Endanger 63 Million Americans

Chlorine bleach plants across the U.S. put millions of Americans in danger of a chlorine gas release, a substance so toxic it has been used as a chemical weapon. Greenpeace’s new repo...

read in full

Jan 25, 2016

U.S. Industrial Facilities Reported Fewer Toxic Releases in 2014

The Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) data for 2014 is now available. The good news: total toxic releases by reporting facilities decreased by nearly six percent from 2013 levels. Howe...

read in full

Jan 22, 2016

Methane Causes Climate Change. Here's How the President Plans to Cut Emissions by 40-45 Percent.

UPDATE (Jan. 22, 2016): Today, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released its proposed rule to reduce methane emissions...

read in full

more news

Climate Change Opposition Funded by ExxonMobile

Jan 11, 2007 by Matthew Madia

Ever wonder where all these climate change denialist groups came from? It wouldn't take a rocket scientist to guess they were funded by the oil and gas industry, but it did take the Union of Concerned Scientists to string together the facts, and the evidence is pretty damning. A new http://www.ucsusa.org/news/press_release/ExxonMobil-GlobalWarming-tobacco.html ">report from the Union of Concerned Scientists documents how the gas industry, and particularly ExxonMobil, has dumped millions of dollars into Astroturf organizations that seek to foster doubt about

read in full

Latest Watcher

Jan 10, 2007 by Matthew Madia

Be sure to check out the latest issue of our biweekly newsletter, The Watcher. Reg policy articles this time: OIRA Back Door Open to Dudley? EPA: Home for the Holidays

read in full

EPA: Home for the Holidays

While legislators were leaving Washington and families across America spent time celebrating the holidays, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) continued to issue rules and contemplate regulations. Several issues received little attention from media and lawmakers despite their potentially significant impact on the nation’s public health and welfare. Here is a brief summary of some of EPA's work during late December and early January.

read in full

EPA Finalizes Rules for Toxics Release Inventory

Just before the holidays, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) delivered industry an early present — a final rule relaxing reporting requirements for the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI), the country's flagship database on toxic pollution. The agency has moved forward with these changes despite findings in an OMB Watch report, Against the Public's Will (released Dec. 14, 2006), that the American public is overwhelmingly opposed to a reduction in reporting on toxics.

read in full

President May Chill Bipartisan Climate with Dudley Appointment

Jan 8, 2007 by Matthew Madia

As Reg Watch blogged earlier today, the White House is considering naming anti-regulatory zealot Susan Dudley an OIRA senior advisor, once again prioritizing big business above public welfare.

read in full

Dudley May Occupy OIRA Office

Jan 8, 2007 by Matthew Madia

BNA news service (subscription required) reports today that controversial OIRA administrator nominee Susan Dudley may be named a senior OIRA advisor. This move by the White House would end Dudley's official nomination, yet allow her to have an active role in policy making within the highly influential OIRA office. Dudley's nomination stalled last year when the then Republican controlled Senate failed to schedule a vote.

read in full

An Agenda to Weaken Protections

Dec 11, 2006 by Guest Blogger

Agencies released today the Fall 2006 Unified Agenda and Regulatory Plan, which sums up the work of the last six months and sets priorities for the coming year. Unfortunately, this year's regulatory plan has a few too many familiar faces. Agencies have failed to make progress on important regulations such as reducing worker's exposure to crystalline silica or upgrading energy efficiency standards. What's even more troubling about the Bush's regulatory plan for 2007 is the return of some industry favorites that aim to rollback health, safety and environmental standards.

read in full

Another Day, Another Deregulation

Dec 8, 2006 by Matthew Madia

On November 21, EPA issued a final rule that absolves pesticide users from obtaining a permit to apply pesticides over or near bodies of water. Today, the Detroit Free Press ran a Gannett News Service story about the ruling, which has been woefully undercovered in the media. The story also has a nice sidebar encapsulating some of the Bush administration's most objectionable deregulation decisions over the past six years; not to mention a pithy quote from OMB Watch Executive Director Gary Bass:

read in full

Latest Watcher

Dec 6, 2006 by Guest Blogger

Be sure to check out the latest issue of our biweekly newsletter, The Watcher. Reg policy articles this time: Supreme Court Wades Through Decision on Climate Change FDA Negotiates Increase in Drug Industry User Fees

read in full

Good News on Dudley

Dec 6, 2006 by Guest Blogger

According to the Federal Times, the Dudley nomination may be indefinitely on hold: The nomination of President Bush’s controversial pick to head the government’s regulatory policy office is dead, according to a leading Republican senator. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who chairs the committee considering the nomination, said she decided not to bring the nomination of Susan Dudley to a vote this month by the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. She said she did this because of the lack of time remaining in this Congress and opposition to Dudley’s nomination from Democrats.

read in full