Report indicates government secrecy is on the rise

OpenTheGovernment.org, a coalition of individuals and organizations, including NFOIC, released the 2008 Government Secrecy Report Card today.

While the number of FOIA requests received increased, an increase was also noticed in the number records classified as confidential.

Read the full report here.

An AP story reported:

Government secrecy is on the rise by almost every measure, according to a report by a coalition of government oversight groups.

They said the U.S. is classifying more records as top secret or otherwise confidential and employing fewer workers who make federal documents available publicly.

"The open society on which we pride ourselves has been undermined and will take hard work to repair," said the report, described as a "secrecy report card" by OpenTheGovernment.org. It cited 14 different measurements to quantify government secrecy, including patents hidden from the public, secret court approvals for surveillance in sensitive terrorism and espionage investigations and the expanding use of informal labels to keep documents from being disclosed.

More here.

Additional coverage of the 2008 Government Secrecy Report Card:

• Report: Competition down, secrecy up; Federal Computer Week
• New report tracks increase in government secrecy; Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
• Government's secrecy grade: Unsatisfactory; OMB Watch
• Government secrecy on the rise: Think Progress
  

Ah, the Cost of Secrecy

Sometimes, secrecy means that the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing, as evidenced by this story:

Secrecy could add to the steep cost of Florida's proposed $1.75 billion buyout of U.S. Sugar.

While state water managers held closed-door talks with U.S. Sugar about buying the company's 187,000 acres, Palm Beach County in April approved a U.S. Sugar plan for rock mining right in the middle of the area targeted for Everglades restoration.

The mining approval likely boosted the value of those 7,000 acres, according to appraisers. That could mean taxpayers will end up paying more for a big piece of the buyout, proposed to re-establish water flows between Lake Okeechobee and the Everglades.

Sugar cane land in that area appraises for about $3,400 to $5,500 an acre, compared with up to $11,000 an acre for rock mines, according to the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser's Office.

Here's the killer quote:

"None of us knew anything about it," County Commissioner Burt Aaronson said about the buyout, which was announced in June. "Now they bring up this U.S. Sugar deal. ... It's very confusing to the public and to elected officials."

More here.

Want to Know What's In Your Tap Water? Sorry...

A fine example of secrecy madness from USA Today:

When water providers find pharmaceuticals in drinking water, they rarely tell the public. When researchers make the same discoveries, they usually don't identify the cities involved.

There are plenty of reasons offered for the secrecy: concerns about national security, fears of panic, a feeling that the public will not understand — even confidentiality agreements.

Much, much more here. Warning: if you like access to information, this will have you muttering at your computer screen...

CD