- Notice of an Open Meeting of the Advisory Committee on Water Information - Lawyer Says FCC Ordered Study Destroyed - Public Availability of Government Accountability Office Records - Secrecy Report Card 2006 Patrice McDermott, Director OpenTheGovernment.org 202-332-OPEN (6736) www.openthegovernment.org *** - NOTICE OF AN OPEN MEETING OF THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON WATER INFORMATION (ACWI) http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20061800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2006/06-7680.htm DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR United States Geological Survey SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given of a meeting of the ACWI. This meeting is to discuss broad policy-related topics relating to national water initiatives, and the development and dissemination of water information, through reports from ACWI subgroups. The agenda will include status of a proposal for a new ACWI subgroup on Ground Water Monitoring; a new proposal by the Subcommittee on Hydrology, from the Satellite Telemetry Interagency Working Group; status of the National Monitoring Network for U.S. Coastal Waters and their Tributaries; and a presentation on the new Wetland Mapping Standard Workgroup of the Federal Geographic Data Committee. The ACWI was established under the authority of the Office of Management and Budget Memorandum M92-01 and the Federal Advisory Committee Act. [...] DATES: The formal meeting will convene at 9:30 a.m. on October 4, 2006, and will adjourn at 4:15 p.m. on the same day. ADDRESSES: The U.S. Geological Survey, Dallas L. Peck Auditorium, 12201 Sunrise Valley Drive, Reston, Virginia. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Toni J. Johnson, ACWI Executive Secretary and Chief, Water Information Coordination Program, U.S. Geological Survey, 12201 Sunrise Valley Drive, MS 417, Reston, VA 20192. Telephone: 703-648-6810; Fax: 703-648-5644; e-mail: tjohnson@xxxxxxxxx SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This meeting is open to the public. Up to a half hour will be set aside for public comment. Persons wishing to make a brief presentation (up to 5 minutes) are asked to provide a written request with a description of the general subject to Ms. Johnson at the above address no later than noon, September 27, 2006. It is requested that 40 copies of a written statement be submitted at the time of the meeting for distribution to members of the ACWI and placement in the official file. Any member of the public may submit written information and (or) comments to Ms. Johnson distribution at the ACWI meeting. *** - LAWYER SAYS FCC ORDERED STUDY DESTROYED http://apnews.myway.com/article/20060914/D8K4Q4E80.html Sep 14, 2:40 PM (ET) By JOHN DUNBAR WASHINGTON (AP) - The Federal Communications Commission ordered its staff to destroy all copies of a draft study that suggested greater concentration of media ownership would hurt local TV news coverage, a former lawyer at the agency says. The report, written in 2004, came to light during the Senate confirmation hearing for FCC Chairman Kevin Martin. Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif. received a copy of the report "indirectly from someone within the FCC who believed the information should be made public," according to Boxer spokeswoman Natalie Ravitz. Adam Candeub, now a law professor at Michigan State University, said senior managers at the agency ordered that "every last piece" of the report be destroyed. "The whole project was just stopped - end of discussion," he said. Candeub was a lawyer in the FCC's Media Bureau at the time the report was written and communicated frequently with its authors, he said. In a letter sent to Martin Wednesday, Boxer said she was "dismayed that this report, which was done at taxpayer expense more than two years ago, and which concluded that localism is beneficial to the public, was shoved in a drawer." Martin said he was not aware of the existence of the report, nor was his staff. His office indicated it had not received Boxer's letter as of midafternoon Thursday. [...] *** - PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE RECORDS http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20061800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2006/E6-15474.htm GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE 4 CFR Part 81 Public Availability of Government Accountability Office Records AGENCY: Government Accountability Office. ACTION: Proposed rule; request for comments. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: These proposed revisions would clarify and broaden the existing exemption regarding the disclosure of congressional correspondence and create a new exemption to allow for the withholding of records of interviews created by GAO in connection with its work. Specifically, the proposed revision to the congressional correspondence exemption would enable GAO to release or withhold congressional correspondence without prior congressional authorization. The proposed new exemption would enhance the open, frank, and honest exchange of information from other agencies, nonfederal organizations, and individuals to GAO during the course of a GAO audit, evaluation, or investigation. DATES: Comments must be received on or before November 2, 2006. ADDRESSES: Comments on these proposed revisions may be mailed or hand-delivered to: Government Accountability Office, Office of the General Counsel, Attn: Legal Services, Room 7838, 441 G Street, NW., Washington, DC 20548. Comments may also be e-mailed to bielecj@xxxxxxx or faxed to 202-512-8501. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John A. Bielec, Deputy Assistant General Counsel; telephone 202-512-2846; e-mail bielecj@xxxxxxxx [...] *** - SECRECY REPORT CARD 2006: REPORT FINDS FEDERAL GOVERNMENT STILL MORE SECRETIVE http://www.openthegovernment.org/otg/SRC2006.pdf WASHINGTON, Sep. 3 - Government secrecy saw further expansion last year despite growing public concern, according to a report released today by a coalition of open government advocates. The Secrecy Report Card, produced annually by OpenTheGovernment.org in order to identify trends in public access to information, found a troubling lack of transparency in military procurement, new private inventions, and the scientific and technical advice that the government receives, among other areas. [...] ###