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• February 26, 2009:
SEJ opposes "The Fair Copyright in Research Works Act"
• February 12, 2009:
SEJ receives EPA response to TN coal-ash-release letter
• January 7, 2009:
SEJ opposes DOE's proposed FOIA amendments
• January 2, 2009:
SEJ urges public, timely EPA results of TN coal-ash-release testing
• December 19, 2008:
SEJ voices concern over axing of CNN enviro-science units
• May 6, 2008:
SEJ joins in suit on officials' e-mails
• March 26, 2008:
SEJ opposes EPA exemption for CAFO toxics info
• February 14, 2008:
SEJ questions Environment Canada scientist restrictions
• February 6, 2008:
SEJ opposes defanging of FOIA ombud office
• December 12, 2007:
SEJ president testifies at Interior photo-fee hearing
• November 7, 2007:
SEJ urges removal of farm bill secrecy provision for livestock ID
• October 19, 2007:
SEJ comments on proposed DOI commercial filming rule
• June 1, 2007:
SEJ supports Toxic Right-to-Know Protection Act
• May 17, 2007:
SEJ backs OPEN Government Act of 2007
• February 20, 2007:
SEJ voices concern over new DHS rail hazmat secrecy proposal
• November 29, 2006:
SEJ urges NIEHS not to privatize environmental health magazine
• September 14, 2006:
SEJ joins call for limits on "sensitive" secrecy stamp by DHS
• September 6, 2006:
SEJ opposes "Official Secrets Act" legislation
• August 8, 2006:
SEJ opposes EPA library closures and cuts
• July 20, 2006:
SEJ asks DOI to clarify photo fee/permit policy on public lands
• June 29, 2006:
SEJ urges Corps to release Okeechobee flood maps
• May 22, 2006:
SEJ opposes wastewater "security" bill's secrecy provisions
• May 16, 2006:
SEJ supports amendment to block TRI changes
• January 13, 2006:
SEJ opposes EPA's proposal to limit TRI toxics data collection
• November 15, 2005:
SEJ joins call for post-Katrina FEMA contract disclosure
• November 3, 2005:
SEJ opposes secrecy mandate in new biodefense bill
• November 2, 2005:
SEJ supports bill giving teeth to Ohio FOI law
• October 12, 2005:
SEJ joins call for more openness at US Supreme Court
• September 15, 2005:
SEJ and EPA/Katrina: The search for public information — a timeline
• September 12, 2005:
New SEJ report: Katrina only latest example of feds withholding environmental data
• September 8, 2005:
SEJ op-ed: Americans need EPA answers now
• September 6, 2005:
SEJ encourages EPA to quickly respond to Katrina pollutant release requests
• August 1, 2005:
SEJ urges rethinking of Ashcroft Memo
• April 27, 2005:
SEJ joins protest of military base press restrictions
• March 28, 2005:
SEJ urges moderation on proposed NRC expansion of "Safeguards Information"
• February 18, 2005:
SEJ objects to Arboretum photo fee rule
• February 16, 2005:
SEJ, other journalism groups back Cornyn-Leahy FOIA bill
• February 14, 2005:
SEJ urges Justice Dept. not to bar disclosure with huge fees
• September 10, 2004:
SEJ opposes FOIA exemption for land remote sensing info
• August 24, 2004:
SEJ joins >26 journo groups to support reporters' privilege
• August 16, 2004:
Journalism groups join SEJ on Homeland Security comments
• July 28, 2004:
SEJ voices concern on journalist visa restrictions
• July 16, 2004:
SEJ joins news media coalition in challenging homeland security maritime secrecy
• July 14, 2004:
SEJ urges Homeland Security Dept.
to limit NEPA secrecy proposal
• May 18, 2004:
SEJ joins J-group coalition urging less homeland security secrecy
• May 14, 2004:
SEJ urges OMB to withdraw peer review proposal
• March 18, 2004:
SEJ joins AHCJ & other j-groups decrying fake news
reports
• November 12, 2003:
SEJ letter re: withdrawal of web access to Congressional Research Service reports
• August 27, 2003:
SEJ signs group letter demanding public input on Homeland Security procedures
• June 16, 2003:
SEJ submission to DHS re: comments to proposed rule on
critical infrastructure information
• March
20, 2003: SEJ submission to EPA re:
public comments on ECHO database
• March 14,
2003: SEJ joins journalism groups in
support of "Restore FOIA" bill
• February 21,
2003: Greenwire reports FERC
restricts information flow, as
predicted
• November 18,
2002: SEJ Task Force voices concern
over FOIA exemptions in HSA to key U.S.
senators
• November 15,
2002: SEJ joins Reporters Committee
for Freedom of the Press in expressing
deep concern about the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission's proposed new
rules on the release of FERC
documents
• November 14,
2002: update from Jim Bruggers, SEJ
First Amendment Task Force board
liaison
• August 2,
2002: update from Jim Bruggers, SEJ
First Amendment Task Force board
liaison
• July 17,
2002: SEJ joins journalism groups
expressing concern about FOIA exemptions
in Homeland Security Act of 2002
February 26, 2009
SEJ opposes "The Fair Copyright in Research Works Act"
The Society of Environmental Journalists (SEJ) joined other national and international science journalism organizations in urging the House Judiciary Committee to reject H.R. 801, "The Fair Copyright in Research Works Act."
The letter, sent to Chair John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) and Lamar Smith (R-TX), Ranking Republican, said "...we find it unacceptable that H.R. 801 would prohibit American taxpayers from accessing the results of crucial biomedical and other research funded by their taxpayer dollars. This bill could severely affect the media's important role in providing independent coverage of scientific research and its results to the American public."
January 7, 2009
SEJ opposes DOE's proposed FOIA amendments
SEJ submitted comments on two U.S. Department of Energy proposed FOIA rule changes — elimination of a "balancing test" and
doubling the per-page copying rate imposed on some
FOIA requesters. Both amendments would result in less
disclosure of information to which SEJ members and the public are entitled,
contrary to the Congressional intent underlying the FOIA.
In the letter, SEJ asked DOE to withdraw the proposed amendments and, if not, to delay its final decision until the Obama administration assumes office on January 20, 2009 — only 11 days after the close of the comment period.
January 2, 2009
SEJ urges public, timely EPA results of TN coal-ash-release testing
SEJ wrote the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Region 4 Administrator requesting "complete and immediate transparency" of test results related to the December 22, 2008, coal-ash pond impoundment breach in east Tennessee. EPA's first results weren't released until 11 days following the massive spill, which spread over more than 300 acres and into a tributary of the Tennessee River. Meanwhile, independent water testing found alarmingly
high arsenic levels.
The letter noted: "We've been down this road before. Journalists covering Hurricane Katrina in 2005
and air quality issues after the September 11, 2001 terror attacks were
frustrated by the EPA's slow response to requests for information. A September
2005 SEJ report — "A Flawed Tool: Environmental Reporters' Experiences with
the Freedom of Information Act" — noted that EPA's failure to be forthcoming
about environmental monitoring was only the latest in a long line of problems
journalists were encountering using FOIA."
EPA responded to SEJ February 12, 2009, agreeing that it is "in the public's best interest to have EPA provide quality analytical data as expeditiously as possible." The letter then summarized EPA's activities at the TVA Kingston Fossil Fuel Fly Ash Release Site.
December 19, 2008
SEJ voices concern over axing of CNN enviro-science units
The Society of Environmental Journalists (SEJ) joined several national and international science journalism organizations in writing a strong letter to CNN regarding its "shortsighted decision to cut its science, technology and environment unit in one fell swoop.... at a time when science coverage could not be more important in our national and international discourse."
May 6, 2008
SEJ joins in suit on officials' e-mails
The Society of Environmental Journalists (SEJ) joined other journalism
groups May 6, 2008, in filing a "friend of the court" brief in a
Washington state lawsuit seeking access to public officials' e-mails
under state law. Many reporters use e-mail messages obtained by FOIA
requests or other means as the basis for high-impact stories about
government corruption or malfeasance.
March 26, 2008
SEJ opposes EPA exemption for CAFO toxics info
SEJ has submitted comments opposing an EPA rule change that would exempt farms from publicly reporting releases of toxic air pollutants. The exemption would apply principally to releases of ammonia and hydrogen sulfide gases from manure storage pits and lagoons.
In its comments, SEJ said that, "if information about airborne contaminant releases is no longer reported, the community right-to-know principle is made sterile."
February 14, 2008
SEJ questions Environment Canada scientist restrictions
SEJ followed up on a February 1, 2008, Canwest News Service report that "Environment Canada has 'muzzled' its scientists around the country, ordering them to refer all media queries to Ottawa where communications officers will help them respond with 'approved lines.'"
In the letter, SEJ expressed concerns that the policy change "may hinder journalists' efforts to adequately cover
environmental issues and the ministry" and requested copies of the "previous and the current official written policies on media
communication, as well as the dates they took effect."
February 6, 2008
SEJ opposes defanging of FOIA ombud office
SEJ urged Congress to use its funding power to establish a new independent "ombudsman" office to oversee how the federal government performs its obligations under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The action was taken after President Bush sent Congress a budget moving the office from the independent National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) to the Justice Department, which is tightly controlled by political loyalists.
"The OPEN Government Act established OGIS specifically at NARA," SEJ President Timothy B. Wheeler wrote. "It did so because of concerns that DOJ has the responsibility to defend government agency clients in litigation brought by public records requesters, creating a conflict of interest."
December 12, 2007
SEJ president testifies at Interior photo-fee hearing
The Society of Environmental Journalists told the House Natural Resources Committee Dec. 12 that the Interior Department could unduly restrict news media access to parks and refuges with its proposed rule requiring fees and permits for "commercial filming."
SEJ President Timothy B. Wheeler testified before a full committee oversight hearing called by Chairman Nick Rahall (D-WV) that a proposed rule governing photography in National Park System units and Wildlife Refuges represents an unwarranted infringement on journalists' ability to cover natural resource issues on public lands.
November 7, 2007
SEJ urges removal of farm bill secrecy provision for livestock ID
The Society of Environmental Journalists and six other journalism groups urged Senators to drop from the 2007 farm bill an unusual secrecy provision for information in the National Animal Identification System (NAIS). The NAIS is a database for tracking livestock from birth to market to help stop disease outbreaks and protect consumers from unsafe food. The provision in the Senate farm bill could criminalize publication of simple information like the location of a feed lot, even if it were already in the public domain.
Joining SEJ were the National Association of Black Journalists, National Association of Hispanic Journalists, American Society of Journalists and Authors, Inc., National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, National Press Foundation, and UNITY: Journalists of Color, Inc.
October 19, 2007
SEJ comments on proposed DOI commercial filming rule
The Society of Environmental Journalists was joined by eighteen other national journalism organizations in submitting comments on the Department of the Interior's "Proposed Rule: Making Motion Pictures,
Television Productions, Soundtracks or Taking Still Photographs on Certain Areas Under the
Jurisdiction of the Department of the Interior."
The proposed rule impacts permits and fees
for commercial filming on parks, refuges, and other public lands. SEJ expressed strong concern about several issues in the proposed rule, which could have a negative impact on the First Amendment rights of
a free press, and suggested specific ways of improving the rule to alleviate these concerns. Specific concerns included charging for still
photography, definitions of "news" and "freelancers," and restrictions on audio recording.
- SEJ's official comments of October 19, 2007, on DOI's proposed rule in MS Word or plain text format.
June 1, 2007
SEJ supports Toxic Right-to-Know Protection Act
The Society of Environmental Journalists wrote members of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee today urging passage without amendments of the Toxic Right-to-Know Protection Act.
In the letter, SEJ President Tim Wheeler notes that the bill would reverse the Environmental Protection Agency's recent
change to the rules for reporting thresholds under the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) program, hence restoring the rights of the U.S. public to be fully
informed about potentially dangerous chemical exposures they may face, and the news media's ability to inform them of those risks.
May 17, 2007
SEJ backs OPEN Government Act of 2007
In a letter today, SEJ urged Senator Harry Reid and Senator Mitch McConnell to move to the
Senate floor S.849, the OPEN Government Act of 2007. The bill proposes reforms to the 41-year-old Freedom of Information Act urgently
needed to help FOIA meet citizens' needs, for timely and comprehensive access to
government information.
Stating that SEJ has "been thwarted in our efforts to report what the government does and knows,
sometimes with serious consequences", the letter cites the lack of response of government agencies to FOIA requests post-Katrina as one such example.
February 20, 2007
SEJ voices concern over new DHS rail hazmat secrecy proposal
SEJ submitted comments on new secrecy rules related to rail transport of hazardous materials being proposed by the Departments of Homeland Security and Transportation.
SEJ's concern is about the excessive and largely unchecked secrecy this proposed rule would impose through the provisions relating to 'Sensitive Security Information,' a pseudo-classified category of information set up under a vague, decades-old legal authority.
November 29, 2006
SEJ urges NIEHS not to privatize environmental health magazine
SEJ wrote the director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences today, asking him to abandon plans to downgrade and privatize its flagship, open-access journal, Environmental Health Perspectives. The magazine is renowned for publishing free online cutting-edge research on relevant and timely topics — in non-technical terms and in multiple languages.
Having completed a "Request for Proposals" for outsourcing, and with plans to cut the magazine's budget by some 85 percent (forcing a contractor to somehow make up the difference), NIEHS would effectually be destroying "an excellent magazine" and replacing it with "a different one of far less value to NIEHS and the U.S. public."
September 14, 2006
SEJ joins call for limits on "sensitive" secrecy stamp by DHS
SEJ signed on to a joint letter with several journalism and open-government groups today in calling on Congress to limit the use of a new "sensitive security information" (SSI) stamp to keep nonclassified information secret.
Conferees from the House and Senate are currently trying to reconcile two different versions of the appropriations bill (HR 5441) for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The House version of the bill contains provisions aimed at limiting the overuse of the SSI designation.
September 6, 2006
SEJ opposes "Official Secrets Act" legislation
SEJ sent a letter today to the Senate Judiciary Committee to express opposition to a proposed bill (S 3774) that would likely silence most reporters' confidential sources within government by broadly criminalizing unauthorized disclosure of classified information.
The U.S. EPA is one of the agencies that can pick and choose the information it does not want made public, and the bill's imposing 3-year jail sentence would ensure most government employees stayed quiet.
Leaking classified information is already illegal when prosecutors can show harm to national security. The new legislation would abandon that test.
August 8, 2006
SEJ opposes EPA library closures and cuts
The Society of Environmental Journalists wrote today to urge the full Senate to
modify President Bush's proposed budget to reinstate funding that would
maintain and improve the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's libraries, saying "Reducing funding for EPA's cultivated libraries is a step that closes the
intellectual commons in this country." Library closures would make it hard not only for reporters to do their jobs, but also for EPA scientists and attorneys.
In the letter, SEJ President Perry Beeman also pointed out that according to the EPA's own November 2005
cost-benefit analysis, cutting the agency's library budget is not cost effective. In addition, no provisions have apparently been made for the costs of the promised conversion, availability and long-term electronic access to all of the information now provided by
the libraries — 80,000 documents, of which 67,000 are currently paper-only. Futhermore, no mention has been made of safeguards to ensure the electronic form matches the original.
July 20, 2006
SEJ asks DOI to clarify photo fee/permit policy on public lands
SEJ asked Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne to clarify its policy for requiring permits and fees for photography in National Parks and other public lands.
At issue is whether the permit-and-fee policy, which Interior claims is legally required, will interfere with newsgathering or similar work that informs the public about resources and happenings on the millions of acres of publicly owned land managed by the Interior Department.
Park Service officials' assurances that the new interim policy adopted this year will not impede journalists' work has left many questions unresolved. SEJ's concern is that vaguely drawn language or inappropriately aggressive enforcement could keep many of its members from doing their jobs — jobs they have a perfect legal right to do on public land.
June 29, 2006
SEJ urges Corps to release Okeechobee flood maps
SEJ urged the Army Corps of Engineers to release inundation maps showing areas that would be flooded in the event of a sudden failure of the Herbert Hoover Dike which holds back Lake Okeechobee in southern Florida.
In the June 29th letter to Florida Corps officials, SEJ stated that release of the maps was required under the Freedom of Information Act, and that it is in the public interest to let people know when they are in such danger. A Lake Okeechobee levee has failed in the past — during a 1928 hurricane, killing over 2,500 people.
The move follows reports this month that the Corps there refused to give Florida news media copies of the maps, citing homeland security concerns.
May 22, 2006
SEJ opposes wastewater "security" bill's secrecy provisions
SEJ signed on to a letter opposing secrecy language in a bill, S 2781, approved May 23, 2006, by the Senate Environment Committee.
The bill — so vague it could put a reporter in jail for writing about almost any aspect of sewage — creates a new statutory exemption to the Freedom of Information Act for a broad swath of information related to sewage system performance, policy, and management. But it goes well beyond that by making it a criminal offense to disclose such information if it is contained in a "vulnerability assessment."
S 2781 authorizes EPA's administrator to provide grants to sewage authorities to prepare "vulnerability assessments" and emergency response plans — yet forbids the EPA administrator from possessing a copy of one of the vulnerability assessments he is authorized to fund.
Signing the opposition letter along with SEJ were the Coalition of Journalists for Open Government, American Society of Newspaper Editors, Associated Press Managing Editors, Association of Alternative Newsweeklies, California First Amendment Coalition, Capitolbeat, National Conference of Editorial Writers, National Freedom of Information Coalition, Radio-Television News Directors Association, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, Society of Professional Journalists, and Washington Coalition for Open Government.
May 16, 2006
SEJ supports amendment to block TRI changes
SEJ wrote key House members May 16 urging a vote on a measure to block EPA-proposed cutbacks to the Toxics Release Inventory.
EPA, at the urging of some industry groups, proposed in Sept. 2005 raising tenfold the thresholds above which companies must report the quantities of certain toxic chemicals they release to air, land, and water. The proposal would allow more companies to keep confidential the amounts of chemicals they release, transfer, or handle.
Other journalism groups joining SEJ in this position and signing on to SEJ's letter include the Coalition of Journalists for Open Government, Society of Professional Journalists, American Society of Newspaper Editors, Association of Alternative Newsweeklies, California First Amendment Coalition, and the Washington Coalition for Open Government.
January 13, 2006
SEJ opposes EPA's proposal to limit TRI toxics data collection
SEJ filed a statement Jan. 13, 2006, calling on EPA to abandon its proposal to cut back on how much data the agency collects and publishes on toxic emissions. SEJ's opposition to the Toxics Release Inventory "burden reduction" was endorsed by seven other national journalism organizations.
EPA had proposed in a Federal Register notice on Oct. 4, 2005, to ease thresholds for companies to qualify for using the short "Form A" when reporting their handling and release to the environment of toxic chemicals. Form A contains no numerical data.
In its comments to the rulemaking record, SEJ argued that the public had a right to know what toxics people were being exposed to. TRI, the comments noted, has been the basis for many important environmental news stories. SEJ also argued that the reporting burden on industry had been overstated, because many companies have to collect or report this data for other purposes. EPA has already reduced the reporting burden in numerous ways, SEJ asserted, and has no benchmark for measuring how much "burden reduction" is enough. SEJ also noted that EPA ignored legal requirements that agencies fully disclose what prompted their rulemakings and conduct cost-benefit analyses of their proposed actions.
Endorsing SEJ's comments in a separate filing were the Coalition of Journalists for Open Government, American Society of Newspaper Editors, Associated Press Managing Editors, Association of Alternative Newsweeklies, National Freedom of Information Coalition, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, and Society of Professional Journalists.
- Full text of SEJ comments.
- Previous stories: WatchDogs of January 11, 2006,
December 14, 2005,
November 30, 2005,
November 16, 2005,
November 3, 2005,
October 6, 2005, and
September 21, 2005.
November 15, 2005
SEJ joins call for post-Katrina FEMA contract disclosure
SEJ joined a number of open-government groups in urging President Bush to post online full copies of all contracts and other paperwork authorizing spending for relief and recovery efforts following Hurricane Katrina.
Various officials and media have already raised concerns about waste and favoritism in award of some $62.3 billion already authorized by Congress for post-Katrina relief. The groups urged President Bush to make the process transparent so that taxpayers, states, and news media can oversee the effectiveness of hurricane response.
The letter was organized by OMB Watch, an open-government group, and the Coalition of Journalists for Open Government (CJOG), a media-access umbrella group. Some 47 groups, including many media groups and newspapers, had signed it as of Nov. 15, 2005.
November 3, 2005
SEJ opposes secrecy mandate in new biodefense bill
The Society of Environmental Journalists this month added its voice to those of other journalism groups opposing the granting of supersecret status to a newly proposed biodefense agency — a blanket of secrecy that would extend to many of the nation's drug and chemical companies.
Acting through its First Amendment Task Force, SEJ signed onto a letter of opposition sent to Senate sponsors of the measure by the Coalition of Journalists for Open Government (CJOG). The letter opposes unprecedented secrecy provisions in the bill (S 1873) that would apply to the new Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Agency ("BARDA") it would create. Under the bill, BARDA would be entirely exempt from both the Freedom of Information Act and the Federal Advisory Committee Act, the nation's main open records and meetings laws.
November 2, 2005
SEJ supports bill giving teeth to Ohio FOI law
SEJ voiced its support for a bill currently before the Ohio legislature that strengthens that state's freedom of information law and offers a model to other states.
The bill (HB 9), which grew out of an AP-sponsored "audit" of Ohio agencies' responsiveness to public records requests, adds fines for agencies that fail to respond to FOI requests in a timely way — $250 a day up to a maximum of $5,000 for agencies who violate timely-response provisions, and more for agencies found purposefully delaying response.
October 12, 2005
SEJ joins call for more openness at US Supreme Court
SEJ, along with other journalism groups, joined the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press in urging newly installed Chief Justice John Roberts to speed and broaden press and public access to proceedings of the US Supreme Court.
Transcripts of oral arguments before the Court normally are not available to the press or public until seven to ten days later while audiotapes of oral arguments aren't usually available until the following fall.
September 15, 2005
SEJ and EPA/Katrina: The search for public information — a timeline
It's hard telling why the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released
information about Hurricane Katrina's environmental aftermath when it
did. EPA hasn't explained itself fully. However, this timeline shows
the slow pace and juxtaposes appeals for information from various
reporters and the Society of Environmental Journalists with EPA's
information releases.
August 29: Katrina hits land.
September 4: New Orleans Times-Picayune reporter Mark Schleifstein files a
FOIA request seeking release reports filed to the National Response
Center, in addition to correspondence about those reports, and other
information. Schleifstein's repeated attempts to talk to EPA about that
material up to this point had been fruitless.
Other reporters file duplicate or near-duplicate FOIA requests.
September 6: SEJ President Perry Beeman and Ken Ward, co-chair of SEJ's
First Amendment Task Force, write to EPA's FOIA officer, encouraging
the agency to act quickly on the information requests and to expedite
its processing of the FOIA requests.
September 7: A day after SEJ filed its letter with the agency, EPA calls
its first press conference to release sampling results, more than a
week after the hurricane hit. The agency reports on limited sampling
in residential areas that found high bacterial and lead levels in New
Orleans, and suggests that people stay out of the water. EPA releases
no National Response Center documents and has no word on its own air
sampling, or detailed results of its chemical sampling of water.
Many reporters get the advisory about the press conference by email
after the session was over.
September 8: Beeman releases an op-ed piece, which is published in
newspapers and on websites across the U.S. and in other countries. The
op-ed details reporters' frustrations with EPA's slow response to
reporters' requests and the lack of public information on the full
extent of Katrina's environmental aftermath. Beeman points out the
information was collected with the public's money for the public and
should be released. He wonders, in print, if EPA is busy re-reading
Schleifstein's 2002 series, "Washing Away," which predicted New
Orleans would be leveled by a major hurricane.
September 9: EPA loads its first Katrina water-sample results on its
website.
September 11: EPA loads its first chemical sample results on its website.
Monday, September 12: SEJ releases a report detailing a survey of members
and personal testimonies of reporters on widespread problems with the
FOIA system, mentioning Katrina as just the latest case of problems
getting information from federal agencies. Several SEJ members are
interviewed by various media outlets.
Tuesday night, September 13: Beeman appears via telephone on CNN Daybreak
with anchor Carol Costello, describing reporters' frustrations with
EPA's failure to grant information requests. Beeman notes that EPA's
release of week-old data two weeks after the hurricane hit did not
answer many questions and suggested the agency didn't learn its
information-access lessons when its tight-lipped approach was
criticized in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
That night, Schleifstein, who by this time had appeared on a number
of news programs detailing Katrina, learns from a regional EPA worker
that some Louisiana release reports are available on National Response
Center website. Still no response to his FOIA request, even to
acknowledge its receipt.
Wednesday, September 14: In an EPA press conference, Administrator Stephen Johnson
details results of samples taken a week before. Johnson also mentions
that the EPA initially had been busy helping rescue hurricane victims,
and had worked hard to spread information about what samples it took
later, once they cleared quality control. Johnson displays a board
showing the number of press advisories and releases, contending the
agency has been open.
Later that day, Seth Borenstein of Knight Ridder talks to FOIA
officer at EPA who says EPA will attempt to expedite consideration of
SEJ members' FOIA requests about Katrina, and will provide the
information on EPA's website. Federal law requires wide
distribution when EPA had or expects to have multiple requests for the
same information.
EPA loaded its first air-monitoring data on its website this day.
September 12, 2005
New SEJ report: Katrina only latest example of feds withholding environmental data
Journalists are having an increasingly difficult time using the federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to drag information out of the federal government to shed light on Superfund sites, chemical factories, mining accidents and a host of other topics important to citizens.
An SEJ report released today says the failure of the Environmental Protection Agency to divulge information about chemical releases in the wake of Hurricane Katrina is only the latest in a long line of problems journalists are encountering in using FOIA.
The report, "A Flawed Tool — Environmental Reporters' Experiences With the Freedom of Information Act," recommends actions by Congress, journalists and the public to better ensure that this democratizing law is carried out faithfully.
September 8, 2005
SEJ op-ed: Americans need EPA answers now
SEJ distributed an op-ed piece, September 8, 2005, on U.S. EPA handling — or mishandling — of post-Katrina information requests from journalists, by SEJ president/Des Moines Register environment writer Perry Beeman.
The op-ed follows on the heels of SEJ's September 6, 2005, letter to EPA's National Freedom of Information Officer regarding unresponsiveness to requests for answers, and EPA's "news" conference of the following day, which offered nothing more substantive than sound bites.
In the piece, Beeman presses EPA for details. "Which bacteria and how much? Which gasoline and oil constituents and how much? Which carcinogens? Which pathogens? Americans need to know what specific threats exist and what the government is doing about them. They are paying for the raw data, and they deserve to see it. Now."
September 6, 2005
SEJ encourages EPA to quickly respond to Katrina pollutant release requests
The Society of Environmental Journalists wrote to encourage the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
to quickly respond to requests for more detailed information about
chemical spills and other environmental releases resulting from
Hurricane Katrina.
Mark Schleifstein, reporter at The Times-Picayune and an SEJ board
member, filed a Freedom of Information Act request on Monday,
September 5, 2005, for information about the environmental
consequences of Katrina, after his efforts to obtain answers without
a formal request were unsuccessful. Several other SEJ members have
filed similar FOIA requests today.
The letter stated, "While the exact nature of the environmental damage done by Katrina
may not be known for some time, it is clear that EPA is making
assessments and equally clear that the agency should have some
initial data that can and should be made public."
August 1, 2005
SEJ urges Gonzales to rethink Ashcroft FOIA Memo
One of the Bush administration's actions that did most to restrict public access to government information, many press groups say, was the so-called "Ashcroft Memo." SEJ has joined a coalition of other journalism groups in urging Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to review and change his predecessor's restrictive policy.
In an Aug. 1, 2005, letter to Gonzales, the groups urged Gonzales to reverse the Ashcroft decree that whenever there was discretion, the government's presumption should be to withhold, rather than disclose, information under the Freedom of Information Act.
April 27, 2005
SEJ joins protest of military base press restrictions
SEJ joined six other journalism groups
April 27, 2005, in protesting recently tightened restrictions on
journalists working on US military bases — a venue for many environmental
stories.
The groups, led by Military Reporters & Editors (MRE), wrote Defense
Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld urging him to rescind restrictions placed on
reporters covering the trial of Army Sgt. Hasan Akbar (accused of killing
fellow soldiers with a grenade) at Fort Bragg, N.C. Before being allowed to
cover the trial, reporters have been required to sign agreements to some 14
different restrictions — ranging from not interviewing base personnel to
being escorted to the bathroom.
Military bases and lands are the settings for many common environmental
stories. Forthcoming DoD announcements of base closings and realignments
will spark stories on toxic cleanups, land use decisions, energy facility
siting, conservation of wetlands, and endangered species — to name only a
few. Of roughly 670 million acres of US land owned by the federal
government, about 3% are under control of the military.
March 28, 2005
SEJ urges moderation on proposed NRC expansion of "Safeguards Information"
SEJ urged the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on March 28, 2005, to moderate its proposed expansion of the definition of information to be kept secret as "Safeguards Information" (SGI).
In formal comments submitted on a regulation proposed by NRC, SEJ said: "We are concerned ... that the proposed rule ... only fortifies a secrecy regime which in the end may have an effect the opposite of what is intended — diminishing true safety and security rather than enhancing it; hiding vulnerabilities rather than eliminating them; masking performance failures rather than correcting them; and weakening public oversight and accountability rather than strengthening them."
The NRC proposed rule was published in the Federal Register on Feb. 11, 2005. It would expand NRC's existing rule for the protection of SGI to cover additional licensees, information, and materials not currently specified in the regulations.
February 18, 2005
SEJ objects to Arboretum photo fee rule
The Society of Environmental Journalists has
objected to plans by the Department of Agriculture to
change its permit requirements and fee schedule for
photography inside the National Arboretum in Washington, DC.
In a Feb. 18 comment letter, SEJ's First Amendment Task Force said that the proposed rule goes beyond the scope of the Department's legal authority to charge photography fees. Under the law, the agency may not charge fees for photography that "takes place where members of the public are generally allowed."
In its proposed rule, the Department proposed to charge for all photography that is not "for personal use only." Task Force member Kathie Florsheim took the lead in working the issue for SEJ, and SEJ was joined in its comment by the National Press Photographers Association.
February 16, 2005
SEJ, other journalism groups back Cornyn-Leahy FOIA bill
SEJ has expressed its support for a set of Freedom of Information Act amendments newly introduced by Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Patrick J. Leahy (D-VT).
The bill addresses specific complaints from journalists — on matters including fee waivers, timeliness of agency response, outsourcing of agency record-keeping, mediated resolution of disputed FOIA requests, recovery of plaintiffs' legal costs, accurate reporting of agency FOIA performance, and staffing and funding of FOIA offices, among others. It does not directly address some other concerns raised by journalism groups — such as the burgeoning of new FOIA exemptions in the name of homeland security.
Introduced as a bill in the Senate on Feb. 16, 2005, the measure (S 394) would make some 17 changes to the existing FOIA statute.
A broad range of other journalism groups besides SEJ immediately expressed support for the bill, including the Coalition of Journalists for Open Government, Associated Press Managing Editors, American Society of Newspaper Editors, Newspaper Association of America, National Newspaper Association, Radio-Television News Directors Association, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, National Conference of Editorial Writers, Association of Health Care Journalists, Committee of Concerned Journalists, Education Writers Association, Freedom of Information Center (University of Missouri), Information Trust, National Freedom of Information Coalition, and the National Press Club.
"Open government," Cornyn said in floor remarks Feb. 16, "is one of the most basic requirements of a healthy democracy. It allows taxpayers to see where their money is going; it permits the honest exchange of information that ensures government accountability; and it upholds the ideal that government never rules without the consent of the governed."
SEJ's support was expressed in a joint Feb. 16 letter with some of the above groups. You can read the complete text of the letter here.
February 14, 2005
SEJ urges Justice Dept. not to bar disclosure with huge fees
SEJ has joined the Coalition of Journalists for Open Government and other journalism groups in urging the Department of Justice to waive the huge fee it wants to charge a nonprofit group for information about detention of post-9/11 immigrant detainees.
While the issue does not relate directly to the environment, it affects all journalists. It is a key challenge to what the J-groups consider a Justice Department policy of using huge and unjustified fees as a way to prevent public access to information that should legally be disclosed under the Freedom of Information Act.
In a Feb. 14, 2005, letter to the Justice Department, CJOG, SEJ, and other J-groups urged the agency to back away from its demands for payment of a $372,799 up-front search fee before it would start retrieving the information for the liberal-leaning People for the American Way Foundation, which focuses on civil rights and constitutional liberties.
FOIA statutory and case law clearly dictate waiver of search fees (of any amount) when disclosure of the information is in the "public interest." The so-called "public interest" fee waiver was once given almost automatically to news media — but the Justice Dept. and federal agencies have since 2001 been making media work harder to justify it in each case.
September 10, 2004
SEJ opposes rider with new FOIA exemption
for satellite data and studies on Earth resources
The Society of Environmental Journalists joined other journalism groups September 10, 2004, urging Congressional leaders to strip a new FOIA exemption for certain satellite data on the Earth's resources from the 2005 Defense Authorization Bill (S 2400).
The letter was signed jointly by leaders of SEJ and the National Association of Science Writers and addressed to leaders of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees. Those two panels are headed for conference as early as the week of September 13 to reconcile versions of the defense bill passed by each. The new Freedom of Information Act exemption is in the Senate-passed version, but not the House-passed version.
The provision does not merely exempt certain data from FOIA, but prohibits its disclosure on any terms, citing security concerns as a reason. Just which data it covers, however, is murky. Journalism, environmental, and open government groups fear that it could be used to restrict access to data from platforms like Landsat 7, the latest in a family of satellites which for three decades has been the foundation of studies in the earth sciences, commercially valuable information for industries like agriculture and forestry, and journalism about almost anything environmental.
"If enacted, the provision could make it very hard for reporters to tell their audiences whether the rain forest is shrinking, whether San Diego is sprawling, or whether algae are taking over Lake Erie," SEJ's letter said. "Satellite images help track the effects of invasive species, soil erosion, strip mining, and illegal dumping, to mention only a few examples. Without information of this quality, the public can not take part in formulation of intelligent policies. Without it, we are flying blind."
It is unclear whether the rider is meant to apply to any, some, or all Landsat 7 data. It also prohibits disclosure of any data products, maps, or studies based on the blacked out data, and pre-empts state FOI laws. A 1992 law requires Landsat data to be distributed openly at "cost," but waives certain FOIA requirements to allow USGS (its sole distributor) to charge higher prices. Landsat 7 data, with a resolution of only 15 meters, is hardly good enough to distinguish an oil tank from an ice rink, and would be of minimal use to terrorists.
The provision seems instead meant to prop up profits of data resellers undercut by some companies' use of state FOIA laws to get the data. It also seems meant to keep terrorists from using FOIA to get data from a new hawk-eyed generation of entirely private satellites licensed by the federal government.
The Senate-passed provision, knowledgeable Hill sources say, was requested by the Pentagon, although it is unclear whether the measure had White House backing. Because it was added to the bill with no hearings and only a cryptic explanation in the legislative report, almost nobody in Washington knows what it would do.
SEJ's letter of opposition echoed one sent September 3 by the Radio-Television News Directors Association, for whom satellite pictures have always meant great visuals. Other opposition came from the Coalition of Journalists for Open Government, the American Society of Newspaper Editors, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, and other journalism, open government, and environmental groups.
August 24, 2004
SEJ joins >26 journo groups to support reporters' privilege
The Society of Environmental Journalists joined at least 26 other national
journalism groups on August 24, 2004, in signing a statement of support for
journalists found in contempt of court for protecting confidential sources.
Hundreds of individual journalists have also signed the statement, which is
expected to run soon as a full-page ad in newspapers around the country.
Journalists can sign up online quickly just by visiting a page
on the Web site of the Reporters Committee
for Freedom of the Press. The number of organizations signing on is growing daily.
Signers argue that journalists can only get information from whistleblowers
and other vulnerable sources if they can believably promise a source that
his or her identity will not be disclosed. Some 31 states and the District
of Columbia have "shield" laws protecting the reporter's privilege of
confidentiality.
During August 2004 there were subpoenas or contempt orders against 11
different U.S. reporters in three different cases (the Valerie Plame, Wen
Ho Lee, and Buddy Cianci cases) for resisting efforts by the judicial
system to force them to disclose confidential sources. The number was
unprecedented, and has caused many journalists grave concern about their
ability to get information from sources.
Virtually all of the national journalism organizations, under the umbrella
of the Coalition of Journalists for Open Government, have endorsed a
"Statement of Support" intended be run as a full-page ad in national
newspapers. In this case, they are also asking for the signatures of
INDIVIDUAL JOURNALISTS to be run with the ad.
August 16, 2004
Journalism groups join SEJ on Homeland Security comments
Eleven major journalism groups joined the Society of Environmental
Journalists to voice concern over proposed secrecy on environmental impacts
of actions by the Department of Homeland Security. SEJ filed official
comments July 14, 2004, on a DHS proposal that allowed considerable secrecy
in how it carries out the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
After the deadline for
comments on the DHS proposal was extended, the Coalition of Journalists for
Open Government signed on to an expanded version of the SEJ comments. Among
the groups specifically endorsing these comments were the American Society
of Newspaper Editors, the Associated Press Managing Editors, the Newspaper
Association of America, the Society of Professional Journalists, and the
Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. Text of comments.
July 28, 2004
SEJ voices concern on journalist visa restrictions
The Society of Environmental Journalists
joined two other journalism groups, the National
Association of Science Writers (NASW) and the
Association of Health Care Journalists (AHCJ), in
protesting restrictions on the entry of foreign
journalists into the US that go far beyond those
imposed on ordinary tourists. The practice could
skew coverage of global environmental issues from
venues like the United Nations.
The three groups sent a letter July 28,
2004, to top immigration officials protesting a
requirement for visas (prior permission to enter
the US) for journalists from 27 countries the US
considers friendly. Ordinary citizens from those
27 nations can come here to work or vacation for
up to 90 days without visas. However, journalists
from those nations must get special visas before
leaving their home countries. The backlog for
processing such visas now runs one or two months
— making it impossible for many foreign
reporters to cover breaking stories. Since the
9/11 attacks, the letter stated, "more than a
dozen journalists, most from France or Britain,
have been detained, interrogated, searched and
held in cells — sometimes in conditions
that were uncomfortable and humiliating —
before being deported to their home countries,
all because they lacked visas."
The letter was sent to Commissioner
Robert C. Bonner of U.S. Customs and Border
Protection, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell,
and Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge. It was
also sent to members of the Senate Immigration
Subcommittee and House Subcommittee on Immigration,
Border Security, and Claims. The complete text of
the letter is available here. A
similar letter was sent separately by the American
Society of Newspaper Editors.
You'll find additional coverage of this
issue in the July 28, 2004, WatchDog.
July 16, 2004
SEJ joins news media coalition in challenging homeland security maritime secrecy
The Society of Environmental Journalists has joined eight other journalism organizations in challenging new rules on
maritime "sensitive security information" issued by the Department of
Homeland Security.
The groups jointly filed formal comments July 16, 2004, in a rulemaking by
the DHS on the expanding category of SSI. The department had put the rules
into effect on an "interim" basis May 18, 2004, while inviting comment for
the record.
The rule is intended to apply principally to port and maritime security
information, but is drawn so broadly that it could include all kinds of
environmental information related to ports, the coastal zone, and the
marine environment.
SEJ is one of more than a dozen groups cooperating on efforts to defend
freedom of information and the First Amendment — known as the Coalition of
Journalists for Open Government (CJOG).
The groups include the American Society of Newspaper Editors, Associated
Press Managing Editors, Committee of Concerned Journalists, National Association of Science
Writers, Newspaper Association of America, Reporters Committee for Freedom
of the Press, Radio-Television News Directors Association, and Society of
Professional Journalists.
The full text of the Coalition's comments can be downloaded here (requires
free Adobe Acrobat ®
reader).
Previous WatchDog coverage of this issue is available here.
July 14, 2004
SEJ urges Homeland Security Dept.
to limit NEPA secrecy proposal
The Society of Environmental Journalists has voiced concern over a proposal to keep secret some of the environmental assessments done by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
"Public disclosure of information is the heart and soul of the National Environmental Policy Act," SEJ wrote DHS on July 14, 2004. SEJ was commenting for the record on a proposed DHS directive for handling NEPA matters at the agency. The directive was published June 14, 2004, in the Federal Register to invite public comment.
If finalized, the proposal would carve a major loophole in the 34-year-old law which is the keystone of much modern environmental law. NEPA required that the federal government publicly disclose the environmental impacts of major federal actions before they are taken.
You'll find background information in the July 15, 2004, issue of the WatchDog,
and the full text of SEJ's comments here.
May 18, 2004
SEJ joins J-group coalition urging less homeland security secrecy
SEJ joined 13 other journalism groups
May 18, 2004, in urging the Department of Homeland
Security to limit the sweeping scope of its rule for
protecting "critical infrastructure information"
(CII) from potential terrorists.
At issue is information about
vulnerabilities to everything from petrochemical
and drinking water plants to the food supply and
banking system. Under a 2002 law, the Department
of Homeland Security can keep secret certain
information that is "voluntarily submitted" by
industry. Environmental and consumer groups
worry that industries can use exemptions in the
law to escape prosecution for pollution —
and get away with not fixing the dangers they
report.
SEJ's decision to endorse the position
taken by the Coalition of Journalists for Open
Government was made by President Dan Fagin, with
concurrence by First Amendment Task Force Chair
Ken Ward Jr., board liaison Robert McClure, and
Watchdog project director Joseph A.
Davis. The SEJ Board's charter for the Task
Force authorizes such moves.
SEJ had commented on DHS's original
rulemaking (see item
below, dated June 16, 2003) last year. DHS
issued an "interim" rule Feb. 18, 2004, and invited
the current round of comments before putting the
rule in "final" form.
May 14, 2004
SEJ urges OMB to withdraw peer review proposal
The Society of Environmental Journalists on May 14, 2004, urged the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to withdraw a proposal that could increase White House powers to prevent publication of scientific studies, especially those related to the environment. After consideration by its First Amendment Task Force, SEJ called for withdrawal of the OMB "Revised Information Quality Bulletin on Peer Review."
SEJ was joined by the National Association of Science Writers in this position — stated in formal comments on the bulletin submitted for the record to OMB. The comments were signed by SEJ President Dan Fagin, Task Force Chair Ken Ward Jr., Board-Task Force Liaison Robert McClure, Watchdog Project Director Joseph A. Davis, and NASW President Deborah Blum.
For background, see the April 21, 2004, issue of the WatchDog.
The full text of SEJ's comments is available here.
March 18, 2004
SEJ joins AHCJ & other j-groups decrying fake news
reports
The Society of Environmental Journalists, along
with sixteen other journalism groups, joined with
the Association of Health Care Journalists today in
asking the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services (HHS) to stop using video news releases
that have the appearance of authentic news reports.
On Monday, the New York Times reported that the Bush administration paid people to pose as journalists praising the benefits of the new Medicare law, including expanded coverage of prescription medicines.
SEJ president Dan Fagin noted: "We've seen a disturbing trend recently of public agencies closing off access to documents and other important information. Now that the government is disguising public-relations messages as phony news reports, the public will be even more in the dark. A healthy democracy needs open government and credible information."
Read the AHCJ release, including the list of j-groups.
November 12, 2003
SEJ letter re: withdrawal of web access to
Congressional Research Service reports
The SEJ First Amendment Task Force
wrote letters today to congressmen Christopher Shays
(R-CT) and Mark Green (R-WI) protesting the
withdrawal of web access to Congressional
Research Service reports.
As the reports are used by scores of
U.S. journalists to help their audiences understand
evermore complex issues confronting their nation,
SEJ joined the American Library
Association, the Society of Professional
Journalists, the Reporters Committee for
Freedom of the Press and dozens of other
civic groups in urging restoration of access
to this invaluable information.
To read the entire letter to
Congressman Shays (an identical copy of which was
sent to Congressman Green,) click
here.
August 27, 2003
SEJ signs group letter demanding public input on
Homeland Security procedures
The Society of Environmental Journalists, on
behalf of its members, signed a letter sent by 75
organizations calling on the Department of Homeland
Security to allow public input on procedures for
"safeguarding" and sharing a vaguely defined set of
information between firefighters, police officers,
public health researchers, and federal, state and local
governments. Organizations representing journalists,
scientists, librarians, environmental groups, privacy
advocates, and others sent the letter today to Homeland
Security Secretary Tom Ridge.
In a news release, the organizations said
that, "Under the auspices of fighting terrorism, the
Department is poised to write — without
guarantees for public input — procedures that
could sweep up otherwise publicly available information
that has nothing to do with terrorism into a zone of
secrecy while subjecting millions of Americans to
confidentiality agreements." The letter asks Secretary
Ridge to release to the public a draft version of the
new procedures — which would not themselves
contain classified information — and address
public comments in writing a final version. The letter
expresses concern that the procedures may cut a broad
swath of information out of the public domain, that the
procedures would subject millions inside and outside of
government to nondisclosure agreements and criminal
penalties for disclosing information improperly, and
cut out the ability of journalists, community groups,
and others to inform the public of activities of
federal, state and local governments.
To read the entire letter to Ridge, click
here.
June 16, 2003
SEJ submission to DHS re: comments to proposed rule
on critical infrastructure information
Today, the Society of Environmental
Journalists, in representation of its membership,
submitted comments to the Department of Homeland
Security in response to its Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking [Federal Register: April 15, 2003 (Volume 68,
Number 72), Pages 18523-18529], "Procedures for Handling
Critical Infrastructure Information; Proposed Rule."
The remarks concerned the Department's
proposed rule implementing Section 214 of the Homeland
Security Act (PL 107-296) and broadening provisions of
that law which would restrict public access not only to
Critical Infrastructure Information (CII), but to other
information needed by the public to protect their own
health and safety.
The letter also urged the Department to
remember that several important public purposes are
served by giving the public the broadest feasible
access to information about hazards to environmental
health and safety, stating that "while a new caution
is certainly indicated in light of the September 11,
2001, attacks, that is not the only lesson to be
remembered."
You'll find the full text of
SEJ's June 16th letter to the Associate General Counsel
(General Law), DHS here.
March 20, 2003
SEJ submission to EPA re: public
comments on ECHO database
The Society of Environmental
Journalists, on behalf of its membership,
responded on March 20, 2003 to the U.S.
EPA's request for public comments on the
usefulness of its ECHO database.
The letter supported EPA's
evolution of access to environmental
data, due to the fact that in an ever
more complex world, "journalists
reporting in the public interest have
turned to computer-assisted techniques to
help them make sense of issues they
cover."
The letter also confirmed how
essential and irreplaceable a searchable
online database of enforcement/compliance
information really is in helping
journalists understand enforcement laws
and hence, write accurate, fact-based
stories.
You'll find the full text of
SEJ's March 20th letter to Ms. Rebecca
Kane of the U.S. EPA here.
March 14, 2003
SEJ joins journalism groups in
support of "Restore FOIA" bill
The Society of Environmental
Journalists joined other journalism
groups March 14 in supporting the new
"Restore FOIA" bill (S 609). The bill was
introduced March 12 by five Senators to
moderate the sweeping exemption to the
Freedom of Information Act passed during
the headlong rush to enact last year's
Homeland Security Act.
That FOIA exemption, the first
categorical one since the law was passed
in 1966, exempted from disclosure any
information a company submits to the
government with a claim that it is
relevant to homeland security. Last year,
several Senators negotiated and crafted a
"compromise" version of the exemption
that narrowed some of the more sweeping
provisions of the House-passed version.
But the compromise failed to get floor
consideration during the November 2002
pre-adjournment rush to pass the Homeland
Security bill. The new "Restore FOIA"
bill (S 609) embodies that compromise
language.
SEJ's support of this
initiative was communicated in a letter
to Senate committee leaders and bill
sponsors from Dan Fagin, SEJ President;
Ken Ward Jr., Chair of the SEJ First
Amendment Task Force; and James Bruggers,
SEJ First Amendment Task Force.
"On behalf of our more than
1,200 members," SEJ leaders wrote, "we
are writing to express our continued deep
concerns about extraordinary secrecy
provisions in the Homeland Security Act,
and to encourage your support for changes
that better balance the public's right to
know with well-intentioned efforts to
protect the public."
Among the groups supporting
the Restore FOIA bill are the American
Society of Magazine Editors, American
Society of Newspaper Editors, Associated
Press Managing Editors, Freedom of
Information Center (University of
Missouri School of Journalism), Magazine
Publishers of America, National
Federation of Press Women, National
Newspaper Association, National Press
Club, Newsletter & Electronic Publishers
Association, Newspaper Association of
America, Radio-Television News Directors
Association, Reporters Committee for
Freedom of the Press, and the Society of
Professional Journalists.
Read the full text of SEJ's
March 14th letter to the senators
here.
February 21, 2003
Greenwire reports FERC restricts
information flow, as predicted by SEJ and
the Reporters Committee for Freedom of
the Press
Colin Sullivan, Greenwire
staff writer, reported on Friday,
February 21, that the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission has become the
first federal agency to formally advance
the Bush administration's campaign to
limit the flow of information in the name
of homeland security when it voted to
restrict public access to data on
pipelines, electric transmission networks
and power plants.
Citing terrorism concerns over
"critical energy infrastructure
information,'' FERC announced rules that
would force reviewers of such information
to sign nondisclosure agreements, limit
handling of released information and
create a federal critical energy
infrastructure coordinator to oversee all
document requests, according to
Greenwire. The coordinator could override
the Freedom of Information Act.
Greenwire quoted FERC Chairman
Pat Wood: "I do think it's very clear
that information has become a weapon in
our society, and one of the more
vulnerable places for that is the very
visible energy infrastructure.
Freedom of the press and
right-to-know advocates predicted a legal
challenge.
"The FERC is enacting FOIA
exemptions here, as well as rescinding a
key component of the act — that a
requester not have to state a purpose for
the document," Charles Davis, executive
director of the University of Missouri's
Freedom of Information Center, told
Greenwire.
To find out more about
Greenwire (a subscription news service,)
visit their website.
Click here to view a
summary of the final rule.
Read about prior RCFP/SEJ
efforts on this issue
here.
November 18, 2002
SEJ Task Force voices concern over
FOIA exemptions in Homeland Security Act
to key U.S. senators
On Monday, November 18, 2002,
the SEJ Task Force again
voiced its concern over the FOIA
exemptions contained in the Homeland
Security Act. SEJ President Dan Fagin,
board liaison Jim Bruggers and SEJ First
Amendment Task Force chair Ken Ward, Jr.
signed a letter sent to several key
senators, urging them to support
compromise language that had previously
been agreed to.
Among other things, the letter
said, "Some secrecy provisions may be
legitimate in time of war. But frankly,
we are worried that the pendulum is
swinging far too much toward
secrecy."
You'll find a copy of the
letter
here.
November 15, 2002
SEJ joins Reporters Committee for
Freedom of the Press in expressing deep
concern about the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission's proposed new
rules on the release of FERC
documents
SEJ has joined the Reporters Committee for Freedom
of the Press in expressing deep
concern about the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission's proposed new
rules on the release of FERC
documents.
In response to terrorist fears
following 9/11, FERC has proposed to
essentially dispense with using FOIA for
information that the agency deems
"critical energy infrastructure
information". FERC has not precisely
defined that term, but proposes to limit
access to such information to those
demonstrating a "need" to know. That term
was not defined, either.
With the approval of the SEJ First Amendment Task
Force, SEJ President Dan Fagin signed
a comment letter
authored by RCFP and sent to FERC Nov.
14. Among other things, the letter states
that the best way to protect energy
facilities from terrorists is for the
public to understand the potential
vulnerabilities and push for better
security measures. "Public demand for
reliable infrastructures is possibly the
greatest assurance that measures will be
taken to strengthen them," the letter
said.
The letter specifically
identifies examples of how journalists
have used such information. For example,
the letter notes that records obtained by
the Austin American-Statesman
after a 1994 pipeline explosion near
Corpus Christi, Texas, showed that a
large utility company entrusted with
keeping its pipelines in proper working
order increased pressure in its pipeline
"after being warned about corrosion and
weaknesses in the steel." In fact, media
organizations have used freedom of
information laws extensively to expose
defects in pipelines and pipeline
management.
"We're very concerned that
these FERC proposals, along with some
provisions of the Homeland Security bill
that is now speeding through Congress,
may end up dramatically weakening the
Freedom of Information Act and other
open-government laws, making it much more
difficult for reporters to do their jobs
in the public interest," Fagin said.
"We're grateful to the Reporters
Committee for Freedom of the Press for
partnering with SEJ and enabling us to
speak out on this very important
issue."
Read the RCFP/SEJ comments here.
For more information about the FERC
proposal, read SEJ First Amendment Task
Force member Joe Davis' article in
Environment Writer.
November 14, 2002
To: SEJ members and other
journalists
From: Jim Bruggers, SEJ First
Amendment Task Force board liaison and
former SEJ president (2000-2002)
The news from Washington
regarding the Homeland Security Act and
the First Amendment is not good,
according to the Society of Professional
Journalists and the Radio and Television
News Directors Association.
The two organizations are
watching the issue closely, and report
that in its first act since returning
from the elections, Congress is "turning
its back on a bipartisan Freedom of
Information Act compromise in favor of a
sweeping proposal that would hide
virtually all information submitted to
the government's new Department of
Homeland Security."
An alert from SPJ also says
that the new version of the homeland
security bill includes language "that
blows an enormous hole" in the federal
Freedom of Information Act. The two
groups called on Congress to replace that
language with a compromise worked out in
the Senate over the summer.
According to SPJ: "The bill
would result in large amounts of
information that is now open to be
closed. It has the effect of shielding
from the public and from lawsuits any
industry mistakes that threaten public
health.''
For more information, visit
the the SPJ news alert
page.
August 2, 2002
To: SEJ members and other
journalists
From: Jim Bruggers, SEJ
president, and SEJ First Amendment Task
Force board liaison
The latest reports from
Washington regarding the First Amendment
and the proposed Homeland Security bill
are not good — at least not for
journalists and a free society.
The problem especially lies
with the House version of the bill, with
its extremely broad exemptions that would
close access to very important sources of
information critical to our democracy
— and our jobs as
journalists.
Just as I have encouraged SEJ
members to write stories about the
Homeland Security Bill, leaders of the
American Society of Newspaper Editors are
encouraging their members — the top
editors at the nation's newspapers
— to editorialize on the
subject.
This should be done
now.
The House has passed the bill,
and the Senate will take up its version
shortly after Congress' August break, and
then the two will go to a conference
committee. President Bush wants to sign
the bill on or before September 11.
Here is some information from
a suggested editorial from ASNE:
"One particularly troublesome
area involves corporate information
"voluntarily submitted" to the Homeland
Security Department. The House version
makes no attempt to determine whether the
agency would have any legal authority to
obtain such information, thus allowing
companies to preemptively submit
documents to hide embarrassing
issues.
Thus, in the guise of
legitimately protecting vital facts about
infrastructure and vulnerabilities, the
House language would grant immunity from
civil punishments to corporations that
violate securities, tax, civil rights,
environmental, labor,
consumer-protection, health and safety
laws. Further, it would pre-empt state
and local open-records laws, and would
criminalize the release of such
information."
The editorial goes on to say
that the Senate version is better, though
not perfect. "It limits the exemption to
records furnished to Homeland Security,
while the House version applies it to any
governmental agency. It requires that
such records, when submitted, be
certified by the provider as customarily
confidential, and not available to the
public. It confines the exemptions to
critical infrastructure information such
as that pertaining to "vulnerability" or
"threats to infrastructure"; the House
makes no such distinctions. Finally, it
limits the exemption to "records"
documents whereas the House includes oral
information that might eventually become
part of a government written record,
which would then be exempt as
well."
You can also find links to the
legislation at this ASNE
webpage.
July 17, 2002
SEJ joins journalism groups
expressing concern about FOIA exemptions
in Homeland Security Act of
2002
Society of Environmental
Journalists President James Bruggers has
joined
the leaders of several other
groups raising concerns about FOIA
exemptions that are written into the
Homeland Security Act of 2002, which is
being debated in Congress now. The House
Government Reform Committee held a
mark-up on the bill on July 11. SEJ has
been informed that the House Commerce
Committee dropped the FOIA exemption,
after objections by journalists. Several
other House committees will be looking at
the bill, and amendments could be added.
Bruggers signed the letter at the urging of SEJ's First
Amendment Task Force, of which he is a
member and board liaison. He encourages
SEJ members and all journalists to pay
close attention to this legislation, to
write stories about it and/or send notes
to Congressional leaders, voicing
individual concerns. "Most journalists
aren't opposed to reasonable national
security measures," he said. "But these
blanket exemptions go way too
far."
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