Security and Secrecy

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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Rule Allows Timber Projects to Avoid Environmental Assessments

The Forest Service recently issued standards allowing timber projects to eschew environmental assessments and impact statements -- normally required under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) -- provided that the affected area poses a risk of wildfire or contains insect-infested or diseased trees. The measures outline three categorical NEPA exemptions that would allow the harvesting of up to 70 acres of live trees (up from 50 in the proposal), the removal of up to 250 acres of dead or dying trees, and the removal of up to 250 acres of insect-infested or diseased areas.

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American Chemistry Council's Comments Demonstrate Need for Public CII Docket

Industry’s willingness to use homeland security as an excuse to expand secrecy and limit public access to information is apparent in the American Chemistry Council’s (ACC) comments on the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) proposed Critical Infrastructure Information (CII) rule. While DHS has yet to decide on when to allow access to the docket of public comments on the proposed CII rule, OMB Watch was able to obtain a copy of ACC’s comments.

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What Chemicals are in Your Water?

The chemical revolution over the last 50 years has brought great benefits; it has also exposed us to unknown risks from thousands of untested chemicals that now circulate around us and inside of us.

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EPA to Assess Carper Bill with Same Model Used on Clear Skies

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has agreed to analyze Sen. Tom Carper’s (D-DE) “Clean Air Planning Act” (S. 3135) with the same model used to show increased benefits for President Bush’s Clear Skies plan.

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Critical Infrastructure Information Docket

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently finished receiving public comments on its proposed rule for the handling of Critical Infrastructure Information (CII). While the June 16th deadline for comments was over a month ago, DHS is still not providing access to the public comments it received, nor has the agency announced any plans to do so.

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Public Meeting for National Infrastructure Advisory Council

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced in the Federal Register that the National Infrastructure Advisory Council (NIAC) will hold a public meeting on the security of information systems for critical infrastructure on Tuesday, July 22, 2002. The Council advises the President on issues around security of information systems relating to the critical infrastructure supporting sectors of the economy including banking, finance, transportation, energy, manufacturing, and emergency government services.

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FOIA Officers Meet Over News of Secrecy

The principal administrative Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) officers gathered on June 25th for a conference on the relationship between homeland security matters and FOIA. Homeland security matters have been among the leading rationales used for recent broad restrictions in public access to government information.

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Administration Hides Favorable Data for 'Clear Skies' Alternative

The Bush administration recently attempted to hide an analysis showing that a rival Senate plan would achieve greater public health and environmental benefits than the president’s Clear Skies Initiative, at only a slightly higher cost.

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OSHA Drops Ergonomics Recordkeeping Requirement

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) altered standards on June 30 for recording workplace injuries and illnesses, eliminating a provision that required employers to document workers’ ergonomic injuries.

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House Companion "Restore FOIA" Bill Introduced

On June 19th, Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) introduced the Restoration of Freedom of Information Act of 2003 (H.R. 2526) or “Restore FOIA” in an attempt to address the recent problems of information access. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) introduced the Senate companion bill (S. 609) in March. The bill amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-296) and provides for the protection of voluntarily furnished confidential information.

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