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DHS Proposes Making Environmental Impact Statements
From: David Farber <dave () farber net>
Date: Tue, 22 Jun 2004 16:45:30 -0400
Begin forwarded message: From: Joseph Lorenzo Hall <jhall () SIMS Berkeley EDU> Date: June 22, 2004 2:11:56 PM EDT To: Dave Farber <dave () farber net>, Declan McCullagh <declan () well com> Subject: DHS Proposes Making Environmental Impact Statements Reply-To: joehall () pobox comhttp://radio.weblogs.com/0131722/stories/2004/06/15/ dhsProposesMakingEnvironmentalImpactStatementsSecret.html
DHS Proposes Making Environmental Impact Statements Secret The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) proposed on June 14, 2004, making secret part or all of some Environmental Impact Statements on its actions. If finalized, the proposal would carve a major loophole in the 34-year-old law which is the keystone of much modern environmental law -- the National Environmental Policy Act. NEPA required that the federal government publicly disclose the environmental impacts of major federal actions before they are taken. The DHS initiative was published as a "proposed directive" in the Federal Register of June 14, 2004 (pages 33043-33066:http://frwebgate2.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/waisgate.cgi? WAISdocID=318324156602+0+0+0&WAISaction=retrieve
). The proposal is currently open for public comment; the deadline for submitting comments is July 14, 2004. The directive applies only to DHS actions, but these actually cover a broad array of topics that environmental reporters might cover. DHS jurisdiction includes things ranging from oil spills (Coast Guard); hazmat and hazardous transportation; flood plain designation (FEMA); and chemical plant security; to standards for cleanup after a nuclear accident. The directive would restrict access to part or all of some Environmental Impact Statements (and Assessments). It includes provisions for segregating the portions DHS does not want to publish and publishing the rest. It also allows DHS to black out the whole document if it chooses. Sometimes the documents that support the conclusions and findings in an EIS are as important as the EIS itself. The directive would apply to them, too. Without them, it is often impossible for journalists or public to challenge effectively the findings in an EIS. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Joseph Lorenzo Hall, SIMS PhD Student; UC Berkeley. [web:<http://pobox.com/~joehall/>, blog:<http://pobox.com/~joehall/nqb>] ------------------------------------- You are subscribed as interesting-people () lists elistx com To manage your subscription, go to http://v2.listbox.com/member/?listname=ip Archives at: http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/
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- DHS Proposes Making Environmental Impact Statements David Farber (Jun 22)