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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Murkowski to Try CRA to Deny EPA Greenhouse Gas Finding

Dec 15, 2009 by Matthew Madia

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) announced yesterday that she will introduce a resolution disapproving the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s determination that greenhouse gases are a threat to public health and the environment.

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More Public Participation at EPA

Dec 8, 2009 by Brian Turnbaugh*

The EPA's Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response (OSWER) is expanding public participation this month, launching a new online discussion forum on the EPA's blog and planning a "video town hall discussion" to discuss the Superfund.

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EPA Announces Endangerment Finding for Greenhouse Gases

Dec 8, 2009 by Matthew Madia

Greenhouse gases are officially a threat to public health and the environment in the eyes of the federal government. Yesterday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized its endangerment finding for greenhouse gases. The finding will now compel the agency to regulate emissions under the Clean Air Act.

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Study Shows Infants Exposed to Hundreds of Harmful Chemicals before Birth

A new study has found up to 232 industrial chemicals in the umbilical cord blood of infants born in 2007 and 2008. The identified chemicals include known carcinogens, neurotoxins, endocrine disruptors, and numerous other compounds toxic to various organs and systems. The study, commissioned by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) and Rachel's Network, reveals the extent of exposure to harmful substances faced by pregnant mothers and underscores the need to create public policies to prevent future exposures.

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Midnight Regulations Roundup

Dec 4, 2009 by Matthew Madia

The Obama administration continues to chip away at the Bush administration’s midnight regulations campaign. Obama agencies took action on two more Bush-era midnight regulations this week and a third last week.

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Rumors of a Regulatory Foe at OIRA

Dec 2, 2009 by Matthew Madia

Update: Lutter Confirmed at OIRA.

As reported by Rena Steinzor at the Center for Progressive Reform blog, rumors are circulating the Randall Lutter may be taking a deputy position at the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, the executive branch gatekeeper for all things regulatory. OIRA Administrator Cass Sunstein has neither denied nor confirmed the rumors, Steinzor says.

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Interior Publishes Notice on Mountaintop Mining

Nov 30, 2009 by Matthew Madia

The Department of the Interior published today an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking that lays out options for mitigating the environmental impact of mountaintop mining. Specifically, the notice discusses a Bush administration rule finalized in December 2008 which allows mining operations to dump waste in or near rivers and streams.

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Lessons of Bhopal: 25 Years Later, U.S. Chemical Laws Need Strengthening

Dec. 3 marks the 25th anniversary of the most catastrophic industrial accident in history: the leak of poisonous gas from a chemical plant in the Indian city of Bhopal. A similar accident some months later in West Virginia drove Congress to pass legislation intended to protect citizens from such disasters by requiring emergency planning and public disclosure of chemical releases. Twenty-five years after the Bhopal tragedy, much progress has been made, but much remains to be done to provide a minimum level of protection against chemical releases.

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New Web Tools Help Public Track Pollution

Nov 20, 2009 by Brian Turnbaugh*

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has launched a new feature on its website that uses several new interactive Web technologies that let users track the emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO2) from coal-fired power plants. SO2 is a pollutant that causes acid rain and harm to public health. EPA's Acid Rain Program (ARP) has been tracking quarterly SO2 emissions from covered power plants since 1995. The new features are a welcome tool for helping the public and government officials track pollution, hold polluting facilities accountable, and ensure that policies to reduce pollution are working.

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