The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is refusing to release records documenting a continuing decline in America’s shrinking base of natural wetlands, according to a lawsuit filed today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER).  The Corps is the principal agency overseeing development of what are supposed to be ...

The U.S. Forest Service is opening its landscapes, roads, marinas and ski resorts to corporate advertising under new rules slated to become permanent this spring, according to comments filed today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER).  The rules would also preempt state and local restrictions governing promotion of ...

Without any public notice, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has rewritten its proposed rule on human experiments to authorize chemical testing on fetal tissue, according to Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER).  The change will allow pesticide and chemical companies to conduct experiments on aborted fetuses to buttress lobbying ...

A South Dakota farmer seeking to plant federally-subsidized stream buffers on his own land has triggered stiff local opposition and an unusual court battle, according to case files released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER).  The fight signals deep hostility in some rural communities against the ongoing shift ...

Senior Florida environmental officials committed criminal violations of the state’s open records law by hiding documents about pollution problems at a landfill run by political associates of Governor Jeb Bush, according to a complaint filed today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER).  At the same time they were ...

An air-monitoring technician who revealed serious operational failures and other problems at the Bluegrass Army Depot may lose his clearance to work near chemical weapons, according to a memo released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER).  The action for “Permanent Disqualification” of Donald Van Winkle cites unspecified ...

Under President Bush’s proposed budget, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is slated to shut down its network of libraries that serve its own scientists as well as the public, according to internal agency documents released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER).  In addition to the libraries, the ...

A new performance audit of the state whistleblower program finds disturbing vulnerabilities in its operations, according to Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). While the audit found the overall program to be adequate, its inability to protect whistleblowers from retaliation and the lack of follow-through on substantiated reports of ...

The U.S. Department of Interior is refusing to turn over industry lobbying efforts leading up to a Bush administration proposed rewrite of National Park Service policies to favor commercial uses over preservation of park resources, according to a lawsuit filed in federal district court today by Public Employees for Environmental ...

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has promoted the official responsible for a scientific fraud scandal in Florida last year, according to Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER).   This personnel action comes despite a rare admission of scientific error by the then-Director of the Fish & Wildlife Service ...