Philadelphia Explosion One in String of ‘Near Miss’ Accidents at Refineries Using Deadly Chemical
From: Desmog “On June 25, watchdog group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) filed a legal petition with the Environmental Protection Agency, asking the agency to prohibit the use of HF in refining and to require the phase-out of HF within two years. “[S]uch ...
Death on the trail: More Americans visit national parks, but fewer rangers on patrol
From: USA Today “The thin green line patrolling our national parks is in danger of snapping,” said Jeff Ruch, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, a nonprofit which advocates for public transparency and provides ...
Restore National Bison Range funds now
From: The Missoulian “In years past, groups such as Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) and the Blue Goose Alliance have successfully argued the case for continued federal oversight of the range. And it’s only right that federal oversight should attend any use ...
EPA bargaining proposal makes it easier to fire staff, rolls back telework, official time
From: Federal News Network “EPA Senior Labor Attorney Robert Coomber, in a June 24 email to agency and AFGE officials, said the agency had unsuccessfully attempted to bring AFGE to the bargaining table to negotiate a new Master Collective Bargaining Agreement for more than a year. ...
EPA Unilaterally Imposes New Union Contract Slashing Telework, Easing Firing
From: Government Executive “The Environmental Protection Agency has cut off negotiations with its primary union and informed the labor group it will unilaterally implement a new contract, stripping away many of the rights and privileges employees currently enjoy and setting up yet ...
With New ‘Imposed Contract,’ Trump’s EPA Tries to Neuter Worker Rights
From: Common Dreams “The Trump administration continued its attacks on federal workers this week with a new “agreement” that would kneecap the power of unions representing EPA employees. The development, as watchdog group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility ...
Critics slam EPA for rolling back union protections with latest contract
From: The Hill “In an email sent to agency staff earlier this week and obtained by The Hill late Tuesday, the agency announced it will implement a new contract that remains unsigned by the union itself. “It’s styled as a collective bargaining agreement, but there’s no agreement ...
New EPA rule could expand number of Trump officials weighing in on FOIA requests
From: The Hill ““It’s exceptionally difficult to litigate on the ‘basis of responsiveness.’ There is no record,” said Kevin Bell, staff counsel at Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility. “FOIA litigation is always pretty one-sided, there is no discovery … now ...
Trump Administration Is Suppressing Science and Public Opinion to Drill the Arctic Refuge
From: Center for American Progress “In December 2018, the Trump administration’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for oil and gas leasing in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. The review was criticized for being ...
‘Failing and struggling’: How financial decisions hobbled the National Bison Range
From: The Missoulian “A 10-month investigation by the Missoulian charted a years-long funding crunch at this group of National Wildlife Refuges, one that began when the Fish and Wildlife Service kept $624,076 intended for the Bison Range Complex at its Denver Regional Office. Fish ...
National Bison Range faces detailed planning process
From: The Missoulian “The plan for the Bison Range was mandated by a 2017 legal settlement between Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The planning process typically takes three to five years. But the Fish and Wildlife ...
Why DC pledges to test all playgrounds for toxic lead after prior ABC7 investigation
From: WJLA “There’s a lot at stake. In addition to lead poisoning which we’ve all seen the very tragic effects all over the country when we look at all the public outrage that happened with Flint Michigan with the water,” said Kevin Bell with PEER. Public Employees for ...
The Energy 202: Congress wants to know when Trump will fill all the vacant positions at Interior
From: The Washington Post “Many of the posts have been left unoccupied for so long that they are weighing on the mood of career staff. “We know that morale is very poor,” said Peter Jenkins, a senior counsel at Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), an ...
OAHS Artificial Turf Replacement Set for This Summer in Easton
From: Wicked Local Easton “Work is expected to begin on replacement of the artificial turf and track at Oliver Ames High School towards the end of June. The project should be completed by around Aug. 23. After a lengthy discussion with parents concerned about possible health risks ...
Government Watchdog Says State, DEP Misleading Public About Drinking Water Quality
From: Naples Daily News “Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, or PEER, released a report last week that says more than half of the state’s drinking water facilities have violations that aren’t being reported to the public by the Florida Department of ...
Trump’s Latest Government Overhaul Aims to Cut Advisory Panels by One-Third
From: CNN “President Donald Trump on Friday announced plans to slash the formal system for advising regulators on nearly every area of federal policy. The President signed an executive order directing each agency to “terminate at least one-third of its current” advisory ...
House Dems Push Trump to Fill High-Level Interior Vacancies
From: The Hill “Fifty-nine percent of key [Interior] positions have yet to be filled; fewer than half of those vacant even have a nominee awaiting Senate approval,” Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.), chair of the House Natural Resources Committee, wrote in a letter to President Trump ...
Federal Managers who Try to Protect Public Lands Face Threats and Violence. Here’s What Makes That Much Worse.
From: The Washington Post “Recently, the federal Bureau of Land Management fired a longtime employee, allegedly for blowing the whistle on the Trump administration’s refusal to enforce grazing policies on federal lands. The former employee, Craig Hoover, reported that agency ...
Number of Criminal Environmental Cases Referred to DOJ by Interior at Nearly 25-Year Low
From: The Hill “The number of criminal environmental enforcement cases brought by the Interior Department has decreased by nearly 40 percent since 2016, according to internal data shared with The Hill. Criminal environmental cases that often deal with unlicensed big-game hunting, ...
Ethics Group Goes After Interior for Sidestepping Senate When Filling Posts
From: The Hill “An environmental group filed a complaint against the Department of the Interior on Tuesday, saying the agency shuffled controversial employees into roles without Senate confirmation. A May 23 order from Interior Secretary David Bernhardt slotted people into various ...
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