PROTECTING ACCESS TO ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION

RTKnet: States

Louisiana Bill Seeks To Limit Citizen Suits (Mother Jones)

A new bill before the Louisiana Senate would bar university law clinics from filing suits against government agencies, suits seeking monetary damages, or suits that raise state constitutional challenges. A key target of the bill is the Tulane Environmental Law Clinic (TELC), which has litigated dozens of suits against industrial polluters and other environmental offenders on behalf of Louisiana citizens.

(10 May 2010)

California Proposes Adding Two Chemicals To Prop 65 List (OEHHA)

California has proposed adding two toxics to its Proposition 65 list of toxic substances. The state proposes adding acrylamide as a reproductive toxicant and the pesticide metam potassium as a carcinogen.

(10 Mar 2010)

EPA Announces New Action to Prevent Coal Ash Releases (U.S. EPA)

EPA will collect information from electric utilities on the structural integrity of their coal ash impoundments and conduct on-site assessments. According to EPA, "The assessment and analysis of all such units located at electric utilities in the U.S. will be compiled in a report and made available to the public." The actions are in response to the 2008 coal ash spill in Tennessee.

(09 Mar 2010)

EPA Proposes 8 New Superfund Sites, Adds 10 Sites (U.S. EPA)

EPA is adding 10 hazardous waste sites to the Superfund National Priorities List (NPL), and proposing to add an additional 8 sites. The proposed sites are in FL, MI, MO, MT, NC, NY, and TN.

(02 Mar 2010)

Coal Ash Problem Worse Than First Revealed (OMB Watch)

A new report from the Environmental Integrity Project and Earthjustice uncovers dozens of cases where ponds of toxic coal combustion waste have leaked into nearby wetlands, streams, and groundwater supplies.

(02 Mar 2010)

States Push EPA, Congress to Curb Business Confidentiality Claims for Chemicals (NY Times)

States are demanding greater disclosure of alleged trade secrets related to chemicals regulated by EPA. According to one state official, "We're talking about a very basic right to know, which is needed by consumers, regulators, workers. ... If [a chemical] is in products we're going to use, we feel like people ought to have access to robust information."

(02 Mar 2010)

California Moves to List BPA as Toxin (Breast Cancer Fund)

The California Environmental Protection Agency signaled its intent to add bisphenol A (BPA) to the state’s official list of chemicals known to cause cancer or birth defects, adding to the mounting evidence that the plastics chemical should be banned from food and beverage containers. The list is part of California's right-to-know program, know as Proposition 65.

(16 Feb 2010)

Coal Ash Action Plans Disclosed (U.S. EPA)

The EPA has disclosed action plans from 22 electric utility facilities to improve the safety of their coal ash impoundments. The following utilities are still hiding critical information as trade secrets: Alabama Power Company, Duke Energy Corporation, First Energy Generation Corporation, Georgia Power Company, Gulf Power Company, and Mississippi Power Company.

(05 Feb 2010)

Companies To Disclose Toxics In Toys Under New Washington Pilot Program (Washington Toxics Coalition)

Children’s health advocates today applauded the Washington State Department of Ecology’s first-in-the-nation program that will require manufacturers of toys and other children’s products to report whether their products contain certain harmful chemicals.

(28 Jan 2010)

Lessons of Bhopal: 25 Years Later, U.S. Chemical Laws Need Strengthening (OMB Watch)

Dec. 3 marks the 25th anniversary of the most catastrophic industrial accident in history: the leak of poisonous gas from a pesticide plant in the Indian city of Bhopal. Twenty-five years after the tragedy, much progress has been made, but much remains to be done to provide a minimum level of protection against chemical releases.

(01 Dec 2009)