Accurate, Focused Research on Law, Technology and Knowledge Discovery Since 2002

You Are Here: Home » Archives: May 2010

Daily Archives: May 3, 2010

IncidentNews website provides publicly available information related to oil and hazardous material spills

by on

Follow up to postings on the Gulf Coast oil spill, additional timely resources from NOAA:

  • NOAA IncidentNews – “Under the National Contingency Plan, NOAA has responsibility for providing scientific support to the Federal On-Scene Commander (FOSC) for oil and hazardous material spills, and it is primarily ERD that provides that support. NOAA may also be activated under the National Response Plan Emergency Support Function 10 to support the coordinated federal response to incidents of national significance involving release of dangerous contaminants. To support these mandates, ERD provides 24-hour, seven-day-a-week response to spill events. NOAA Scientific Support Coordinators (SSCs), stationed in major port cities around the U.S., coordinate scientific information and provide critical information to FOSCs during emergencies. A multidisciplinary team of ERD scientists, including oceanographers, modelers, biologists, chemists, and geologists, is based in Seattle and supports the SSCs during spill events, as well as in drills, exercises, and contingency planning. ERD SSCs are strategically located around the country, often within U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) offices, providing local services to a range of users in public and private sectors.”
  • Dan Froomkin: “National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration officials last fall warned the Department of Interior, which regulates offshore oil drilling, that it was dramatically underestimating the frequency of offshore oil spills and was dangerously understating the risk and impacts a major spill would have on coastal residents. NOAA is the nation’s lead ocean resource agency, and the warnings came in its response to a draft of the Obama Administration’s offshore oil drilling plans. The comments were Web-published in October by the whistle-blowing group, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). But NOAA’s views were largely brushed aside as Obama went ahead and announced on March 31 that he would open vast swaths of American coastal waters to offshore drilling — a plan now very much in doubt as a blown-out BP well in the Gulf of Mexico spews out an estimated 200,000 gallons of oil daily, for the 13th straight day.”

    • Collaborative, Open Source, Citizen Based Site for Canadian Government Data

    by on

    “Unlike the United States (data.gov) and Britain (data.gov.uk), Canada has no open data strategy. This must change. Canadians paid for the information gathered about our country, ourselves and our government. Free access to it could help stimulate our economy and enhance our democracy. In pursuit of this goal, this website is a citizen-led effort to… Continue Reading

    Audit of Open Government Plans Reveals Wide Range of Performance

    by on

    News release, PEER: “A ranking of agencies’ Open Government Plans compiled in an independent audit reveals the strongest and weakest agency plans, with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) at the top of the list and the Department of Justice (DOJ) at the bottom. Significantly, the audit found that key agencies assigned to oversee… Continue Reading

    Study: Economic Impact of Privacy on Online Behavioral Advertising

    by on

    BusinessWire: “A new study of 90 organizations actively engaged in online marketing concludes that in spite of an acknowledged return on investment, hundreds of millions of dollars are being held back from online behavioral advertising (OBA) over concerns that a lack of consumer trust in the practice could damage brand reputation. The study, Economic Impact… Continue Reading

    EPA Launches New Web Tools to Inform the Public About Clean Water

    by on

    News release: “The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is launching a new set of web tools, data, and interactive maps to inform the public about serious Clean Water Act violations in their communities. Improving water quality is one of EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson’s priorities and in 2009, Administrator Jackson directed the agency to develop… Continue Reading

    2010 Version of the Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering Examination Manual

    by on

    News release: “The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) today released the revised Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering (BSA/AML) Examination Manual. The revised manual reflects the ongoing commitment of the federal and state banking agencies to provide current and consistent guidance on risk-based policies, procedures, and processes for banking organizations to comply with the BSA and… Continue Reading

    Meaningful Use Final Rule Must Create Pathway to Progress on Core Health Goals

    by on

    Meaningful Use Final Rule Must Create Pathway to Progress on Core Health Goals – “Leaders at Markle, the Center for American Progress, and the Engelberg Center for Health Care Reform at Brookings call upon the government to retain core requirements in its final rule for health IT investments.” Read the letter – “The final federal… Continue Reading

    U.S. Courts: More States Report Wiretap Activity

    by on

    News release: “A total of 2,376 federal and state applications for orders authorizing the interception of wire, oral or electronic communications, known as wiretaps, was reported in 2009. The number of applications for orders by federal authorities was 663; the number of applications reported by state prosecuting officials was 1,713. No applications were denied. The… Continue Reading