"Weak Federal Rules Cover Chemical Spills, Explosions"
"This month's chemical spill in West Virginia reveals a weak web of rules on chemical use."
Source: USA TODAY, 01/28/2014
Laws & Regulations
"Negotiators Unveil New Farm Bill; Vote Expected This Week"
"Negotiators agreed Monday evening on a new five-year Farm Bill that slashes about $23 billion in federal spending by ending direct payments to farmers, consolidating dozens of Agriculture Department programs and by cutting about $8 billion in food stamp assistance."
Source: Wash Post, 01/28/2014
"U.S. Appeals Court Throws Arctic Drilling Into Further Doubt"
"JUNEAU, Alaska -- A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that the U.S. Interior Department wrongly awarded offshore oil leases in the Chukchi Sea near Alaska in 2008 without considering the full range of environmental risks posed by drilling in the Arctic."
Source: Reuters, 01/23/2014
FAA Nixes Drones for Journos
Drones might count as new media — and certainly have journalistic uses in covering everything from prairie fires to chemical emergencies. The federal government, which devotes enormous technical resources to spying on its citizens, now says this is illegal. The Federal Aviation Administration issued the ruling, saying there was no grey area: hobbyists can legally fly video drones. But journalists can not. Image: Cade Cleavelin, a science/ag journalism senior at U of Missouri, demonstrates a DJY Phantom quadcopter at the 2013 SEJ Conference in Chattanooga, TN. © Roger Archibald.
SEJ Publication Types:
Topics on the Beat:
Visibility:
Drinking Water Crisis Reveals Knowledge Gaps
You read about the 300,000 West Virginians who don't know if they are drinking safe water — and ask "Could it happen here?" The answer is "You betcha!" Environmental journalists have many tools for discovering drinking-water disasters-waiting-to-happen in their own bailiwicks.
SEJ Publication Types:
Topics on the Beat:
Visibility:
"Appeals Court Tosses EPA rule for Indian Country"
"A federal appeals court today tossed out a U.S. EPA air pollution rule for some Native American territories."
Source: Greenwire, 01/21/2014
West Virginia Looks To Tighten Rules After Chemical Spill Tainted Water
"West Virginia's governor on Monday proposed legislation to regulate above-ground storage tanks, a move that comes after a spill of coal-processing chemicals shut off drinking water to about 300,000 people."
Source: Reuters, 01/21/2014
"W.Va. Chemical Spill Poses a New Test for Lawmakers"
"There are more than 80,000 chemicals in the United States catalogued by government regulators, and the health risks of most of them are unknown."
Source: Wash Post, 01/20/2014
"EPA Issues Hazardous Waste-Tracking Regs"
"The Environmental Protection Agency issued regulations Wednesday creating a national electronic system to track hazardous waste."
Source: Hill/E2 Wire, 01/16/2014
Pages
Advertisement 
