The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced it is taking another small step increasing transparency by providing free access to a key database that lists every chemical in commerce. Well…almost every chemical. Of the more than 84,000 chemicals on the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Chemical Substance Inventory, the identities of almost 17,000 are kept secret because the manufacturers allege the information is confidential business information (CBI). Such CBI claims are widely abused by manufacturers, and with the EPA's acquiescence, large amounts of information are inappropriately withheld from the public. 

Congress’s push to kneecap greenhouse gas regulation got a little stronger today when Sen. John Rockefeller (D- coal WV) introduced a bill that would delay for two additional years any EPA regulation of stationary sources like power plants and oil refineries.

A new report from the Environmental Integrity Project and Earthjustice uncovers dozens of cases where ponds of toxic coal combustion waste have leaked into nearby wetlands, streams, and groundwater supplies.

The Office of Management and Budget unveiled President Obama’s FY 2011 budget request on Monday. Obama has decided to propose a spending freeze for discretionary, non-defense budget items. (See OMB Watch’s statement here.) Because Obama has proposed an overall freeze and not a line-item-by-line-item freeze, spending could be transferred to other areas to reflect administration priorities.