BK Blog Post
Posted by
Tom Devine.
Tom Devine is legal director of the Government Accountability Project, where he has worked to assist thousands of whistleblowers to come forward and has been involved in the all of the campaigns to pass or defend major whistleblower laws over the last two decades.
“For every breaking story and revelation made possible by the FOIA, countless others are undoubtedly buried as the law’s effectiveness sags under the weight of processing backlogs resulting from, among other things, a lack of resources and reliance on outdated technology, as well as inconsistent application in terms of disclosure and overbroad use of exemptions. The law, which was signed on July 4, 1966, is drastically in need of meaningful reform to bring it into the 21st Century." On June 30th, 2016, President Obama signed much-needed reforms into law through the FOIA Improvement Act of 2016.
In honor of FOIA's 50th birthday, GAP's Legislative Director and Investigator, Shanna Devine, shares how FOIA substantiated whistleblowers' warnings of the problems associated with deadly dispersants used in the wake of the BP Gulf Disaster.
____________________________________________________________________
During GAPs multi-year whistleblower investigation Deadly Dispersants in the Gulf into the widespread cover-up of public health and environmental threats during the BP Gulf disaster, GAP FOIA responses repeatedly substantiated whistleblowers’ warning. Highlights include:
[i] Pursuant to FOIA Request # HQ-FOI-00645, HQ-FOI-00646, and HQ-FOI-00647, E-mail from Mark Mjoness, Director, National Planning and Preparedness Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, to colleagues, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Subject: BP Tells Fishermen Working On The Oil Spill That They Will Be Fired For Wearing A Respirator (Jul. 1, 2010, 4:04 PM) (on file with Government Accountability Project).
[ii] Pursuant to FOIA Request # 12-00369, E-mail from staff member, Centers for Disease Control, National Center for Environmental Health, to fellow staff members, Centers for Disease Control, Subject: Chemical Dispersants (May 3, 2010, 12:18 PM) (on file with Government Accountability Project).
[iii] Pursuant to FOIA Request # 12-00369, Memorandum from team member at Centers for Disease Control, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Control, to Carol Selman, Centers for Disease Control, National Center for Environmental Health, Subject: Comments on NOAA/FDA Protocol (Jun. 2, 2010) (on file with Government Accountability Project).
[iv] Pursuant to FOIA Request # 12-00369, E-mail from staff member, Centers for Disease Control, National Center for Environmental Health, to fellow staff members, Centers for Disease Control, Subject: Chemical Dispersants (May 3, 2010, 12:18 PM) (on file with Government Accountability Project).
[v] Pursuant to FOIA Request # 12-00369, E-mail from staff member, Centers for Disease Control, National Center for Environmental Health, to staff members, Centers for Disease Control, Subject: FDA cleared oil spill reopening protocol (Jun. 2, 2010, 11:44 PM) (on file with Government Accountability Project).