Citizen Health & Safety

Court Dismisses First Data Quality Act Case

In the first Data Quality Act case to be handled by the courts, a U.S. District Court has ruled that challenges under the DQA and its subsequent guidelines to agencies are not judicially reviewable. A previous court decision addressed the issue of reviewability, but the legal claim in that case was not limited to data quality.

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EPA Releases Early TRI Data, Usability Limited

On Nov. 23, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) began early access to the 2003 Toxics Release Inventory (TRI), but in a limited manner. This early release is seven months faster than last year's release. While this earlier access represents a step in the right direction, the data format significantly limits its use. Additionally, EPA will not make the underlying data available to the public at this time.

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Data Quality Comparison Chart

OMB Watch has created a table that compares the draft Data Quality guidelines generated by a wide variety of agencies and departments. This serves as a guide to the categories and characteristics that OMB Watch compared between the various drafts. The table is available at http://www.ombwatch.org/rtk/dqcomparison-entirecharts.pdf.

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Court Rules Data Quality Act Not Judicially Reviewable

A U.S. District Court has ruled that the Data Quality Act (DQA) and its subsequent guidelines to agencies are not judicially reviewable. This represents the first DQA case handled by the courts. A previous court decision addressed the issue of the DQA's judicial reviewability, but that legal claim in that case was not limited to data quality.

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Of snow jobs and smog

Nov 23, 2004 by Guest Blogger

Yet another giveaway of the public interest for corporate special interests. EPA has removed several chemicals from its list of smog-forming volatile organic compounds subject to Clean Air Act regulation. The NRDC has examined the delisting of one of those -- tertiary butyl acetate, or TBAC -- and found that the EPA has distorted basic chemistry and compiled a dubious economics analysis to justify deregulating this chemical that causes ground-level ozone, which is harmful to the lungs. Find out more here.

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New Technology Lowers Mercury Emissions by 90 Percent

Nov 23, 2004 by Guest Blogger

While EPA continues to argue that a 90 percent reduction in mercury emissions at coal-fired power plants would be infeasible, a Kansas coal-fired power plant successfully lowered mercury emissions by 90 percent, according to the emissions control maker, ADA-ES. The company announced Nov. 18 that a month-long test of activated carbon injection at Sunflower Electric Holcomb Station successfully lowered mercury emissions of Western coal.

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New Cases of Mad Cow Disease Highlight Need to Close Loopholes in Protection

Two new cases of mad cow disease found in Canada serve as a dramatic reminder of the need for improved safeguards against the disease here in the U.S.

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NPS Fails to Address Species Impacts of Snowmobile Trails

In the aftermath of two court rulings rejecting rulemakings on winter use plans for Yellowstone, the National Park Service is once again being challenged in court for failing to consider the effects on bison populations of winter use plans that accommodate snowmobile use.

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Americans Vote to Protect Environment in Ballot Initiatives

Voters approved ballot measures on Nov. 2 that will strengthen environmental protections in several states. Although the Bush administration's return to power does not bode well for the future of environmental protections, the success of these state ballot initiatives indicates that citizens remain committed to protecting the environment. While only a few states voted down ballot initiatives to strengthen environmental protections, several states passed major environmental measures that will, among other things, clean up hazardous waste, limit mining with cyanide, and protect public lands.

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Nanofunding, nano-effort

Nov 12, 2004 by Guest Blogger

Today's Washington Post reports that EPA is awarding $4 million in grants to study the health and environmental effects of nanomaterials, the tinier than tiny materials that form the basis of nanotechnology. The nanomaterials pose serious risks: Measuring three-billionths of an inch or less, they are small enough to enter the lungs and perhaps even be absorbed through the skin. Experiments in animals have shown that once in the body, they can travel to the brain and other organs. So, the EPA's grants mean that it's doing enough, right?

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