News Releases for 2009

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Read PEER news releases for 2009 or choose a previous year:
November 4, 2009  INSPECTOR GENERAL TO PROBE EPA MARKETING OF COAL ASH — Agency Promotes Coal Waste “Beneficial Use” Without Completing Risk Assessment

November 3, 2009  OSHA EXPERT FILES WHISTLEBLOWER COMPLAINT — Workplace Injury and Illness Records So Poor That Progress Claims Are Illusory

November 2, 2009  SECRET CALIFORNIA PARK GIVE-AWAY — Back Door Proposal to Transfer Lands from Tolowa Dunes State Park

October 28, 2009  SUIT TO AIR INTERNAL EPA PROTESTS ON RADIATION EXPOSURE PLAN — Experts’ Objections to Radically Higher Radiation Exposure Levels Yet to Be Seen

October 27, 2009   PEER ENDORSES BOLD POSITION ON ECONOMIC GROWTH — Groups Uniting Across Political Spectrum

October 22, 2009  KATRINA CLEAN-UP RIFE WITH FRAUD AND MAYHEM — Documents Prompt Call for Review of Army Corps Contractor Supervision

October 20, 2009  PROFESSOR STRIPPED OF NOAA FUNDING FOR ADVOCACY — University of Alaska President Upholds Grant Removal and Office Eviction

October 19, 2009  CALIFORNIA TO SET FIRST HEX CHROMIUM DRINKING WATER LEVEL — Public Health Advocates Urge Adoption of Safe Standard Found by Science Agency

October 15, 2009  USDA AND EPA PUSHING COAL ASH FOR GROWING CROPS — Toxic Contamination Risks Spread through Soil and Fertilizer Applications

October 14, 2009  TELLICO RIVER WATERSHED CLOSED TO OFF-ROAD TRAFFIC — Conservationists Applaud U.S. Forest Service Action to Restore Water Quality

October 12, 2009  NOAA RAISES RED FLAGS ON AGGRESSIVE OFFSHORE DRILLING PLAN — Exclusion Zones, Buffers and Oil Spill Protections Would Scale Back Lease Schedule

October 8, 2009  NEW JERSEY ENVIRONMENTAL AGENCY WRESTLES WITH TRANSPARENCY — Proposed PEER Openness Rules Being Studied for “Feasibility and Practicality”

October 6, 2009  INDUSTRY PUSHES JERSEY GOVERNOR’S BUTTON ON WIND POWER PERMIT — String-Pulling to Keep Federal Stimulus Dollars by Shelving Eco-Study Requirements

October 6, 2009  ARIZONA COUGAR SHOOTING PLAN MISGUIDED — Need For and Effects of Wiping Out Desert-Adapted Cougars Not Understood

October 5, 2009  EPA PROMOTING COAL ASH FOR CONSUMER USE — Partnership with Industry Sidesteps Public and Worker Toxic Exposure Concerns

October 1, 2009  DON’T EXPECT NEW MARINE SANCTUARIES UNDER OBAMA — NOAA Chief Says No Plans to Even Begin Considering New Ocean Reserves

September 30, 2009  THE LAST INDIAN TRADER RUINED BY PARK SERVICE INCOMPETENCE — Lawsuit Filed to Unearth Suppressed IG Report into Agency Misconduct

September 30, 2009  MOJAVE OFF-ROAD PLAN STRUCK DOWN IN FEDERAL COURT — BLM Told to Redesign Bush-Era ORV Plan for Mojave Desert Federal Lands

September 29, 2009  INDUSTRY MOVES TO TAKE OVER JERSEY ECO-SCIENCE BOARD — DEP Sued to Force Release of Lobbying Messages for Industry-Backed Scientists

September 29, 2009  INSPECTOR GENERAL SWOOPS DOWN ON BORDER AGENCY — Commissioner Takes Leave as Agents Arrive to Scour Files and Computers

September 24, 2009  BORDER AGENCY AXES TOP LAWYER FOR WHISTLEBLOWER COMPLAINT — General Counsel Fired for Not Being “Collegial” in Reporting Waste and Abuse

September 24, 2009  WORKPLACE EXPOSURES RISE AS OSHA HEALTH INSPECTIONS FALL — OSHA Drifts in Wrong Direction by Further Misallocating Scarce Resources

September 23, 2009  STATE ORV PARK VIOLATING CALIFORNIA WATER QUALITY LAW

September 23, 2009  LAKE OKEECHOBEE POLLUTION LEVELS SPIKE OUT OF CONTROL — Everglades Restoration Imperiled by Imploding South Florida Water Quality

September 21, 2009  OBAMA GOES TO UN WITH EMPTY CLIMATE BAG — New Video Frames Fundamental Weaknesses of Cap & Trade Approach

September 17, 2009  WATER POLLUTION LAWSUIT AGAINST CALIFORNIA STATE ORV PARK — Creek Ruined by Off-Road Abuse in Carnegie Recreation Area

September 17, 2009  BID TO SAVE VANISHING FLORIDA PANTHER HABITAT — Legal Petition Filed With Feds to Protect 3 Million Acres from Development

September 16, 2009  TOXIC NEW JERSEY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL FINALLY WINS RELIEF — Vapor Intrusion Controls May End Three-Year Ordeal at Atlantic Highlands

September 15, 2009  BIGHORNS SHUN DESERT WATER TANKS — Controversial Artificial Impoundments Failing Their Purpose

September 15, 2009  CALIFORNIA FINDS CLOSING PARKS NOT SO EASY — Liabilities, Lawsuits and Losses Threaten to Swallow Savings from Park Shutdowns

September 14, 2009  EPA PUNTS ON RISKS TO CHILDREN FROM PLAYGROUND TIRE CRUMB — Agency Admits It Did Not Perform Promised Scientific Studies of Health Dangers

September 10, 2009  AMARGOSA TOAD LEAPS TOWARD ENDANGERED SPECIES STATUS — Fish & Wildlife Service Announces Review Leading to Endangered Species Listing

September 3, 2009  U.S. FISH & WILDLIFE SCIENTISTS GAIN RIGHT TO PUBLISH — Elimination of “Policy Review” for Technical Articles to Reduce Political Interference

September 2, 2009  FLORIDA DROPS OUT OF CLIMATE CHANGE FIGHT — Gov. Crist Nixes Joining RGGI or Pursuing State Emission Curbs; Will Defer to Feds

September 1, 2009   POLITICAL ARM TWISTING FOR MASSIVE DELAWARE BAY WIND FARM — New Jersey under Pressure to Lift Ban on Wind Turbines in Migratory Bird Flyway

August 31, 2009  OBAMA STRIP-MINING PICK BAD NEWS FOR COAL COUNTRY — Industry-Friendly State Regulator Signals There Will Be No Crackdown on Abuses

August 31, 2009  FEDS OKAY TOURISTS SWIMMING WITH MANATEES — Fish & Wildlife Service Rejects PEER Petition to End “Swim-With” Permits

August 27, 2009  EPA AUDIT RIPS NEW JERSEY DEP PERFORMANCE — Corrective Actions Never Implemented for Toxic, Wetlands and Other Programs

August 26, 2009  MISHANDLED ASBESTOS SPURS CRIMINAL COMPLAINT AT GRAND TETON — Public Health Imperiled by Park’s Illegal Asbestos Removal, Transport and Storage

August 20, 2009  RESEARCH CONFIRMS ST.LAWRENCE CEMENT PLANT POLLUTES NEARBY CAMDEN WATERFRONT NEIGHBORHOOD

August 19, 2009  GUNNISON SAGE-GROUSE GETS ANOTHER CHANCE AT PROTECTION — Most Populations Declined Again in 2009

August 17, 2009  BORDER AGENCY DENIES SEWAGE, FLOODING AND DAM BREAK DANGERS — Bush Holdovers Perpetuate Pattern of Abuse and Malfeasance without Oversight

August 10, 2009  EPA TIMIDLY TIPTOES TOWARD TRANSPARENCY — Staff Ordered to Cooperate with Inspector General but Not Other Investigators

August 10, 2009  OBSCURE BORDER AGENCY WORST IN FEDERAL GOVERNMENT — Chronic Mismanagement Threatens Flooding and Sanitation Catastrophes

August 5, 2009  DUPONT PRESSES NEW JERSEY TO WATER DOWN PFOA RISK ASSESSMENT — Industry Consultants Get Closed Door Access to State Drinking Water Institute

August 3, 2009  FOREST SERVICE ORV PLAN NEAR GRAND CANYON HALTED — ORV Access for Hunter Removals of Carcasses Dealt Setback with Ruling

August 3, 2009  NEW JERSEY ENVIRONMENTAL LEADERS LAUNCH ETHICS REFORMS — Latest Corruption Scandals Spark Calls for Transparency & Whistleblower Measures

July 27, 2009  NEW JERSEY ENVIRONMENTAL AGENCY AT HEART OF BRIBERY SCANDAL — New Rules Needed to Ban “Pay-to-Play” and Protect Staff from Strong-Arm Tactics

July 22, 2009  MANATEES’ FRAGILE FATE MIRRORS NATIONAL WILDLIFE PERIL — Senate Confirmation Hearing Today for Fish & Wildlife Service Director

July 21, 2009  NEW JERSEY ALTERS HEALTH STUDY UNDER INDUSTRY PRESSURE — Industry Allowed Private Meetings to Lobby for Changes in Camden Study

July 20, 2009  NERVE GAS LEAK DETECTORS INOPERATIVE FOR YEARS — Army Report Confirms Blue Grass Chemical Weapons Depot Was “Flying Blind”

July 16, 2009  REWARD OFFERED FOR OHV VANDALS WHO TRASHED MEADOW

July 15, 2009  MOVE TO END HARASSMENT OF FLORIDA MANATEES — Legal Filing to Outlaw Manatee “Swim-With” Dives by 100,000 Tourists Annually

July 9, 2009  FISH & WILDLIFE SERVICE IN FLORIDA: PORTRAIT OF A FAILED AGENCY — Obama Pick Piecemeals Florida Panther and Other Endangered Species to Extinction

July 8, 2009  TEFLON COATS PUBLIC AGENCY ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE — Jackson Sought to Have New Jersey PFOA Study Pulled from Publication

July 6, 2009  FUEL TAX SURPLUS COULD SAVE CALIFORNIA STATE PARKS — Funds Earmarked for Off-Road Recreation Which Generates Only 1/6th of Revenue

July 1, 2009  FEDERAL WILDLIFE AGENT WHISTLEBLOWER REINSTATED FOR APPEAL — Judge Finds “Substantial Likelihood” Whistleblower Will Prevail in His Complaint

June 25, 2009  ONE-THIRD OF WILDLIFE REFUGES USE GM CROPS IN SOUTHEAST — Genetically Modified Seeds Okayed by Obama Fish & Wildlife Service Director Pick Hamilton

June 22, 2009  ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT FELL INTO DISUSE UNDER NOMINEE — Only One Jeopardy Opinion in Nearly 6,000 Consultations as Staff Told to Refrain

June 18, 2009  AMERICA'S TEN MOST IMPERILED WILDLIFE REFUGES — Climate Change and Coping with Climate Change Challenge Nature Sanctuaries

June 16, 2009  CHAMBERS WINS APPEAL AGAINST U.S. INTERIOR DEPARTMENT — Privacy Act Violation for Bush Officials Destroying Favorable Personnel Evaluation

June 15, 2009  GRAND CANYON THREATENED BY OFF-ROAD VEHICLE PLAN — Groups Protest ORV Penetration into Habitat and Across Archaeological Sites

June 15, 2009  POLITICAL MANIPULATION OF SCIENCE RIFE DURING NOMINEE’S TENURE — Fish & Wildlife Service Southeast Region Employees Saw Interference and Reprisal

June 11, 2009  CRITICAL NEW TSUNAMI WARNING SYSTEM HAS GAPING HOLES — Nearly One-Third of Deep Ocean Stations Are “Dead” Including Tsunami Hot Spots

June 10, 2009  FEDERAL AGENT SACKED FOR REPORTING ILLEGAL COUGAR KILLS — Upcoming Whistleblower Hearing to Air Corruption in Nevada U.S. Wildlife Services

June 9, 2009  INTERIOR SUED TO OBTAIN OIL ROYALTY REVENUE DATA — Feds Claim Prices Oil Company Paid for Royalty-In-Kind Oil Are Trade Secrets

June 8, 2009  PENNSYLVANIA HAZMAT RULES ROIL BOTH INDUSTRY AND WORKERS — DEP Employees Files Grievances over Higher Toxic Exposure with No Protection

June 4, 2009  SAFETY OF SHREDDED TIRES IN PLAYGROUNDS UNDER QUESTION — EPA Endorsed Use without Analyzing Toxic Potential but Belated Studies in Limbo

June 3, 2009  CRIST ENVIRONMENTAL ENFORCEMENT INITIATIVE FIZZLES — Fewer Pollution Fines Assessed While More Uncollected in Across-the-Board Decline

June 2, 2009  WESTPORT WETLANDS WHISTLEBLOWERS WIN — Settlement Affirms Conservation Commissioners’ Right to Act Free from Politics

June 1, 2009  NEW JERSEY SLAPS GAG ORDER ON ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENTISTS — Embarrassing Chromium Study Prompts Management Review of Scientific Findings

May 20, 2009  LAWSUIT TO FORCE EPA TO REVEAL ITS RESEARCH PLANS — Bush-Era “Transformation” of EPA Science Arm Rests on New “Business Model”

May 14, 2009  TERESA CHAMBERS FINALLY TESTIFIES BEFORE CONGRESS — Long Ordeal of “Honest Chief” Underscores Need to Reform Whistleblower Laws

May 13, 2009  OLD FAITHFUL VANDALS CAUGHT ON WEBCAM — “Geyser Gazers” Call in Violation in Yellowstone’s First Cyber-Enforcement Case

May 12, 2009  WHITE HOUSE GRAPPLES WITH HOW TO ENSURE SCIENTIFIC INTEGRITY — New Whistleblower Protections and Other Rules Slated for President’s Desk by July

May 11, 2009  HIGHWAY AGENCY BREAKING FEDERAL LAWS ON DELAWARE REFUGE — DelDOT Committing Criminal Wildlife Offenses in Refuge Road Construction

May 7, 2009  COMMERCIAL AQUACULTURE IN WILDERNESS PUSHED BY KEY SENATOR — Point Reyes National Seashore Oyster Farm Dispute Opens Legal Can of Worms

May 5, 2009  NAVY SEEKS TO CONTINUE ILLEGAL MARINE DETONATIONS — Shifting Much of Underwater Explosives Operations from Puget Sound to San Diego

May 4, 2009  HIGH CHROMIUM DANGER KNOWN BY NEW JERSEY LEADERS SINCE 2007 — Lisa Jackson and DEP Brass Decided to Proceed As If New Data Did Not Exist

May 1, 2009  NATIONAL PARKS SHOULD STICK TO THEIR GUNS ON LEAD AMMO BAN — Diverse Coalition Urges Secretary Salazar to Meet Goal of Going Lead-Free by 2010

April 29, 2009  EPA RELEASES LIBBY CLEAN-UP REPORT — PEER Lawsuit Prompts Belated Disclosure of Major Unresolved Public Health Issues

April 27, 2009  BOCA RATON WATER CONTAMINATION TRIGGERS HEALTH SANCTIONS — One Whistleblower Restored as Extensive Probe of City Utility Operations Expands

April 24, 2009  REGIONAL WATER BOARD ORDERS CLEAN-UP OF RUBICON TRAIL — Iconic off-road trail has lost its way

April 23, 2009  KOFA COUGARS GET VERY SHORT STAY OF EXECUTION — Arizona Game Agency to Shoot GPS-Collared Mountain Lions on National Refuge

April 23, 2009  OBAMA TAPS BUSH APPOINTEE TO RUN SURFACE MINING AGENCY — Choice May Signal Administration Cave-In on Opposition to Mountain Top Removal

April 22, 2009  CHROMIUM FAR DEADLIER THAN EARLIER ASSESSMENTS INDICATE — Scores of Capped New Jersey Contaminated Sites Will Have to Be Re-Evaluated

April 21, 2009  SECRET EPA REPORT ON LIBBY CLEAN-UP SPARKS LAWSUIT — Early Test of Obama/Holder Doctrine on Freedom of Information Act Openness

April 20, 2009  PARK SERVICE PROTESTS BIG SOLAR EXPANSION IN NEVADA DESERT — National Parks Will Suffer from Water Withdrawals, Pollution and Habitat Loss

April 16, 2009   STATES STRENGTHEN WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION LAWS — States Moving Past Federal Government in Safeguarding Civil Servant Disclosures

April 15, 2009  DEADLY DOMESTIC SHEEP DISEASE THREATENS ENDANGERED SIERRA NEVADA BIGHORN — Feds Threatened With Legal Action to Close Grazing Allotments, Remedy Endangered Species Act Violations

April 14, 2009  PLIGHT OF WHISTLEBLOWERS SHOWS NO IMPROVEMENT — Federal Employees Face Blackballing and Career Derailment for Reporting Problems

April 8, 2009  CONSTITUTIONAL CLASH OVER DEFUNCT LAND EXCHANGE — Major Religious Establishment Case Rooted in Mojave Cross Deal

April 7, 2009  DEMOCRATS PRESSURE EPA TO GREEN-LIGHT PORK — Rep. Frank Says EPA Will Bar Anyone with a “Record of Hostility” to Pet Project

April 3, 2009  MICHIGAN GIVE FEDS NOTICE OF SURRENDERING WETLANDS PROGRAM — U.S. EPA and Army Corps to Begin Take-Over of State Permits and Enforcement

April 1, 2009  MAINE’S SEARS ISLAND PORT PLAN SLAMMED — Wetland Mitigation Bank Falls Flat as Gambit for Cargo Container Port

March 31, 2009  OIL & GAS DRILLING LABELED MAJOR THREAT TO EASTERN FORESTS — U.S. Forest Service Flying Blind on Drilling Impacts Yet Still Issues More Permits

March 26, 2009  NATIONAL PARK LEAD AMMO BAN IN DOUBT — NRA Goes Ballistic on Gun-Shy Obama Administration

March 25, 2009  LAKE OKEECHOBEE FLOW CUTOFF LOOMS — Lee County Decries Drinking Water Woes and Caloosahatchee Salinity

March 24, 2009  LAWSUIT ENDS GENETICALLY ENGINEERED CROPS ON WILDLIFE REFUGE — Ruling on Delaware’s Prime Hook May Affect Farming on Scores of Other Refuges

March 24, 2009  BOCA RATON TAP WATER VIOLATIONS TRIGGER HEALTH PROBE — Chronic Low Pressure Problems Risk Microbial Contamination and Boil Orders

March 23, 2009  $100 MILLION STILL OWED FROM EXXON VALDEZ OIL SPILL — U.S. and Alaska Fail to Collect $92 Million Damage Claim Filed Back in 2006

March 16, 2009  FORMER GOVERNOR MILLIKEN SPEAKS UP TO SAVE WETLANDS PROGRAM — Iconic Republican Says Repeal of Wetlands Law “Not in the Interests of Michigan”

March 11, 2009  GAS DRILLING DIVIDES ANOTHER NATIONAL FOREST — Damage to Endangered Bat Caves and Toxic Pits Plague Monongahela NF

March 10, 2009  MICHIGAN TORPEDOES ITS OWN GREAT LAKES RESTORATION PLAN — Small Savings from Wetlands Repeal Would Be Swamped by Higher Flood Damages

March 5, 2009  AIR FORCE WIPING OUT RARE WILDLIFE OF GUAM — Rampant Poaching, Beach Paving and Human Intrusion Ruins Island Habitat

March 3, 2009  MICHIGAN THREATENS TO FUMBLE OBAMA GREAT LAKES INITIATIVE — State Plan to Abandon Wetlands Protection Undercuts New Great Lakes Effort

February 23, 2009  WHY THE OBAMA CLIMATE CHANGE PLAN WON’T WORK — Political Support for Cap & Trade Will Not Overcome Its Practical Shortcomings

February 19, 2009  FOREST SERVICE AT SEA ON STATUS OF VAST MINERAL RIGHTS — Wilderness and Experimental Forests in 34 Eastern States Open to Drilling

February 19, 2009  RIDERSHIP FOR STOUGHTON LINE FALLS AS COSTS RISE — Worst Eco-Alternative Rail Line Will Cost Massachusetts $800,000 per Commuter

February 17, 2009  HIKING AND PARK GROUPS URGE WITHDRAWAL OF MOUNTAIN BIKE PLAN — New Mountain Bicycle Trails Will Drive Out Other Users and Aggravate Backlog

February 12, 2009  HAWAII SEISMIC NETWORK STUCK BEHIND SCHEDULE — Promised Tsunami and Earthquake Monitoring System Less than Half Complete

February 10, 2009  NOAA SEA GRANT SEEKS TO DE-FUND SCIENTIST FOR ADVOCACY — Protest on Oil Industry Bias in Sea Grant Seen to “Cause Problems Nationally”

February 4, 2009  CALIFORNIA DESERT WINS NEW PROTECTION VIA FEINSTEIN AMENDMENT — Lion’s Share of CDCA Included in Landscape Conservation System by Omnibus Bill

January 29, 2009  DOW DIOXIN DEAL FLYING UNDER EPA RADAR — Contamination Case in Closed-Door Negotiations for “Non-Regulatory” Resolution

January 28, 2009  GRAND CANYON FLOW FIGHT BURSTS INTO THE OPEN — Early Test for Interior Secretary Salazar Pledges of Ethics and Scientific Integrity

January 26, 2009  LISA JACKSON SHOULD FULFILL EPA CONFIRMATION PROMISES NOW — Concrete, Enforceable Policies Needed to Back Scientific and Legal Reform Pledges

January 21, 2009  RADIATION EXPOSURE LIMITS WEAKENED IN DEPARTING BUSH MOVE — Huge Hikes in Allowable Radioactivity in Drinking Water, Air and Soil

January 19, 2009  FEDS INTERVENE TO SET FLORIDA WATER QUALITY STANDARDS — Rising Percentage of State Rivers, Lakes and Estuaries Impaired by Excess Nutrients

January 9, 2009  REPUBLICAN APPOINTEES REJECT CHAMBERS APPEAL — More Litigation in U.S. Park Police Case Unless Obama Administration Intervenes

January 7, 2009  CLIMATE SCIENTISTS FREED FROM AGENCY GAG ORDER — Commerce Prior Review Policy Does Not Apply to National Weather Service Workers

January 6, 2009  TEN QUESTIONS THE SENATE SHOULD ASK LISA JACKSON — Committee Urged to Scrutinize Jackson’s Actions and Decisions in New Jersey