News Clips

Critics say the Joe Biden administration has not been cautious enough in its approach, or taken strong enough action against Norfolk Southern, the rail company behind the disaster. Much of the ire over the management of the toxic wreck’s aftermath was directed at the EPA, and rightwing ...

A lawsuit filed by environmental groups alleges the National Park Service and the Federal Aviation Administration violated federal law by approving a plan to regulate air tours over Marin County’s national parks without adequately studying environmental impacts. The Public Employees for ...

But Kyla Bennett, director of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility in New England, said she’s “terrified” that Heiple will “ram through” renewable energy projects at the expense of conservation. Bennett referred to a 2021 article co-authored by Heiple that said ...

After Biden’s EPA withdrew the review, it released a statement declaring the process “compromised by political interference and infringement of authorship.” During its review, the administration took no action against career employees who implemented the political appointee changes. ...

The range of toxicity values was framed by political appointees as a “compromise” to resolve the alleged dispute between the OCSPP and the ORD, the inspector general said. The appointees also defended it as a “policy” decision, not an alteration of scientific data. After the Biden ...

As environmental groups dedicated to protecting our natural resources and wildlife, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), the Western Watershed Project, and nine other groups are deeply concerned about the hidden threat facing the sage grouse in Wyoming. The Bureau of ...

But here’s the real problem: To date, while virtually all of the strongly protected areas in U.S. waters are in the Western Pacific region — Papahanaumokuakea, Rose Atoll, Marianas Trench, and Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monuments, covering a total of approximately 1.2 ...

With Congress placing the federal government on a six-year wait to put in place new regulations to protect North Atlantic right whales, two groups advocating for whales filed an administrative rule-making petition pushing the government to protect all whales in U.S. waters. “Ship ...

“The air tour management plan for San Francisco’s national parks is a disgrace and should be rescinded,” said Paula Dinerstein, attorney for Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, or PEER, the lead plaintiff. “These agencies did not just cut corners, ...

n the ongoing trend of air tour management plans for national parks being called shoddy and insufficient in their crafting, a lawsuit has been filed challenging tour plans for Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Point Reyes National Seashore, Muir Woods National Monument, and San ...

Unfortunately, turf field disposal is often a matter of out-of-sight, out-of-mind, advocates say. “It’s being shipped overseas. It’s being dumped in fields in Pennsylvania and wetlands in Maryland and Massachusetts,” said Kyla Bennett, science policy director for Public ...

PEER and The Ocean Foundation filed the petition, which is the first to propose a nationwide minimum standard for whale safety zones. NOAA Fisheries would establish whale safety zones for all large ships entering or exiting American ports or transiting through marine sanctuaries and ...

Toxic PFAS chemicals are found in multiple products, ranging from waterproof clothing to firefighting foams and ski waxes. Often called “forever chemicals” because they don’t break down easily, PFAS are linked to cancer, birth defects and other health problems. The new ...

And it’s not just Maryland. Researchers said these PFAS-laden pesticides are used across the country. “If the intent was to spread PFAS contamination across the globe, there would be few more effective methods than lacing pesticides with PFAS,” said scientist and former EPA ...

Environmental advocates, incensed by recent reports of ships speeding through slow zones meant to protect whales, are calling on NOAA to establish year-round navigation standards for all coastal waters. The Ocean Foundation and Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) on ...

Advocates of tougher PFAS regulation urged the EPA and other federal agencies to make grants and low-cost loans available to local water districts to build new systems. Billions of dollars for drinking water were included in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act ...

The Inquirer hosted a Reddit AMA (”Ask Me Anything”) on Tuesday in collaboration with the r/baseball subreddit, answering readers’ most-asked questions about the story. Inquirer reporters Barbara Laker and David Gambacorta were joined by Kyla Bennett, science policy director for ...

On the other hand, some critics of the regulations are concerned it doesn’t go far enough. “We can no longer afford this chemical by chemical approach when there are over 14,000 PFAS,” said Kyla Bennet, science policy director with Public Employees for Environmental ...

The federal proposal would have sweeping effects across the country, but Colorado could be impacted more than most. A 2021 study by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) found that Colorado may have the most PFAS-contaminated sites of any state in the U.S. At the time, ...

Multiple major organizations shared similar sentiments. Erik Olson, a senior health expert with the Natural Resources Defense Council, called the proposal “groundbreaking,” while Earthjustice attorney Jonathan Kalmuss-Katz said that it was “necessary” and “long overdue.” Still ...