News Releases for 2008

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Read PEER news releases for 2008 or choose a previous year:
May 8, 2008  IS IT TIME FOR CONGRESS TO ABOLISH THE OFFICE OF SPECIAL COUNSEL? — Criminal Investigation of Special Counsel May Maroon Whistleblowers Seeking Help

May 7, 2008  NEW JERSEY WILL NOT CLOSE PARKS OR LAY OFF ECO-WORKERS — Governor Orders DEP to Explore Other “Funding Options”

May 7, 2008  NEW JERSEY JETTISONS GROUNDWATER POLLUTION STANDARDS — Drinking Water Supplies for Half the State Vulnerable to Toxic Contamination

May 6, 2008  EPA EXPERTS CAST DOUBTS ON GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS TRADING — Verification and Enforcement Challenges May Cripple Global Warming Strategy

April 29, 2008  ARIZONA GAME AGENCY SCAPEGOATS COUGARS FOR BIGHORN TRAVAILS — Agency Engages in “Biological McCarthyism” by Targeting Puma as Bighorn Gain

April 29, 2008  NEW JERSEY DONS BLINDERS ON INDUSTRIAL SITE CLEAN-UP — State Retreats from Real Estate Transaction as Leverage for Toxic Remediation

April 28, 2008  LAW PROFESSORS BLAST EPA LIBRARIES PLAN — EPA Asks Media and Others to Engage in “National Dialogue” on Information Needs

April 28, 2008  NEW JERSEY MODEL FOR PRIVATIZED TOXIC CLEAN-UPS FAILS AUDITS — Serious Violations Found in More than Two-Thirds of Audited Massachusetts Sites

April 23, 2008  WHY NATIVE YELLOWSTONE BISON STAY IN THE PARK — Elusive Mountain Bison Fear Humans but Face More Intrusion on Shrinking Range

April 22, 2008  HELICOPTER CRASHES IN NEVADA COYOTE HUNT — Accidents Mount as National Review of Aerial Gunning Safety Underway

April 21, 2008  ARIZONA’S KOFA REFUGE COUGARS GET ONE-YEAR REPRIEVE — Government Halts “Lethal Removal” of Refuge Puma after PEER Intervention

April 21, 2008  NEW JERSEY PARKS LOSE MILLIONS IN UNCOLLECTED LEASE PAYMENTS — Park Closures Could Be Averted by Reaping Concessionaire and Easement Revenue

April 17, 2008  BUSH ORDER TO PROMOTE HUNTING MAY SPARK NEW OFF-ROAD CURBS — Rangers Want Agencies to Help Hunting & Fishing by Ending Reckless Off-Roading

April 17, 2008  CORZINE EMBRACES FAST TRACK LAW HE VOWED TO REPEAL — Quietly Appoints Fast Track “Czar” to Speed Development Permits

April 14, 2008  NEW JERSEY TO PRIVATIZE POLLUTION REGULATION TO SAVE MONEY — Outsourcing Clean-Ups Is Recipe for More Toxic Disasters, Legislature Told

April 14, 2008  EPA OPENS CHEMICAL RISK ASSESSMENT TO CORPORATE LOBBYING — New Process Marginalizes Government Scientists and Promotes Industry Influence

April 10, 2008  U.S. OFFSHORE LEASING PREMISED ON FUTURE OF CHEAP OIL — Planning Assumes $30 a Barrel Oil to Minimize Potential Environmental Impacts

April 9, 2008  AUDIT FINDS MAJOR HAZARDS IN INTERIOR DEPARTMENT — 28% of HQ Workers Cite Health Threat – Modernization “Pause” for Evaluation

April 7, 2008  YELLOWSTONE FEEDING BISON MULTIPLIES NEXT YEAR’S PROBLEM — Park Baiting Buffalo to Corrals Violates Its Own “Do Not Feed Wildlife” Policy

April 7, 2008  NEW JERSEY TO CONSULT INDUSTRY ON ECO-REWRITES IN SECRET — “Efficiency” Task Force Members Not Barred from Self-Dealing with DEP

April 2, 2008  WILDERNESS WATER WAR IN ARIZONA REFUGE OVER BIGHORNS — Former Long-Time Kofa Wildlife Refuge Biologist Says His Agency Is All Wet

April 1, 2008  U.S. FOREST SERVICE FIELDING FLEET OF DRONES — Law Enforcement Wants “Unmanned Aerial Vehicles” Hovering Above Forests

March 31, 2008  LEAD-SAFE REPAIR RULES FOR PRE-1978 BUILDINGS ENACTED — Long Overdue Step Closes Main Pathway to Childhood Lead Poisoning in the U.S.

March 31, 2008  RHODE ISLAND YACHT CLUB FINED FOR POLLUTING LOBSTER NURSERY — $40,000 Fine on Five Counts Involving Illegal Discharges and False Certifications

March 28, 2008  EPA TO RE-OPEN LIBRARIES BY FALL— BUT THEY WON’T BE THE SAME — Library Holdings Beyond “Core Reference” Require Political Approval

March 27, 2008  LOUDOUN COUNTY STAFFER FIRED FOR FILING ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT — Warnings about Growth Dangers Suppression Sparks Free Speech Challenge

March 26, 2008  EPA PUSHING PESTICIDE PROMOTIONS ON SAFETY LABELS — Environmental Agency Will be Entangled in Details of Marketing Campaigns

March 25, 2008  ENVIRONMENTAL WHISTLEBLOWERS FARE POORLY UNDER BUSH — Chances of Success before Labor Department Plummets as Reversals Mount

March 25, 2008  NEW JERSEY ASKS BUSINESS TO REWRITE ENVIRONMENTAL STANDARDS — Developers See Slow Economy as Lever to Weaken Anti-Pollution Permit Rules

March 20, 2008  OIL DEAL FOR ALASKA WILDLIFE REFUGE ON FAST TRACK — Yukon Flats Land Exchange Tied to Oil Development but No Time for Appraisals

March 19, 2008  EPA DROPPED BALL ON PHARMACEUTICALS IN DRINKING WATER — Decade Behind Statutory Deadlines to Screen Chemicals from Drinking Water

March 18, 2008  FEDERAL WILDLIFE SCIENTISTS CAUGHT IN ETHICS TUG-OF-WAR — Conflicting Orders Make Politically Sensitive Scientific Work a Career Minefield

March 17, 2008  EAST COAST’S LARGEST UNDEVELOPED ISLAND SLATED FOR CARGO PORT — Development Scheme for Maine’s Sears Island Resurfaces Again after 12 Years

March 13, 2008  KEY WITNESS AT OFF-ROAD CONGRESSIONAL HEARING PULLED — Deputy Sheriff Testimony Blocked as Anxiety Rises in Off-Roading Groups

March 12, 2008  CONGRESS TO TAKE FIRST LOOK AT OFF-ROAD RAVAGES ON PUBLIC LAND — Rangers to Testify Situation Out-of-Control as Anniversary of Utah Riot Nears

March 8, 2008  DRIVE TO AXE FEDERAL PREDATOR ERADICATION PROGRAM — $100 Million Agriculture Program Slaughters 1.6 Million Wild Animals a Year

March 6, 2008  CONSERVATION GROUPS CHALLENGE SHRINKING HABITAT FOR RARE PLANT ON ALGODONES DUNES

March 3, 2008  GROWING NO CONFIDENCE CHORUS CONFRONTS EPA HEAD — Scientist Unions Pledge to Secede from Cooperative Forum, Citing Rising Distrust

March 3, 2008  INTERIOR DEPARTMENT STAGES GRAND CANYON GREEN WASH — Exclusive Footage Offered to NBC “Today” Show to Profile High Flow Experiment

February 28, 2008  U.S. FOREST SERVICE DROPS MASSIVE RESTRUCTURING — Avoiding “Additional Disruption and Confusion” Will Keep Biologists in the Forests

February 28, 2008  EPA LIBRARY CLOSURES HAMPERING AGENCY WORK, ARBITRATOR FINDS — EPA Guilty of Bad Faith and Unfair Labor Practice in Shutting Agency Libraries

February 27, 2008  ONE-TIME FLUSH OF GRAND CANYON SPARKS HIGH-LEVEL FRACAS — Park Service Environmental Objections Quashed to Cement 5-Year Power Deal

February 26, 2008  LEGAL PETITION TO SAVE NEVADA’S AMARGOSA TOAD — Off-Road Traffic and Habitat Destruction May Doom Toad without Intervention

February 26, 2008  SETTLEMENT IN WHISTLEBLOWER CASE OF INTERIOR LAWYER — Robert McCarthy Testified Against Government in Tribal Trust Accounts Trial

February 25, 2008  NEW JERSEY AIDE GOT TOO CLOSE TO DEVELOPERS — Ethics Complaint Filed Against Personal Advisor to DEP Commissioner

February 25, 2008  U.S. PARK POLICE FORCE LEVELS CONTINUE FALLING — Lowest Level in 20 Years Fuels Frustrations and Exodus of Officers

February 21, 2008  FOREST SERVICE OUTSOURCING PROGRAM A FIASCO, GAO FINDS — Scathing Report Rips Firefighting Erosion, Illusory Savings and Law Violations

February 20, 2008  EPA KISSES OFF FLORIDA’S WETLANDS — Developer Sway in EPA Breeds Algal Blooms and Aquifer Contamination

February 19, 2008  BOWHEAD WHALE IMPERILED BY ARCTIC DRILLING PLANS — Scientific Warnings on Oil Spills and Seismic Noise Disregarded to Speed Lease Sales

February 14, 2008  PEIRSON’S MILK-VETCH FURTHER SQUASHED BY FEDS — Shrinking Habitat Is Fragmented for Rare Plant

February 14, 2008  TERESA CHAMBERS WINS APPEAL FOR PARK POLICE CHIEF JOB — Federal Court Holds Risk to Public Safety Is Protected by Whistleblower Act

February 13, 2008  ARCTIC OCEAN OIL REVIEWS SOFT-PEDALED EXXON VALDEZ — Oil Spill Dangers to Wildlife Minimized to Keep Lease Sales on Schedule

February 12, 2008  NRA GUNNING FOR FIREARMS POLICIES IN NATIONAL PARKS — Legislative Drive to Allow Armed Park Visitors Rooted in Misinformation

February 11, 2008  MERCURY IN NEW JERSEY DAY-CARE CENTER 3,000 TIMES STANDARD — State Wants to Demolish Old Thermometer Plant but No Further Testing of Kids

February 6, 2008  NEW JERSEY CUTS DEEPLY INTO PROTECTED STREAM BUFFERS — Commissioner Revokes Her Year-Old Order, Leaving Buffers at Mercy of Politics

February 4, 2008  LEAKED E-MAILS MAY SINK ARCTIC OFFSHORE LEASE SALES — Officials Scramble to Suppress Scientific Dissent over Bush Arctic Oil Initiative

February 1, 2008  WHISTLEBLOWER UNDERGOES ORDEAL BY APPEAL — Third Trip to U.S. Fourth Circuit for Park Service Asbestos Hero

January 31, 2008  LAWSUIT SETTLEMENT SECURES LEAD-SAFE HOUSING RULES — Bush Administration Commits to Standards for Repairs of Older Buildings

January 30, 2008  BLM DROPS DESERT ROAD PLAN FOR FURNACE CREEK — California Desert Wilderness Protected from Ravages of Off-Road Vehicles

January 29, 2008  WETLANDS WHISTLEBLOWERS IN WESTPORT PROCEED TO TRIAL — Legal Defense Fund Established for “Westport Four” Conservation Commissioners

January 28, 2008  SECRET TOWN MEETINGS TO PAVE RATTLESNAKE HILL RULED ILLEGAL — Sharon Selectman Repeatedly Violated Open Meeting Law for Luxury Development

January 28, 2008  FLORIDA CLEAN WATER WHISTLEBLOWER LAWSUIT FILED — Ousted Lab Manager Cites Corruption by Top State Officials and Massive Data Loss

January 24, 2008  EPA SCIENTISTS CONDEMN AGENCY’S GREENHOUSE GAS WAIVER DENIAL — EPA Staff Decry Hypocrisy of Johnson’s Pledges of Scientific Rigor and Openness

January 24, 2008  INVASIVE SPECIES THREAT FROM ARCTIC OFFSHORE DRILLING IGNORED — Interior Purged Scientific Concerns about Introduction of Exotics in Arctic Waters

January 24, 2008  JUSTICE DEPARTMENT UNDERCUTS PARK SYSTEM FOR MOJAVE CROSS — Administration Argues Park Service Lacks Authority on Private Land within System

January 22, 2008  LAWSUIT TO FORCE FLORIDA MANATEE OVERSIGHT RECORD RELEASE — Boating Speed Limits, Warning Signs and Swim-With Harassment at Issue

January 21, 2008  INTERIOR STIFLES POLAR BEAR PROTECTIONS FROM ARCTIC DRILLING — Listing Delay Blocks Safeguards Urged by Scientists Contrary to Agency Testimony

January 17, 2008  INTERIOR WITHHOLDING KEY DOCUMENTS ON ARCTIC DRILLING — Shell Plans for LNG and Tanker Traffic in Chukchi Sea Barred from Lease Review

January 15, 2008  MISSISSIPPI BARGE TRAFFIC DOWN YET AGAIN IN 2007 — 18-Year Downward Trend Undercuts Congressional Plan to Build Bigger Locks

January 14, 2008  FOREST SERVICE TO PULL ITS SCIENTISTS AND PLANNERS FROM FIELD — Massive Consolidation of NEPA Functions Will Take Thousands Out of Forests

January 14, 2008  TERESA CHAMBERS RETURNS TO LAW ENFORCEMENT — Appointment as Riverdale Park Police Chief Will Not Alter Legal Case

January 10, 2008  FEDERAL WILDLIFE ENFORCEMENT RECORDS SOUGHT IN LAWSUIT — Corruption in U.S. Fish & Wildlife Headquarters Targeted in Test of New FOIA Law

January 9, 2008  LIVESTOCK LOBBY PRESSURES TO RETAIN WILDLIFE POISONS — Two Front Battle to Block Legislative Ban and EPA Registration Revocation

January 8, 2008  EPA FIGHTS LEGAL BID TO RE-OPEN WORLD TRADE CENTER PROBE — Whistleblower Seeks Restoration of Independent EPA Ombudsman

January 7, 2008  OUTSOURCING OF FEDERAL NATURAL RESOURCE JOBS BLOCKED — Congress Kills Key Bush Management Agenda Plank for Park and Forest Services