Citizen Health & Safety

Proposed Bulletin on Good Guidance Practices

Download the proposed OMB bulletin.

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Who Needs Regs When You Can Self-Regulate?

Dec 6, 2005 by Guest Blogger

In another sad day for ocean life, EPA announced Dec. 2 a new proposed rule that will allow oil facilities handling up to 10,000 gallons of oil to write their own oil spill prevention plans, without seeking certification by a professional engineer. The proposed rule also indefinitely postpones compliance dates for farms holding up to 10,000 gallons of oil to write their own prevention plans. The proposal "streamlines" the approval process under the auspices of relieving regulatory burden for small businesses.

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Country of Origin Labels... for Socks

Dec 5, 2005 by Guest Blogger

The FTC just announced an updated rule on country-of-origin labeling for socks. Meanwhile, we still can't get country-of-origin labels for the food we eat. The slogan should be "Buy American -- for footwear, not for food."

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EPA Subverts Science to Justify Clear Skies

Dec 2, 2005 by Guest Blogger

A new ">Congressional Research Services report finds Clear Skies will have far fewer health benefits than competing pollution legislation. Moreover, EPA exaggerated the costs of more stringent pollution controls to justify the administration's bogus Clear Skies Initiative. From the report:

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New OMB Watch Report on TRI: Dismantling the Public's Right to Know

OMB Watch released a report entitled: "Dismantling the Public's Right to Know: EPA's Systematic Weakening of the Toxic Release Inventory." The report details how under the Bush administration, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is slowly dismantling its flagship environmental information tool: the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI).

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EPA Plans Shield Polluters from Accountability: Statement by Sean Moulton, Senior Policy Analyst

The Environmental Protection Agency could not have sent a clearer message about its priorities as dictated by the White House: corporate interests before public health and safety. On September 21, EPA officials announced plans to roll back our nation's premier tool for citizens seeking information on toxic pollution released into their communities. The agency proposed dramatically reducing industry reporting requirements under its Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) program and plans to cut the program in half by switching to reporting every other year from the current annual program.

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Open Gov meets Right to Know meets Reg Policy

Dec 1, 2005 by Guest Blogger

Here at OMB Watch, we have separate programs for open government, the public's right to know about industry harms (although we stick to environmental right to know), and regulatory policy. Every now and then, an issue comes along that hits all those areas at once.

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Court Rules in Favor of Mountaintop Mining

Nov 30, 2005 by Guest Blogger

Update on mountaintop removal: The use of a streamlined, general permit for mountaintop mining was reinstated by an appeals court on Nov. 22, vacating a lower court decision to bar the use of a general permit for 11 coal mining projects in West Virginia. The three-judge panel concluded that the Army Corps of Engineers had complied with the Clean Water Act in issuing the general permit. The streamlined general permit requires far less scrutiny of environmental impacts than an individual permit.

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EPA to Reduce Testing of Ground Zero

Nov 30, 2005 by Guest Blogger

In a slap in the face to resident of New York City, EPA released yesterday a reduced testing plan for contaminants released in the collapse of the World Trade Center. EPA backed away from initial broader testing plan that included parts of Brooklyn and areas north of Canal Street in Manhattan. From the Washington Post:

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White House Asserts Authority Over Agency Guidance Documents

The White House released a draft bulletin on the day before Thanksgiving that establishes new guidelines for non-rulemaking agency guidance documents.

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