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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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more news

Takin' TRI to the Next Level

Apr 9, 2009 by Sean Moulton

Recently the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Environmental Council of the States (ECOS) invited me to speak at the National TRI Conference about my ideas for where the new administration might take the Toxic Releases Inventory (TRI) program. I thought some people who missed the conference might be interested in the ideas so I’m posting them here in a series of blog posts.

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High Court Rebuffs Environmentalists, Permits Cost-Benefit Analysis

The U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled 6-3 that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) can weigh costs against benefits under parts of the Clean Water Act. The court said EPA was not required to impose the most environmentally protective requirements on power plants that inadvertently kill millions of fish.

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High Court Sides with Industry on Cost-Benefit Analysis

Apr 2, 2009 by Matthew Madia

The Supreme Court ruled yesterday that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is permitted to weigh compliance costs against environmental benefits when writing certain rules under the Clean Water Act.

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Climate Bill Would Strip EPA Authority to Regulate

Apr 1, 2009 by Matthew Madia

House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Henry Waxman (D-CA) and environmental subcommittee chair Edward Markey (D-MA) have drafted a bill that would establish a cap-and-trade system for greenhouse gas emissions, mandate increases in the renewable energy supply, and require better energy efficiency in cars and other consumer products. The ultimate goal of the bill is to cut emissions 83 percent by 2050.

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EPA to Finally Declare Greenhouse Gases Harmful

Mar 24, 2009 by Matthew Madia

The Environmental Protection Agency stands ready to declare greenhouse gases a harmful air pollutant, setting the federal government on a path toward regulating emissions, according to a plethora of news sources. The New York Times predicts the effects.

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Court Blocks Bush Rule Allowing Guns in Parks

Mar 20, 2009 by Matthew Madia

Gun safety and park conservation advocates scored a victory yesterday when a federal judge temporarily blocked a Bush administration regulation permitting loaded weapons in national parks.

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EPA May Revise Bush Ozone Standard

Mar 12, 2009 by Matthew Madia

The Environmental Protection Agency may consider revising the current national air quality standard for ozone, or smog, set in March 2008 by the Bush administration.

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Toxic Communities Shafted by Health Agency, Report Shows

Mar 11, 2009 by Matthew Madia

A federal agency responsible for studying and responding to adverse health effects caused by toxic waste is reticent to acknowledge patterns of illness near contaminated sites, according to a report released by the House Science Committee subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight.

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Obama Turning Back Clock on Some Bush Midnight Rules

The Obama administration is taking action to reverse controversial regulations finalized in the closing days of the Bush administration, including one affecting endangered species and another limiting access to reproductive health services.

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Industry Secrecy Still Hindering Protection from Toxics

The excessive use of confidential business information claims is a major factor preventing the government from safe, effective management of thousands of industrial chemicals, according to several experts who recently presented their views to a congressional panel. The witnesses asserted that when information about potentially dangerous chemicals is labeled as trade secrets, government agencies and the public are denied the opportunity to evaluate the risks of chemicals and take action to protect public health and the environment.

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