Free Government Information is once again providing "grassroots proceedings" and audio recordings of sessions from the Fall 2005 Depository Library Council meeting in Washington, DC at the Hyatt Regency Washington. The meeting will begin Sunday, October 16, 2005 and end on Wednesday, October 19, 2005. This meeting is especially important because there will be many discussions about the vision for the future of the FDLP! If you are either attending or presenting at this conference, we want to hear from you! If you are interested in providing notes or audio recordings of any of the sessions below, please drop me a line at dnlcornwall "at" alaska.net. If you will be presenting at the Fall DLC Meeting, we would be honored to host any handouts you have. Just e-mail them to dnlcornwall "at" alaska.net with a note of which session your handout(s) belong to and we will post them within a day of receipt. Continue reading →

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The EPA has posted on its website the results of their testing of stagnant floodwaters. The waters contain high levels of E. coli bacteria and more than 100 pollutants including metals, pesticides, lead and herbicides. [Story from Rob Thormeyer, Government Computer News, 09/12/05] Continue reading →

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Sixth Annual State and Federal e-Government Study reviewed 50 state government and major federal agencies' web sites. The study ranked Utah and Maine as leading states and White House and State Department at the top among federal sites. Director of the Taubman Center for Public Policy, Darrell M. West, at Brown University, and a team of researchers examined 1,620 state and federal sites. The researchers analyzed 1,559 state sites (or an average of 31 sites per state) plus 48 federal government legislative and executive sites, and 13 federal court sites. More ... Continue reading →

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According to a press release from the Society of Environmental Journalists (SEJ), the lead hurricane reporter for New Orleans Times-Picayune newspaper has "turned in desperation to the federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to answer a basic question: Where are dangerous chemicals leaking as a result of Hurricane Katrina?"

• Katrina Only Latest Example of Feds Withholding Environmental Data, Press Release, Society of Environmental Journalists, Monday September 12, 10:02 am ET

The paper's Mark Schleifstein, "had been asking the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that question for days -- without an answer. So he filed a request under FOIA. Even though the federal statute provides for "expedited review" when a situation "could reasonably be expected to pose an imminent threat to the life or physical safety" of the public, he still has not received a response.

The SEJ notes that "Government compliance with FOIA appears to be deteriorating in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks" and has issued a new report:

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