News Clips

GREAT LAKES, GREAT STAKES: A HOSTILE EPA THREATENS TO UNDO PAST PROGRESS

by | December 11, 2017
From: The Progressive ““This administration is unlike any we have seen before,” says Kyla Bennett, director of the New England chapter of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility. A former EPA employee, she’s seen policy shifts between administrations, but never this ...

WATCHDOGS SAY US CHEMICAL SAFETY BOARD IS “FLYING BLIND”

by | December 8, 2017
From: Truth Out “”America’s sole industrial safety monitor is currently flying blind and placing the health of the public at risk,” Carlesco said.” Read more . . . Read the PEER story ...

COURT ORDER SOUGHT TO REQUIRE REFINERIES TO ADVISE PUBLIC ABOUT ACCIDENTAL CHEMICAL RELEASES

by | December 8, 2017
From: Daily Breeze “But in practical terms, the CSB relies on media reports to learn about accidental chemical releases, said Adam Carlesco, an attorney representing Washington, D.C.-based Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility.” Read more . . . Read the PEER story ...

ADVOCATES SUE SAFETY BOARD OVER COMPANY EMISSIONS REPORTING RULE

by | December 8, 2017
From: BNA Pearson “The lawsuit filed by Houston-area organizations and the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility seeks to compel the U.S. Chemical Safety Board to issue regulations requiring companies to report accidental chemical releases within 18 months.” Read more ...

AIR POLLUTION: GREENS SUE CSB OVER ACCIDENTAL RELEASE REPORTING

by | December 7, 2017
From: Greenwire “A coalition of environmental groups today sued the U.S. Chemical Safety Board in a bid to force the agency to increase transparency about accidental chemical releases. Such action, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility and three other groups argued, was ...

TRUMP INACTION LEAVES WHISTLE BLOWERS TRAPPED IN A SWAMP

by | December 7, 2017
From: Buzzflash “According to a December 5 Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) news release, whistleblowers who are punished or fired from federal agencies are now unable to fully appeal their personnel cases because of Trump administration inaction.” Read ...

GREEN-WASHED BEHIND THE GILLS

by | December 4, 2017
From: Folio Weekly “I can’t be the only one who does a double-take when I hear what sounds like the strains of “It ain’t easy being green” from the guy whose state DEP’s “non-enforcement posture” led it to bring 81 percent fewer cases against polluters in 2016 than it had ...

EPA: IG SHELVED AUDIT OF TROUBLED RADIATION CENTER – RECORDS

by | December 1, 2017
From: Greenwire “Even if the follow-up inquiry had found diminished grounds for concern, Ruch said, “there would be broad public interest in knowing why and how much comfort should be taken in that.”” Read more . . . Read the PEER story ...

INTERIOR DEPARTMENT MIRED IN INVESTIGATIONS

by | November 29, 2017
From: High Country News “…some watchdog groups worry that any findings about Zinke’s conduct will simply pass unnoticed without outside pressure. Investigations are only effective “because of people’s reaction,” Ruch says.” Read more . . . Read the PEER story ...

CELLULAR SACRAMENTO: VERIZON DEAL WILL BRING 5G NETWORK TO THE CAPITAL CITY- BUT AT WHAT COST?

by | November 27, 2017
From: Sacramento News & Review “Based on information PEER says it discovered through Freedom of Information Act requests, its members are asking the inspector general to investigate whether the National Park Service violated federal laws by allowing Verizon to erect six cellular ...

ENVIRONMENT OFFICIALS PLOT AGAINST PESKY CORMORANTS

by | November 20, 2017
From: The Buffalo News ““These are the least politically popular animals I’ve ever encountered,” Ruch said. “All we’re saying is learn about them before you shoot them.” Ruch added: “Our involvement in the issue was motivated by what we see as an increasingly militarized ...

CATFISH FARMERS FREE TO RESUME WAR AGAINST CORMORANTS

by | November 14, 2017
From: Greenwire “”It’s the sort of sloppy science that gets the Fish and Wildlife Service sued regularly,” PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch said today of the agency’s latest work, adding that it will lead to “militarized wildlife management … just ...

EMPLOYEE GROUP RAISES CONCERNS THAT NEW PARK SERVICE UNIFORMS COULD INCREASE DISEASE RISK

by | November 14, 2017
From: Government Executive ““No one has apparently even asked whether environmentally sensitive federal lands and waters will be subjected to doses of antimicrobial chemicals, insecticides and other commercial poisons every time these treated garments are washed,” said Kyla Bennett ...

RICHARD WEST SELLARS 1935-2017

by | November 9, 2017
From: Wise County Messenger “Memorial donations may be made to the George Wright Society, P.O. Box 65, Hancock, MI, 49930-0065; Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), 962 Wayne Avenue, Suite 610, Silver Spring, MD, 20910; or The Food Depot, 1222A Siler Road, Santa Fe ...

STATE OF MISSOURI FAILS TO FOLLOW ITS OWN WATER QUALITY GUIDELINES

by | November 7, 2017
From: KPLR11 St Louis “This is after a watchdog group tried getting Missouri to take action four years ago. The group is called P.E.E.R. – Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility. I asked spokesman Jeff Ruch, “What was their response?” He answered, “In essence it was ...

ENVIRONMENTAL GROUP WANT PROTECTIONS RESTORED FOR LOUISIANA BLACK BEAR

by | November 6, 2017
From: KATC “The group says in their notice that the removal of the species was done prematurely and based on false premises which “flew in the face of a wealth of the best available science”.” Read more . . . Read the PEER story ...

SCOTT PRUITT JUST PICKED A BUNCH OF OIL AND GAS REPS TO ADVISE THE EPA

by | November 6, 2017
From: Vice ““I have never seen anyone go after these boards. They’ve always kind of been off-limits,” said Kyla Bennett, who worked as the head of wetlands enforcement in EPA’s Northeast region for 10 years and now runs Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, an ...

GROUPS WANT PROTECTIONS RESTORED FOR LOUISIANA BLACK BEAR

by | November 3, 2017
From: LA Times “Some conservationists and environmentalists opposed the move when it was announced. On Thursday, the Washington-based Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility released copies of its letter to the Department of the Interior, announcing plans to sue under ...

GROUP CRIES FOUL OVER CELL SERVICE EXPANSION IN NATIONAL PARKS

by | November 2, 2017
From: Courthouse News ““Not only is this a helluva way to run a railroad, but Yosemite does not even know who owns the trains,” Jeff Ruch, executive director of PEER, said. He said there’s a tendency of many national park superintendents to “ensure every square inch of their ...

SCOTT PRUITT IS PROTECTING THE ENVIRONMENT FROM INSIDE THIS WINDOWLESS SHIPPING CONTAINER

by | November 1, 2017
From: Esquire “For a listing price of just $25,000 in taxpayer money, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt has completed the installation of a “super-secure phone booth” in his office at the headquarters of the Environmental Protection Agency. And we’ve got photos!” ...
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