On July 1, an estimated 42,000 gallons of crude oil poured out of ExxonMobil's Silvertip pipeline and into the Yellowstone River in Montana. Significant accumulations of oil have been found more than 40 miles downriver, and traces of oil have floated twice as far. While the cause of the spill has not been determined, speculation has centered on high river waters that could have exposed the pipe to damage.
In July, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released two reports that evaluated the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) performance on protecting America’s drinking water. The reports highlight EPA’s long-standing problems with collecting accurate data on violations and identifying and regulating dangerous contaminants. Should EPA fail to address these issues, Americans' health could be in jeopardy.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recently adopted a new standard that reduces the amount of lead allowed in children's products, providing a clear health benefit to American families. In voting July 13 to implement the lowest limit prescribed by statute, the 3-2 majority drew hostile objections from minority members. Such clashes are familiar to CPSC and could have implications for product safety in the future.
A proposed Department of Defense (DOD) rule has the open government community concerned that agencies may try to undermine the Obama administration's emerging controlled unclassified information (CUI) system before it is even formally in place.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced its plans to expand the industry sectors required to report to the