With Shrinking Protections, Who Will Speak for the Trees?

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A recent U.S. Labor Department ruling against a whistleblower states that the department, which "has jurisdiction over environmental whistle-blower cases," only recognizes whistleblower protections in the "clean air and solid waste-disposal acts, not laws governing clean water, drinking water, toxic substances and hazardous waste." A department spokesperson said the wording does not reflect "any change in policy or practice." Environmental advocates and watchdog groups aren't so sure. The Government Accountability Project's legal director called the ruling "the latest attack in a systematic war to gut the environmental whistle-blowers' statutes." The 1989 Whistleblower Protection Act covers all federal employees, but only covers disclosures related to "an imminent danger." In 2005, the Justice Department declared the Clean Water Act's whistleblower protections invalid. The Environmental Protection Agency has said "it doesn't recognize the protections in any of the six major environmental laws."