Katrina's Environmental Secrets

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The Society of Environmental Journalists has criticized the government's "tight-lipped approach" in responding to requests for information about the toxic gumbo left by Hurricane Katrina. SEJ President Perry Beeman says the government is "denying the public crucial information collected with taxpayers' money on behalf of taxpayers in the first place. ... What we need to know is what exactly is in the water. Which bacteria and how much? Which gasoline and oil constituents and how much? Which carcinogens? Which pathogens? Americans need to know what specific threats exist and what the government is doing about them. They are paying for the raw data, and they deserve to see it." SEJ has prepared a timeline showing how the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has responded to reporters' requests, as well as a new report on environmental reporters' experiences with the Freedom of Information Act.