"An un-redacted version of a recently released Nuclear Regulatory Commission report highlights the threat that flooding poses to nuclear power plants located near large dams -- and suggests that the NRC has misled the public for years about the severity of the threat, according to engineers and nuclear safety advocates."
Danielle Ivory reports for Bloomberg: "At least 25 federal agencies are outsourcing parts of the FOIA process. The contractors, sometimes using workers with security clearances, are building FOIA software, corresponding with requesters, redacting documents and recommending what information should be withheld."
RCFP's new online guide to appealing federal FOIA decisions, written by smart, experienced media lawyers, "will be particularly useful to independent journalists and those at news organizations who don’t have ready access to legal counsel to help file appeals."
NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service is considering a rule which could restrict public access to important data on commercial fishing — and overfishing. This data includes federally required public records paid for by taxpayers. The watchdog group OMB Watch criticized the proposed rule's handling of confidential information
The two New York Times journalists were working on private land with the permission of the landowner, near Winnsboro in northeast Texas, when they were detained, according to the online energy publication FuelFix. The 78-year-old owner of the land, who objects to the routing of the pipeline across it, was also arrested for trespassing on her own land.
"BRASILIA, Brazil, October 18, 2012 (ENS) – President Dilma Rousseff has vetoed nine items of the Forestry Code approved by Congress in September. One of the vetoes cancels amnesty for those who cleared the rainforest illegally."
"BATON ROUGE -- About 565,000 pounds of oiled material from the Deepwater Horizon spill was brought to the surface by Hurricane Isaac, more than had been collected in eight months before the storm, the state's coastal protection agency said Wednesday. The post-storm figures were announced as members of the state's Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority sharply criticized continuing clean-up efforts by BP and the U.S. Coast Guard and called for more resources to deal with oil that is still below the surface of the gulf, an amount believed to be equal to about 1 million barrels."
"Amid puzzling indifference shown by elected officials over Enbridge's pipeline plans, townships are stepping up, opponents say—and giving them some hope."
David Hasemyer reports for InsideClimate News October 17, 2012.
SEE ALSO:
"CALGARY -- The ugly scars left on the northern Alberta landscape by the oil sands have prompted calls from around the world for an independent body to gather data on the ecological damage wrought by the energy industry."
"'When it comes to climate change, Congressman Joe Walsh Keeps His Head in the Sand,' a mobile billboard in the Illinois representative's district declares."
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