Big Countdown & Important Changes at PEER
With six months until a crucial national election, PEER is working in overdrive to prepare for all possibilities.
With that in mind, we thought now would be an appropriate time for an update on the status of eleven PEER regulatory petitions. These petitions request that a federal agency propose and adopt rules addressing important issues, such as protecting civil servants, public health, wildlife, and our drinking water.
Protecting public health and the environment requires that groups like PEER constantly pressure the government to do better. Submitting regulatory petitions is one way to do this.
Behind each petition are current and former public employees working to make their agencies better stewards of the earth. With the upcoming election, now is the time to ramp up action to get our requests granted, especially in case there is a new administration in 2025.
We hope you will take a moment to read this summary of the extraordinary work PEER is doing on these petitions. We couldn’t do it without you!
Warmly,
Tim Whitehouse
Executive Director
Important changes at PEER
PEER’s Board of Directors is delighted to welcome Dr. Maria Brown. Dr. Brown recently served as President of the Maryland Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics and now focuses on public health teaching education and children’s environmental health advocacy. The Board thanks Ed Patrovsky for his nine years of service on the Board. Ed had an extraordinary 28-year career as a law enforcement ranger, mainly for the National Park Service and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.
PEER is also delighted to welcome Laurie Williams. Laurie is a retired U.S. Environmental Protection Agency attorney who devoted years to pursuing fair and effective climate policies. Laurie will support PEER’s Climate Integrity Program.
Diminishing Rangeland Protections
A senior range specialist is leaving the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) over its declining ability and willingness to protect the lands entrusted to it. Her central concern is that a shrinking cadre of BLM range staff are not allowed to stem the damage caused by chronic overgrazing and rampant grazing trespass. Read more >>
LAUSD Faces Federal, State, & County Pesticide Violations
Over the past year, the Los Angeles Unified School District, the nation’s second-largest K-12 school district, has faced a series of pesticide violations from federal, state, and county authorities. PEER’s Pacific Director Jeff Ruch details how LAUSD officials are hampering the operations of its nationally regarded oversight committee in our latest press release. Read more >>
New Integrity Problems Exhibit Old Problems
PEER’s Pacific Director Jeff Ruch writes that the Biden administration is falling short on its promise to improve federal scientific integrity policies before the upcoming federal elections and describes PEER’s work leading efforts to strengthen these policies. Read more >>