Environmental Right to Know

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

U.S. Wearing Blinders on Global Warming

Ironically, just months after the business-friendly Bush administration squelched the climate change section of the Environmental Protection Agency’s report on the environment, the world’s second largest insurer released a report revealing how climate change is rising on the corporate agenda.

read in full

EPA Reviews TRI Burden Reduction Comments

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) continues to review the hundreds of comments it received on burden reduction proposals for the Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) program. EPA outlined the proposed changes in a 2003 white paper in Phase II of the TRI Stakeholder Dialogue.

read in full

EPA Gags Regional Staff on Perchlorate

EPA has prevented regional offices from speaking to congressional staff about perchlorate contamination. Perchlorate is found in rocket fuel and has contaminated drinking water near Department of Defense (DoD) sites in at least 22 states.

read in full

Nuclear Insecurity Under DOE

A new Department of Energy (DOE) regulation could threaten safety standards at nuclear weapons facilities nationwide. At the same time, findings by DOE’s watchdog office reveal that nuclear facilities cheated during mock attacks. New Safety Standards

read in full

Time Remains to Comment on EPA's Burden Reduction Plans for TRI

OMB Watch encourages interested individuals to take part in the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Stakeholder Dialogue Phase II that focuses on burden reduction options for the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) program. The TRI is a flagship database that contains information about releases and transfers of toxic chemicals from manufacturing facilities. Since the establishment of TRI, the simple act of publicizing the amount toxic chemicals that facilities release has pressured companies to reduce these releases by more than half.

read in full

EPA Plans Early Release of Some TRI Data

EPA recently held a meeting with interested stakeholders to explain its intention to release 2002 Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) data much earlier than in recent years. Under EPA's current plans the 2002 TRI would be available on the agency's website in February or March, several months ahead of the recent release times of May or June.

read in full

OMB Watch Submits Comments on EPA's Report on the Environment

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) engaged in an ambitious undertaking when it published it's Draft Report on the Environment (ROE). While we support EPA’s intentions for the report and understand the difficult task they undertook, OMB Watch believes that a great deal of work is needed to make the ROE a truly useful tool. The EPA fails to provide enough information on the methodology and indicators used in the report. The report would also benefit from a more objective tone. Numerous information gaps also detract from the comprehensiveness of the report.

read in full

Meet and Comment on EPA's Draft Report on the Environment

Resources for the Future (RFF) will be holding a seminar this Wednesday, Dec. 17 from 12:30 pm - 1:30 pm on future steps for the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Draft Report on the Environment.

read in full

EPA Sheltering Information Under Gag Order

A recently leaked internal memo from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) orders agency employees to refrain from discussing information regarding enforcement actions. The gag order came a week before the Bush administration revealed it would drop pending investigations of 70 power plants accused of violating the Clean Air Act (CAA). The Oct. 28 memo from J. P. Suarez, the assistant administrator for the Office of Enforcement and Compliance, instructs staff to refrain from discussing “sensitive enforcement information” with external parties. These third parties include:

read in full

Proposed ExxonMobil Plant to Test New Restrictions on Information

Mobile, Ala., appears to be the testing ground for new restrictions on energy information. Inquiries into a proposed natural gas plant will test if policies meant to increase security will actually compromise the public’s safety.

read in full