Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility

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Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, environmental protection organization of local, state, and national government natural resource and environmental professionals. PEER serves as a resource to potential government whistleblowers, allowing them to anonymously expose environmental wrongdoings and assisting them in redressing agency retaliation.

Contents

Founded in 1996, PEER operates primarily by investigating claims from public employees about government environmental misconduct. Because whistleblowers often face direct retaliation from the offending agencies, PEER encourages employees to act through the organization to reveal government environmental misdeeds. Once a claim is made, PEER investigates it, often using Freedom of Information Act requests. The organization then can choose to take a number of actions, including press releases or lawsuits. PEER also serves to provide legal services to whistleblowers who find themselves the target of agency retaliation. [1] PEER was formerly affiliated with the Climate Science Legal Defense Fund, [2] a not-for-profit organization established in 2011 to protect scientific research and researchers of climate science from think tanks and legal foundations that have taken legal action against scientific institutions and individual scientists.

Objectives of PEER

Campaigns

PEER maintains campaigns in leading environmental issues. Some of their work includes

EPA library closings

In 2006, the Environmental Protection Agency began to dismantle its network of technical libraries, an important resource for research, without Congressional approval. Upon learning of these closings, PEER brought them to the attention of Congress. Despite Congress' recent order to reopening of the libraries, the EPA continues to limit and remove library resources. [4]

Arctic drilling debate

PEER has released e-mails and documents from current and former Interior scientists challenging the integrity of the environmental assessments of Arctic offshore oil development. These e-mails have been used to fuel lawsuits currently threatening to impede new lease sales. [5]

Off-road recreation damage

Off–road vehicle recreation, an activity growing in popularity, can devastate local wildlife growth and disrupt the environment. PEER and Rangers for Responsible Recreation are campaigning to draw attention to the growing threat posed by off-road vehicle misuse and to assist over matched state and federal land managers. [6]

Genetically engineered crops

In 2011 PEER participated in a lawsuit against the United States Fish and Wildlife Service for entering into agreements which had allowed Genetically Engineered (GE) crops to be planted on 54 U.S. national wildlife refuges. Co-plaintiffs in the suit were the Center for Food Safety and Beyond Pesticides. [7] The group also filed a lawsuit in 2012 against the White House under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) demanding release of an email the White House had received from Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), a lobbying firm which represents GE seed companies such as Monsanto. The Obama Administration had refused to release the email, claiming that doing so would reveal BIO's lobbying strategies. [8]

Teresa Chambers

Former Chief of the United States Park Police, Teresa Chambers served for nearly 2 years before she was fired after revealing in an interview the potential dangers of their low staffing levels. PEER has provided Teresa legal defense and publicity for her appeal for reinstatement and for her wrongful firing lawsuit. [9]

Suppression of Wolf Research

PEER has been involved in challenging the suppression of research by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and Washington State University concerning the ineffectiveness of lethal control in preventing future depredation of livestock. [10] They have also been critical of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources' lax regulation of recreational hunting and its impact on the federally endangered Great Lakes gray wolf.

PEER also maintains many campaigns in the following categories

Faith-based parks

PEER has worked to keep religious promotions out of public parks.

Grand Canyon National Park

The National Park Service in 2003 approved for sale in the Grand Canyon National Park bookstore Grand Canyon: A Different View : a book that presents the formation of the Grand Canyon as a result of Biblical events. [11] PEER exposed the selling of this book as preferential treatment of a religion that toes the line of constitutional legality. [12] On January 4, 2007 the National Park Service Chief of Public Affairs, David Barna released a response stating that the National Park Service neither uses the text in their teaching nor do they endorse its content. The release further states that the book is sold in the inspirational section of the bookstore which includes anthropological works on Native American culture. [13] As PEER contests, the inspirational section was only created after PEER had exposed the book's sale as a natural history. The controversial book remains on sale.

The National Park Service has continued to delay the issuing of a pamphlet "Geologic Interpretive Programs: Distinguishing Science from Religion" which is meant to instruct park officials on how to respond to questions like those concerning biblical interpretations of the Grand Canyon. [14]

Mojave National Preserve

PEER board member, Frank Buono, along with the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, filed a lawsuit to remove an 8-foot-tall (2.4 m) white cross displayed in the Mojave National Preserve. [15] The cross, which was originally erected in 1934 as a war memorial has since undergone many changes in appearance, including the loss of its plaque. It now stands as an 8-foot-tall (2.4 m) white cross serving occasionally as the site for Easter sunrise services. [16] Most recently, the order to remove the cross has been upheld by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, [17] despite four appeals by the U.S. Justice Department. The cross now awaits removal, unless there is a fifth appeal by the Justice Department that could potentially bring the case to the Supreme Court. [18]

Related Research Articles

A whistleblower is a person, often an employee, who reveals information about activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe or fraudulent. Whistleblowers can use a variety of internal or external channels to communicate information or allegations. Over 83% of whistleblowers report internally to a supervisor, human resources, compliance, or a neutral third party within the company, hoping that the company will address and correct the issues. A whistleblower can also bring allegations to light by communicating with external entities, such as the media, government, or law enforcement. Whistleblowing can occur in either the private sector or the public sector.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Department of the Interior</span> Cabinet-level department of the United States federal government

The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the management and conservation of most federal lands and natural resources, and the administration of programs relating to Native Americans, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, territorial affairs, and insular areas of the United States, as well as programs related to historic preservation. About 75% of federal public land is managed by the department, with most of the remainder managed by the Department of Agriculture's Forest Service. The department was created on March 3, 1849.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Park Service</span> United States federal agency

The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational properties with various title designations. The U.S. Congress created the agency on August 25, 1916, through the National Park Service Organic Act. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C., within the main headquarters of the Department of the Interior.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National monument (United States)</span> Monuments assigned protected status by Presidents of the US

In the United States, a national monument is a protected area that can be created from any land owned or controlled by the federal government by proclamation of the President of the United States or an act of Congress. National monuments protect a wide variety of natural and historic resources, including sites of geologic, marine, archaeological, and cultural importance. In contrast, national parks in the U.S. must be created by Congressional legislation. Some national monuments were first created by presidential action and later designated as national parks by congressional approval.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Petroglyph National Monument</span> United States National Monument and archeological site in New Mexico

Petroglyph National Monument stretches 17 miles (27 km) along Albuquerque, New Mexico's West Mesa, a volcanic basalt escarpment that dominates the city's western horizon. Authorized June 27, 1990, the 7,236 acre (29.28 km2) monument is cooperatively managed by the National Park Service and the City of Albuquerque. The western boundary of the monument features a chain of dormant fissure volcanoes. Beginning in the northwest corner, Butte volcano is followed to its south by Bond, Vulcan, Black and JA volcanoes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Off-roading</span> Activity of driving on unsurfaced roads or tracks

Off-roading is the activity of driving or riding in a vehicle on unpaved surfaces such as sand, gravel, riverbeds, mud, snow, rocks, and other natural terrain. Types of off-roading range in intensity, from leisure drives with unmodified vehicles, to competitions with customized vehicles and professional drivers. Off-roaders have been met with criticism for the environmental damage caused by their vehicles. There have also been extensive debates over the role of government in regulating the sport, including a Supreme Court case brought against the Bureau of Land Management in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States environmental law</span> US environmental policy

United States environmental law concerns legal standards to protect human health and improve the natural environment of the United States. While subject to criticism at home and abroad on issues of protection, enforcement, and over-regulation, the country remains an important source of environmental legal expertise and experience.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Office of Special Counsel</span> Investigative and prosecutorial agency

The United States Office of Special Counsel (OSC) is a permanent independent federal investigative and prosecutorial agency whose basic legislative authority comes from four federal statutes: the Civil Service Reform Act, the Whistleblower Protection Act, the Hatch Act, and the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA). OSC's primary mission is the safeguarding of the merit system in federal employment by protecting employees and applicants from prohibited personnel practices (PPPs), especially reprisal for "whistleblowing." The agency also operates a secure channel for federal whistleblower disclosures of violations of law, rule, or regulation; gross mismanagement; gross waste of funds; abuse of authority; and substantial and specific danger to public health and safety. In addition, OSC issues advice on the Hatch Act and enforces its restrictions on partisan political activity by government employees. Finally, OSC protects the civilian employment and reemployment rights of military service members under USERRA. OSC has around 140 staff, and the Special Counsel is an ex officio member of Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE), an association of inspectors general charged with the regulation of good governance within the federal government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Panamint City, California</span> Unincorporated community in California, United States

Panamint City is a ghost town in the Panamint Range, near Death Valley, in Inyo County, California, US. It is also known by the official Board of Geographic Names as Panamint. Panamint was a boom town founded after silver and copper were found there in 1872. By 1874, the town had a population of about 2,000. Its main street was one mile (1.6 km) long. Panamint had its own newspaper, the Panamint News. Silver was the principal product mined in the area. The town is located about three miles northwest of Sentinel Peak. According to the National Geographic Names Database, NAD27 latitude and longitude for the locale are 36°07′06″N117°05′43″W, and the feature ID number is 1661185. The elevation of this location is identified as being 6,280 feet AMSL. The similar-sounding Panamint Springs, California, is located about 25.8 miles at 306.4 degrees off true north near Panamint Junction.

<i>Grand Canyon: A Different View</i> 2003 book edited by Tom Vail

Grand Canyon: A Different View is a 2003 book edited by Tom Vail. The book features a series of photographs of the Grand Canyon illustrating 20 essays by creationists Steve Austin, John Baumgardner, Duane Gish, Ken Ham, Russell Humphreys, Henry Morris, John D. Morris, Andrew A. Snelling, Larry Vardiman, John Whitcomb, and Kurt Wise. It presents the Young Earth creationist perspective that the canyon is no more than a few thousand years old and was formed by the Global Flood or Noachian flood of the Bible.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Energy Reorganization Act of 1974</span>

The Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 is a United States federal law that established the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, a single agency, the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, had responsibility for the development and production of nuclear weapons and for both the development and the safety regulation of the civilian uses of nuclear materials. The Act of 1974 split these functions, assigning to the Energy Research and Development Administration the responsibility for the development and production of nuclear weapons, promotion of nuclear power, and other energy-related work, and assigning to the NRC the regulatory work, which does not include regulation of defense nuclear facilities. The Act of 1974 gave the Commission its collegial structure and established its major offices.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York State Department of Environmental Conservation</span> New Yorks state-level environmental regulator

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is a department of New York state government. The department guides and regulates the conservation, improvement, and protection of New York's natural resources; manages Forest Preserve lands in the Adirondack and Catskill parks, state forest lands, and wildlife management areas; regulates sport fishing, hunting and trapping; and enforces the state's environmental laws and regulations. Its regulations are compiled in Title 6 of the New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. It was founded in 1970, replacing the Conservation Department. and is headed by Basil Seggos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto</span> American law firm in Washington, D.C.

Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto is a Washington, D.C.-based international whistleblower rights law firm specializing in anti-corruption and whistleblower law, representing whistleblowers who seek rewards, or who are facing employer retaliation, for reporting violations of the False Claims Act, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform, Sarbanes-Oxley Acts, Commodity and Security Exchange Acts and the IRS Whistleblower law.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Center for Biological Diversity</span> Nonprofit organization that works to protect endangered species

The Center for Biological Diversity is a nonprofit membership organization known for its work protecting endangered species through legal action, scientific petitions, creative media and grassroots activism. It was founded in 1989 by Kieran Suckling, Peter Galvin, Todd Schulke and Robin Silver. The center is based in Tucson, Arizona, with its headquarters in the historic Owls club building, and has offices and staff in New Mexico, Nevada, California, Oregon, Illinois, Minnesota, Alaska, Vermont, Florida and Washington, D.C.

The National Whistleblower Center (NWC) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, tax exempt, educational and advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1988 by the lawyers Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto, LLP. As of March 2019, John Kostyack is the executive director. Since its founding, the center has worked on whistleblower cases relating to environmental protection, nuclear safety, government and corporate accountability, and wildlife crime.

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is a government agency in the state of Maryland charged with maintaining natural resources including state parks, public lands, state forests, state waterways, wildlife, and recreation areas. Its headquarters is in Annapolis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge</span>

The Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge is 5,237-acre (21.19 km2) National Wildlife Refuge in the United States, located approximately 16 miles (26 km) northwest of Denver, Colorado. The refuge is situated west of the cities of Broomfield and Westminster and situated north of the city of Arvada.

Salazar v. Buono, 559 U.S. 700 (2010), was a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States regarding the establishment clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. The case concerned the legality of the Mojave Memorial Cross, a Latin cross which was placed atop a prominent rock outcropping by the Veterans of Foreign Wars foundation in 1934 to honor war dead. The location is known as "Sunrise Rock" in the Mojave National Preserve in San Bernardino County in southeastern California. The Supreme Court ruled that the cross may stay, but also sent the case back to a lower court, making the issue currently unresolved.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel P. Meyer</span>

Daniel P. Meyer is an attorney admitted in the District of Columbia and is currently the Managing Partner of the Washington D.C. Office of Tully Rinckey, PLLC, an international law firm headquartered at Albany, New York, and co-founded by Mathew Tully and Greg Rinckey.

Charles Monnett, Ph.D. is an Arctic wildlife biologist with the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE), an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages the nation's natural gas, oil and other mineral resources on the outer continental shelf (OCS).

References

  1. ↑ Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility. Accessed June 6, 2009.
  2. ↑ Revkin, Andrew C. (2012-01-25). "A Legal Defense Fund for Climate Scientists". Dot Earth Blog. Retrieved 2023-03-24.
  3. ↑ Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility. "Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility: About Us - Home". Archived from the original on 2009-06-13. Retrieved 2009-06-07. Accessed June 6, 2009.
  4. ↑ "PEER Campaigns - EPA Library Closure - News". Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility. Archived from the original on 2008-06-07. Retrieved 2008-07-16.
  5. ↑ "PEER Campaigns - Arctic Drilling - News". Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility. Archived from the original on 2008-07-09. Retrieved 2008-07-16.
  6. ↑ "PEER Campaigns - Off-Road Wreckreation - News". Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility. Archived from the original on 2008-05-09. Retrieved 2008-07-16.
  7. ↑ "Lawsuit To Halt GE Crops In All Midwest Refuges". Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility. Archived from the original on 2011-11-16. Retrieved 2011-11-02.
  8. ↑ "Civil Action No. 11-1583-RJ" (PDF). U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Retrieved 2012-02-17.[ permanent dead link ]
  9. ↑ "PEER Campaigns - In the Chief's Corner - News". Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility. Archived from the original on 2007-04-29. Retrieved 2008-07-16.
  10. ↑ "Outspoken WSU wolf researcher says university, lawmakers silenced and punished him". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 2017-09-25.
  11. ↑ "Canyon Ministries - Grand Canyon: A Different View". Canyon Ministries. Archived from the original on 2008-10-11. Retrieved 2008-07-16.
  12. ↑ "PEER - News - Religion on Display In National Parks". Public Employees for Environmental Resoponsibility. Archived from the original on 2008-06-06. Retrieved 2008-07-16.
  13. ↑ David Barna Chief of Public Affairs National Park Service. "National Park Service Response Concerning the Grand Canyon" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-06-30. Retrieved 2008-07-16.
  14. ↑ "PEER - News - Evolving Grand Canyon Position Leaves Unanswered Questions". Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility. Archived from the original on 2008-06-07. Retrieved 2008-07-16.
  15. ↑ "PEER - News - Fierce Battle to Keep Cross in National Park". Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility. Archived from the original on 2005-02-23. Retrieved 2008-07-16.
  16. ↑ Edds, Kimberly (2004-06-09). "WashingtonPost.com - Cross in Mojave Desert Preserve Barred". Washington Post. Retrieved 2009-06-06.
  17. ↑ "Ninth Circuit ruling in Buono v. Kempthorne" (PDF). Retrieved 2009-06-06.
  18. ↑ "PEER - News - Last Stand for Mojave Cross?". Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility. Archived from the original on 2008-06-29. Retrieved 2008-07-16.
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