In honor of FOIA’s 50th birthday<\/a><\/strong>, 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.<\/em><\/p>\n ____________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n During GAPs multi-year whistleblower investigation Deadly Dispersants in the Gulf<\/a> into the widespread cover-up of public health and environmental threats during the BP Gulf disaster, GAP FOIA responses repeatedly substantiated whistleblowers\u2019 warning. Highlights include:<\/p>\n [i]<\/a> 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).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.whistleblower.org\/sites\/default\/files\/oilspillmojo_0.jpg\")
\u201cFor every breaking story and revelation made possible by the FOIA, countless others are undoubtedly buried as the law\u2019s 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sags under the weight of processing backlogs resulting from, among other things, a lack of resources and reliance on outdated technology, as well as inconsistent application in terms of disclosure and overbroad use of exemptions.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 theFOIA Improvement Act of 2016<\/a><\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n
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