The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "environmental regulation" ...
-
Frac sand mining booms in Wisconsin
An ongoing series looking at the recent growth in Wisconsin’s sand mining industry to meet the increased demand from oil and gas drillers. The frac sand industry has created jobs and economic development in Western Wisconsin, but many residents worry that the industry is not properly regulated. Concerns remain about the impact of the mining on human and environmental health, transportation, and land use.
Tags: Sand mining; oil; gas; human health; environment; transportation; land use
-
Poisoned Places: Tonawanda
It's difficult to definitively link any one person's illness to air pollution from a particular plant. But the concerns about the health effects of Tonawanda Coke's toxic pollution rallied a small group of people in Tonawanda -- most of them sick -- to force complacent regulators to clean up the air. The case highlights the risks posed to communities around the country by an environmental regulatory system that largely entrusts companies to voluntarily disclose how much toxic pollution they emit and that can take years to act once violations are discovered.
Tags: air pollution; toxic emission; Tonawanda; Coke; health effects;
-
Money to Burn
A 5-month investigation by the Environmental Health News reveals that the chemical industry spent at least $23.2 million over the past five years to lobby California officials and donate to campaigns in an effort to defeat bills that would have regulated flame retardants.
-
Sacrificed to Shale
A small town, Dish, TX, which is surrounded by gas well compressor stations and wells. Recently, there was an air study done, which revealed several poisons being released by the gas wells well above EPA regulations. Further, these chemicals in the air “were discovered to possibly be responsible for animals and trees dying in the area”.
Tags: air conditions; environment; toxic; Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); Denton County; Barnett Shale; residents
-
Fly Ash: Coal-Fired Dilemma
This series of stories showed how a virtually unknown state environmental policy, blessed by the EPA, let developers sculpt an 18-hole golf course with 1.5 million tons of "fly ash," a contaminant-laden residue left from the burning of coal for electricity, posing a threat to the wells of adjacent homeowners. Fly ash contains heavy metals such as arsenic, lead and mercury, which can pose environmental threats through air and water. Although the EPA has been studying the the environmental;ecological impacts of fly ash for decades, it has twice determined that it doesn't warrant classification as "hazardous waste." The result is that there are no national guidelines for fly ash disposal; regulation is left up to the states, resulting in a hodge-podge of policies.
Tags: environment; EPA; contaminant; coal industry; fly ash; testing; site assessment; homeowners
-
Chemical Fallout
"The reporters exposed inept government programs that favor chemical makers over the needs of the public. They detailed conflicts of interest among regulators and uncovered new hidden threats for consumers. The newspaper tested common household plastics billed as "microwave safe" and found toxic levels of chemicals leaching from every item tested."
Tags: chemicals; toxins; public safety; government protection; bisphenol A; Environmental Protection Agency; Food and Drug Administration;
-
Smoke and Mirrors
"This four-part series documents the slow but complete transformation of the EPA from an agency legally bound to protect and improve the environment to an agency that used an array of political tricks to avoid its Congressional mandate. The series major findings are that the Bush administration appointed an administrator who would do its bidding on behalf of the corporate community; allowed important decisions to languish in the courts, thereby delaying the implementation of various regulations for years; developed a 'voluntary' anti-pollution program that actually rewards polluters; and ignored the science that underpins sound environmental policy."
Tags: EPA; pollution; Bush administration; environment; regulations; corporate control;
-
Takings Initiatives Accountability Project: The Center for Public Integrity investigates ballot initiatives that would radically change land-use and environmental regulation in five Western states
The [non-partisan]Center for Public Integrity investigated 2006 "ballot initiatives that were designed to radically change land-use and environmental regulation in five Western states. They discovered that a trio of "secret donors" accounted for 99% of the propostions' bankrolls, and some of the initiatives did not comply with campaign-finance and other regulations. Then the Center revealed that 85 percent of the funding was coming from a single wealthy real estate investor and Libertarian activist, Howard RIch All but the Arizona inititative failed at the ballot. The Center for Public Integrity set up a stand-alone website-- www.takings initiatives.org-- and filed more than 50 articles on it. "Our general practice-- and a novel one as far as we can tell-- was to mount verbatim transcripts of the interviews on our website, including audio recordings where available. We sought to allow proponents, opponents funders and experts to have a chance to present their side of the story in their own words." The Center also checked with state and federal regulators for compliance of relevant laws and regulations.
Tags: Takings Initiatives; takings clause; ballot initiatives; land-use regulation; environmental regulation; tax-exempt organizations; Howard Rich; Andrea Millen Rich; Council for Responsible Government; William A. Wilson; state campaign-finance filings; public records requests; state freedom of information requests; America At Its Best; Americans for Limited Government; John Tillman; Howard Ahmanson; Fieldstead & Company; property rights; prefessional signature-gatherers; Colorado At Its Best; term limits; nonprofit advocacy organizations; Sam Adams Alliance; Sam Adams Foundation; Legislative Education Action Drive; Parents in Charge Foundation; Social Security Choice.org; Illinois Charitable Trust Bureau; educational vouchers; tuition tax credits; National Taxpayers Union; First Class Education; Susquehanna International Group; Jeffrey YAss; Cato Institute; Alliance for School Choice; Decision Education Foundation; Eric Brooks; Susan Mitchell; Pete Sepp; Kern Family Foundation; Generac Power Systems, Inc.; Milton Friedman; Taxpayer Bill of Rights; TABOR; Laird Maxwell; This House is MY Home; John Whitehead; Lower Manhattan Development Corporation; Exoxemis, Inc.; Family Farm Preservation Pact; Citizens for Community Protection; Kelo v. City of New London; eminent domain; New York Millionaires Assistance Act; Wallace Global Fund; Nicholas C. Dranias; PRNewswire; Eric O'Keefe; getliberty.com; George Soros
-
Ohio's Nuclear Legacy: troubled past, uncertain future
The Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant is "in the midst of a multibillion environmental cleanup that may eventually be the most expensive ever in Ohio. Meanwhile, untold numbers of sick workers are seeking compensation for their workplace illness, some dying before the government acts on their claims. The story revealed how the Department of Energy ignored state and federal environmental laws- even barring regulators from the plant site- then enforced a code of silence that kept the plant's practices a secret."
Tags: nuclear; environmental laws; Department of Energy; USEC Inc.;
-
The Human Factor
16 years after the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill efforts to reduce crew work hours, crack down on alcohol use and improve tug escorts are being evaded or undermined. The industry and regulators are relying on new tankers they say are far less susceptible to trouble. But the investigation revealed that spills have gone unreported, alcohol is still being consumed on the ships and risky behavior is still characteristic in the industry.
Tags: oil spills; environmental issues; Alaskan waters; petroleum transportation; oil transportation; Prince William Sound; Department of Ecology