Freedom of Environmental Information in America
Open Access
- Author:
- Cramer, Benjamin W.
- Graduate Program:
- Mass Communications
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- April 22, 2009
- Committee Members:
- Robert Milner Frieden, Dissertation Advisor/Co-Advisor
Martin Halstuk, Committee Member
Geoffrey Scott, Committee Member
Matthew Jackson, Committee Member
Robert Milner Frieden, Committee Chair/Co-Chair - Keywords:
- environmental law
government transparency - Abstract:
- This dissertation assesses and critiques the state of transparency of American government-held information that pertains to the environment, with a focus on relevant statutes and court cases that have either promoted or decreased that transparency. The dissertation explores the intersection between government transparency philosophy and environmental protection, and focuses on little-known phenomena surrounding the management of environmental information by government. The main argument builds upon the Freedom of Information Act, which makes most documents held by the American government available to citizens; the National Environmental Policy Act, which has unique requirements for the collection and disclosure of environmentally-relevant information; and a variety of specific federal environmental statutes that mandate the collection of pollution- and public health-related reports from business and industry. American environmental jurisprudence is based largely upon the management of information, but due to longstanding patterns of administrative law and a legal system that enforces information-collection procedures rather than the substantive value of the resulting documents, true environmental transparency has not yet been achieved in America. Ultimately, this dissertation brings attention to rather obscure information regulations that can be utilized by citizens to fight for greater transparency of government-held environmental documents, and in turn, greater environmental protection, but many legal and administrative challenges must be overcome.