Like any news beat, environmental journalism has a structure that involves routine contact with local, regional, state and federal agencies as well as industry and non-governmental organizations.<\/p>\n
I. Emergencies, spills and incidents<\/strong>\u00a0 \u2014 State police, department of transportation, \u00a0local emergency management agencies.<\/p>\n II. Environmental\u00a0regulators\u00a0\u00a0\u2014 State DEQ or DEP or DHEC<\/strong><\/p>\n The most significant source of government action in a state or region\u00a0is the state\u00a0environmental agency, often called the Dept. of Environmental Quality (as in VA, WY, NE, MI, OR\u00a0and others)\u00a0or Dept. of Environmental Protection (as in NY, PA, NJ, FL\u00a0and others); or Dept. of Health and Environmental Control (SC).<\/p>\n These agencies exist to enforce federal laws at the state level, and often the enforcement is reluctant.\u00a0 Usually the agencies have three main divisions:<\/p>\n Standards:<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em> \u00a0A table of ground water and drinking water standards<\/a>\u00a0is available from the US EPA.<\/p>\n Example:<\/strong> \u00a0In December, 2008, Waterkeeper activists and scientists with Appalachian State University took samples of a coal ash spill at a Tennessee Valley Authority site. \u00a0They found<\/a> arsenic levels in the river at .356 parts per million (aka mg\/L — see Measurements, this site)<\/a>. Compare that to the 0.010 parts per million level in the US EPA table of ground water standards. \u00a0 To clarify the comparison, you might want to use parts per billion, so multiply by 1,000 and: \u00a0 River levels of arsenic 346\u00a0 parts per billion, which is well over the 10 parts per billion standard. \u00a0The episode is often seen as a turning point for science and environmental journalism,<\/a> in that the ability to seek out\u00a0the technical details of pollution problems would\u00a0no longer be confined to government and industry.<\/p>\n Example:<\/strong> In 2016, the Virginia Dept. of Environmental Quality released general information and some details<\/a> about contamination of the New River by PCBs (polychlorinated biphynls). \u00a0However, in a public hearing, DEQ officials responded to reporters questions with specific information about PCB hot spots, including several that were many thousands of times above permissible levels. \u00a0One reading from a public park in Radford, Va. was 4,739 ppb, as opposed to the standard of \u00a00.5 ppb. \u00a0Many others were in the thousands of parts per billion. \u00a0The open question, at the end of this information process, is whether and how to close down sport fishing on the New River. \u00a0That decision\u00a0is\u00a0split between two different state agencies (DEQ and Dept. of Health) and has not been taken.<\/p>\n Example:<\/strong> \u00a0In March, 2017, the Billings Gazette of Billings, MT published an article (“Is the Big Sky Blowing Smoke?<\/a>“) that included claims by an Exxon-Mobil refinery that it was virtually pollution free. “The white plumes rising from the refinery are steam from cooling towers. \u00a0So it\u2019s not air pollution that\u2019s harmful to the environment, even at the sugar beet factory. ‘That is 99.9-percent water vapor of all the stuff you see coming out,’ said Ray Bode, factory manager at the Western Sugar Cooperative manufacturing facility. An environmental web site, East of Billings,<\/a> criticized the \u00a0article and published a list of Toxic Release Inventory disclosures from Exxon-Mobil that were easily accessible from the EPA. \u00a0Included in the list were over 180,000 pounds of toxics, including ammonia, benzene, cyclohexane, cyanide and other pollutants.<\/p>\n What to look for:<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>Become familiar with the major\u00a0permit holders and the types of permitted pollution in your region. \u00a0If you are concerned about a particular business, industry or other source of pollution, ask for more information about:<\/p>\n III. Public health departments \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n On the local level, the\u00a0most significant source of government action and least covered organization is the\u00a0public health department. \u00a0It is responsible for monitoring:<\/p>\n IV. \u00a0State agricultural agencies \u00a0\u2014 <\/strong>Many agencies oversee and regulate use and handling of toxic and hazardous pesticides, herbicides and other pest control chemicals. In many states the agriculture department also regulates gasoline and additives in gasoline.<\/p>\n V. The advocates \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n The social value of environmental advocacy is that concerns may be\u00a0expressed in ways that would not be possible for government agencies. \u00a0But if the “outrage” exceeds the level of the hazard, \u00a0then the social value of advocacy diminishes. \u00a0Often it is up to the press to be an arbiter of this difficult risk communication <\/a>question.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Like any news beat, environmental journalism has a structure that involves routine contact with local, regional, state and federal agencies as well as industry and non-governmental organizations. I. Emergencies, spills and incidents\u00a0 \u2014 State police, department of transportation, \u00a0local emergency … Continue reading \n
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