Assateague Coastkeeper – Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper - Potomac Riverkeeper – Patuxent Riverkeeper – Severn Riverkeeper - South Riverkeeper – Waterkeeper Alliance - West/Rhode Riverkeeper FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 20, 2013 Contact: Tarah Heinzen, Environmental Integrity Project, (202) 263-4441 Betsy Nicholas, Waterkeepers Chesapeake, (202) 423-0504 PRESS STATEMENT ON CHALLENGE TO COURT DECISION LIMITING PUBLIC ACCESS TO GOVERNMENT POLLUTION RECORDS (Annapolis, MD) – Today the Environmental Integrity Project (EIP) announced that it has filed a petition in the Maryland Court of Appeals on behalf of several Maryland Waterkeeper groups, challenging the May 2, 2013 Court of Special Appeals ruling that permanently prevents public access to agricultural pollution control information. In announcing the petition, EIP released the following statement made by its clients: Americans expect transparent government. A recent Maryland court ruling undermines this goal by permanently preventing public access to information about how agricultural operations manage their waste. Without access to this information, local communities and citizens cannot be assured that these operations are not polluting the water that Marylanders rely on for drinking, swimming, and fishing. It is our hope that the Court of Appeals will take a closer look at the law intended to guarantee access to public information and rule on the side of open, transparent government. The Court of Special Appeals decision has compromised Maryland citizens’ right to open government and transparency. It is a blow to freedom of information in our state, and it is completely contrary to Maryland’s commitment to open government. Another loser in the Court of Special Appeal’s decision is clean water. Maryland’s public information laws were not designed to shield any industry from disclosure about how it treats and manages its pollution. This decision moved Maryland in the wrong direction by protecting the state’s high degree of secrecy regarding agricultural pollution. ### Click here to read a copy of the groups’ petition, which was sent to the Maryland Court of Appeals. Click here to read the May 2, 2013 Court of Special Appeals ruling, which resulted from a series of challenges to the Maryland Department of Agriculture’s denials of Public Information Act requests related to the State’s nutrient management program. The Environmental Integrity Project is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization established in March of 2002 by former EPA enforcement attorneys to advocate for more effective enforcement of environmental laws. Waterkeepers Chesapeake is a coalition of 18 independent Waterkeeper programs operating throughout the Chesapeake and Delmarva Coastal Bays Watersheds.
Posted on: Thu, 20 Jun 2013 16:07:54 +0000
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