Organizations that represent the interests of public workers have been more explicit: “The plan to exploit a shutdown to purge federal workers is illegal, unconstitutional, and deeply disturbing,” Tim Whitehouse, the executive director of Public Employees for Environmental ...

PFAs (aka Forever Chemicals) are ubiquitous synthetic compounds found in products from food packaging, to cosmetics, water-repellent clothing, carpets, dental floss, nonstick cookware, fire-fighting foam, fertilizers and especially in our water supply. They degrade the environment and are ...

Wastewater treatment facilities pay companies to haul away tons of human excrement or “biosolids.” These companies then have to get rid of the waste and often give it to farmers for free, who then spread it on their land. Kyla Bennett, Director of Science Policy at Public ...

The move to halt the agency’s scientific research has prompted concern from scientists and environmental groups that findings could be altered to conform to the Trump administration’s political agenda. “Science is not supposed to be political,” said Kyla Bennett, director of ...

“Settlements are a step forward, but they don’t pay medical bills, allow farmers to use their land again, or actually clean—rather than just filter—contaminated water,” Bennett concludes. “What needs to happen is federal action—something we won’t see under this ...

Ralph welcomes Timothy Whitehouse, executive director of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) to speak about how federal workers across all government agencies are being unfairly denigrated and summarily fired by the Trump Administration to clear the way for corporate ...

On August 13, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), a federal environmental policy watchdog organization, sent Kennedy a petition asking the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission to take several concrete actions on forever chemicals. PEER recommends that the EPA ...

Three South Dakota tour companies petitioned the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit to allow air tours to resume, arguing that they were “arbitrary and capricious.” But the court ruled Thursday to uphold the bans. The Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks and ...

In Massachusetts, Bennett, the scientist, who is now with the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (Peer) non-profit, has been frustrated with the Biden and Trump administrations’ policies on sludge, and has sued the EPA under the Clean Water Act to force the agency to ...

Tim Whitehouse, executive director of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, a nonprofit group that defends the rights of civil servants, said the Constitution protected the free speech of the FEMA workers. “They have strong First Amendment claims because they shared ...

“In the past, government agencies have worked hard to keep that information safe and secure, both to protect the American people’s private data and to ensure that government agencies don’t use it for the wrong purposes,” Tim Whitehouse, executive director of Public Employees for ...

At the same time, law enforcement ranks for all parks have been in precipitous decline. Since 2010, the number of park law enforcement positions has fallen by 48 percent, according to Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, a nonprofit watchdog group. Read the PEER Story… ...

In this episode, I interview Tim Whitehouse, executive director of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). Tim discusses PEER’s unique mission in representing public employees, particularly whistleblowers. Our conversation touches on the challenges faced by public ...

Joanna Citron Day, general counsel at Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, a legal assistance group that plans to assist Joslin in pursuing reinstatement to their position, said Joslin’s firing was arbitrary and “politically motivated.” “SJ got fired for exercising ...

Leslie now serves on the executive council of the Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks. Along with the nonprofit Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, the group is asking Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) to phase out lead ammo and fishing tackle on state lands. In ...

Joslin said a group of seven climbers including two other park rangers hung the flag. The other rangers are on administrative leave pending an investigation, Joslin said. Flags have long been flown from El Capitan without consequences, said Joanna Citron Day, a former federal attorney who ...

Advocates say the fields help reduce maintenance costs, are more durable and lend themselves to year-round use. Critics, though, say turf fields are dangerous to play on. “My personal belief is that there’s never a good reason to use artificial turf,” said Kyla Bennett, the director ...

But the full Senate never voted on the nomination before that session of Congress ended, and Trump never renominated Vela, instead falling back to acting directors. Smith continued to wield the power of director until the fall of 2019 when he left under curious circumstances that led ...

It’s imperative to know what decisions the EPA [has] made concerning the recent reviews of new chemicals, said Kyla Bennett, science policy director for the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). If the agency has granted all the applications, Bennett said she’d be ...

A 2021 survey of BLM workers by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility reported that 87% of reassigned employees either retired or quit rather than move. The field offices were staffed largely by new hires who lacked the scientific or experiential backgrounds of the former ...