Blog Posts and Analysis / Open, Accountable Government

U.S. Waters Still Toxic Dump Sites

A new report from Environment America uncovers a dirty truth in publicly available government databases about the country’s waterways – widespread toxic pollution dumped by industrial facilities. More than 230 million pounds of toxics were discharged into 1,900 waterways across all 50 states in 2007, including chemicals known to cause cancer and birth defects.

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Metal Mining Proposal Marks Online Forum Trend at EPA

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) launched an online forum on the agency's blog to collect comments on a potential change to the way metal mining companies report their pollution. Controversial court decisions in recent years have reduced the amount of information on the industry's pollution. This online forum marks at least the third time the Obama administration's EPA has used a "Web 2.0" tool to engage the public on matters of proposed agency policies.

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Read the Bill Act Stalled in Congress

Recently introduced House and Senate resolutions seek to illuminate the legislative process, giving Congress, as well as the American people, the opportunity to read legislation and formulate an informed opinion prior to any debate or votes.

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Controversial Patriot Act Reauthorization Ready for Senate Floor

On Oct. 7, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved a bill, the USA Patriot Act Sunset Extension Act of 2009 (S. 1692), to reauthorize the Patriot Act. The bill, introduced by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), chair of the committee, passed with bipartisan support but has been denounced by civil liberties groups and privacy advocates. A week earlier, the committee voted down another reauthorization bill, the JUSTICE Act (S. 1686), introduced by Sens. Russ Feingold (D-WI) and Richard Durbin (D-IL), that would have greatly reduced surveillance powers and strengthened civil liberties protections.

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New Policy Marks First Step in Narrowing State Secrets Privilege

On Sept. 23, the Justice Department released a new policy on use of the state secrets privilege. The policy, which parallels several related recommendations from the Moving Toward a 21st Century Right-to-Know Agenda, will be implemented on Oct. 1. The long-expected announcement drew mixed reactions from public interest groups, ranging from support to criticism that the policy offers little more than a rehash of the heavily criticized policies of the Bush administration.

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Companies Required to Report Greenhouse Gas Pollution

Beginning in 2010, thousands of businesses around the country will have to track their greenhouse gas emissions and report them to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), according to new agency rules. The information collected by EPA will be publicly available and used to inform policies to reduce these emissions and protect against the worst impacts of climate change.

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Congress Braces for Patriot Act Battle

On Sept. 22, Congress began hearings on USA Patriot Act provisions that are set to expire on Dec. 31. Some legislators and the president are seeking to retain controversial portions of the act, albeit in modified form.

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