DHS Proposes Making Environmental Impact Statements

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

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 com


http://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>]

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