PRUITT TAKES OVER AUTHORITY FOR WATER PROTECTIONS POLICY
From: The Hill “The new order heavily downplays the role of local EPA experts in the field who in the past have made the final recommendations — and often decisions — regarding necessary environmental protections in their region.” Read more . . . Read the PEER story ...
WOLF KILLINGS REVIVE CALLS FOR PROTECTIVE ZONE AROUND DENALI
From: CGreenwire “The photographs have caused a stir in Alaska and elsewhere, prompting state officials to call them part of a “media campaign.” PEER published the photos on the group’s website yesterday, calling it an “assault rifle slaughter.” Read ...
LEAKED MEMO: PRUITT TAKING CONTROL OF CLEAN WATER ACT DETERMINATIONS
From: CNN “This action subjects safeguards for clean water across the US to filtration through one politician’s hands,” said Bennett, an attorney, scientist and wetlands specialist who formerly worked for the EPA. “Every corporation that wants a pass on Clean Water ...
DENALI WOLF BUFFER BILL LIKELY TO STALL IN SENATE
From: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner “Despite getting one committee hearing last month, a bill that would ban wolf hunting on a section of state land near Denali National Park remains unlikely to advance in the Senate, according to the bill’s sponsor.” Read more . . . Read the PEER story ...
BODINE SAYS INFORMAL ENFORCEMENT MAY CUT CASES BUT SPEED COMPLIANCE
From: Inside EPA “EPA enforcement chief Susan Bodine says the agency plans to launch pilot projects using “informal” enforcement actions that notify a facility of a violation and aim to achieve immediate compliance without waiting for formal litigation steps, saying that while it may ...
FWC RESCUES MANATEE HIT BY BOAT NEAR SANFORD MARINA
From: WFTV9 ABC “The injury comes as watchdog groups say Florida is on pace for another record year for manatee deaths in 2018. A total 166 manatees have died statewide through March 2. Cold spells are to blame for 51 deaths. The Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility ...
IRRECONCILABLE DIFFERENCES MARK EVALUATIONS OF EPA’S PERFORMANCE
From: Government Executive “The advocacy group PEER, using numbers from EPA’s results and analysis and trends website, concluded that the number of administrative enforcement cases initiated by EPA fell by more than one-third in 2017 from just five years earlier, and are on a course in ...
SHULKIN SAYS HE WAS FIRED. THE WHITE HOUSE SAID HE RESIGNED. HERE’S WHY IT MATTERS.
From: CNN “An environmental watchdog group, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, is taking that approach with a handful of Interior Department nominees who it says have been in their temporary roles longer than the law allows.” ” Read more . . . Read the PEER story ...
TRUMP’S NOMINEE TO OVERSEE SUPERFUND PROGRAM SPENT DECADES FIGHTING EPA CLEANUPS ON BEHALF OF POLLUTERS
From: The Intercept “Environmental enforcement cases have already dropped sharply in the past year. According to Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, “The 2017 case referrals to the Department of Justice for prosecution are below annual levels going back to 1990. The pace ...
A ‘NATIONAL DISGRACE’ GETS A REHAB, BUT DONATIONS SPARK WORRY
From: Greenwire “Jeff Ruch, executive director of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, said that parks risk giving donors undue influence over management decisions by relying on their money and that it’s wrong to force a public agency to ask for “spare change.&# ...
KEY ASSESSMENT OF CLIMATE THREATS, CYBERWAR AND TERRORISM GOES “MISSING” UNDER TRUMP
From: Truthout “The group suggested that the Strategic National Risk Assessment may have gone “missing” because it could cause political problems for the Trump administration, which has downplayed climate concerns and has been criticized for its response to Russian ...
GRAND TETON – PARK HIDES CELL TOWER PLANS FROM PUBLIC, ENVIRO GROUP SAYS
From: Greenwire “”We’re not against cell towers per se,” said PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch. “We want to make sure they don’t needlessly sacrifice park values such as serenity, soundscape and viewsheds.”” Read more . . . Read the PEER story ...
SCOTT PRUITT’S DIRTY POLITICS
From: The New Yorker “Jeff Ruch, the head of an organization called Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, made a FOIA request for documentation of the task force’s deliberations, and was told that none had been found. “They’re asking us to believe the report was an ...
TOP NPS OFFICIAL UNDER INTERNAL INVESTIGATION
From: Greenwire “Jeff Ruch, the group’s executive director, said the incident will be a test of Zinke’s promise of having “zero tolerance” for sexual harassment, saying it “has no credibility if it exempts his inner circle.”” Read more . . . Read ...
PUBLIC IN DARK ABOUT CELL TOWER PLANS IN GRAND TETON
From: Seattle Times “The plans provided to the public thus far have been vague, and park officials are required by law to involve the public more than they have, Ruch said. The group filed a lawsuit Thursday in federal court in Washington, D.C., alleging the National Park Service has ...
TRUMP’S LATEST EPA NOMINEE LET CANCER-CAUSING CHEMICAL POLLUTE GROUNDWATER
From: Huffington Post “A 1998 survey by the advocacy group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility found staffers at the Department of Environmental Quality deeply dissatisfied and demoralized. Fifty-nine percent strongly disagreed when asked if they trusted top management at ...
GROUP: PUBLIC IN DARK ABOUT CELL TOWER PLANS IN GRAND TETON
From: US News & World Report “ Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility says it obtained a document through the Freedom of Information Act detailing the plan at the foot of the Teton Range. The group’s executive director, Jeff Ruch, said Friday there’s been a ...
WITHHELD TETON PARK RECORDS EARN LAWSUIT
From: Jackson Hole News and Guide “Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, or PEER, is alleging a violation of the Freedom of Information Act relating to a June request for a trove of documents and correspondence with wireless companies.” Read more . . . Read the PEER ...
INTERNAL WATCHDOG TO OPEN PROBE INTO NATIONAL PARK SERVICE LEADER FOR ALLEGEDLY MAKING CRUDE GESTURE
From: Washington Post “The March 8 letter was addressed to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, whose office forwarded it to the inspector general, DiPaolo said. The Washington Post obtained the letter from the advocacy group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, which also ...
VACANCIES IN FEDERAL ADMINISTRATION LEAD TO COMPLAINT WITH INTERIOR DEPARTMENT
From: KJZZ “In response, the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, or PEER, has filed a complaint with the Interior Department’s inspector general (IG) that the interim acting directors of the Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, and Fish and Wildlife ...
