Environment

MINNEAPOLIS — A federal proposal to streamline water-quality laws would “kneecap” Minnesota regulators and effectively remove their authority to protect drinking water, rivers, streams and wildlife from dozens of new projects each year, state officials have warned in a letter... Read More

WASHINGTON — The number of known military installations with water sources contaminated by cancer-linked firefighting foam is likely to rise, Pentagon officials said Wednesday. In 2018, the Pentagon reported that 401 sites — including wells, on-base drinking sources and groundwater... Read More

PARADISE, Calif. — Chainsaws were humming and backhoes were beeping. Wood frames were being hammered into place. It was the sound of Paradise rebuilding, one nail at a time. “I love it up here — it’s beautiful,” said Holly Austin,... Read More

SEATTLE — Who knew orcas were so playful, so full of affection, so constantly touching one another? New footage taken by drone as well as underwater stunned researchers who spent two days with the southern resident orca J pod off... Read More

WASHINGTON — Supreme Court justices, both conservative and liberal, appeared skeptical Wednesday of a Trump administration argument that the federal Clean Water Act should not apply to sewage plant wastewater that flows into the ground and eventually seeps into federally... Read More

CHICAGO — It’s the time of year when ghouls and goblins, mummies and monsters are out in force. But unlike many Halloween creatures, bats live in more than the imagination, making their homes in caves and hollowed-out trees in Illinois... Read More

CHICAGO — Scattered throughout the fiery autumn foliage at Indiana Dunes National Park are green patches of Asiatic bittersweet, its yellow-orange fruit soon to split open with red berries, lending a holiday look to the woods. But this invasive plant... Read More

WASHINGTON - Federal employees overseeing public lands in the U.S. were assaulted or threatened at least 360 times over a five-year period ending in 2017, a sign of increased tensions between the employees and anti-government groups, the Government Accountability Office... Read More

WASHINGTON - A House Panel that deals with water resource and environmental issues will travel to South Florida this weekend for a roundtable on infrastructure projects to be considered for inclusion in the next Water Resources Development Act. Rep. Grace... Read More

WASHINGTON - A House subcommittee has advanced bipartisan legislation sponsored by Rep. Antonio Delgado, D-N.Y., that would require the EPA to list a dangerous class of compounds known as PFAS chemicals on its Toxics Release Inventory. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances,... Read More

WASHINGTON - Rep. Mikie Sherrill, D-N.J., convened a meeting last week with officials of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the N.J. Department of Environmental Protection and several local mayors to address the issue of repeat and intensifying flooding in... Read More

WASHINGTON — California and 22 other states sued the Trump administration Friday to stop it from revoking the authority of The Golden State to set emission standards for cars and trucks. California Attorney General Xavier Becerra filed the lawsuit against... Read More

WASHINGTON - Andrew Yang could hardly contain himself. A day after he surprised a group of Georgetown University students by joining their pick-up basketball game, Yang had taken just three steps onto the stage at the university's Healy Hall Thursday... Read More

WASHINGTON -  The New Democrat Coalition released policy principles and endorsed legislation to combat climate change Wednesday, seeking to "address the climate challenge with the urgency the crisis demands" and further their belief the U.S. is best positioned to be... Read More

Freshman U.S. Representative Deb Haaland, D-N.M., joined U.S. Senator Cory Booker, D-N.J., in introducing a climate change bill focused on voluntary farm and ranch conservation practices, massive reforestation, and wetlands restoration.  The lawmakers say the Climate Stewardship Act of 2019... Read More

WASHINGTON - A federal appeals court Tuesday threw out legal challenges to the Obama-era Clean Power Plan, ending a long-running legal battle involving multiple states and scores of other parties. In a brief order, the U.S. Court of Appeals for... Read More

WASHINGTON - The number of U.S. military installations contaminated with potentially cancer-causing chemical compounds found in firefighting foam is expected to rise as a Defense Department task force continues to assess the problem, the Pentagon said last week. During a... Read More

WASHINGTON -  The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on Friday upheld an Obama-era update of the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule designed to protect downwind states from coal plant air pollution that blows across their borders. Congress enacted... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration announced Thursday that it is repealing an  Obama-era clean water rule that had placed limits on polluting chemicals that could be used near streams, wetlands and other bodies of water. According to the Environmental Protection... Read More

WASHINGTON - Rep. Francis Rooney, R-Fla., couldn't be happier that the House Wednesday passed a pair of bills blocking offshore oil drilling in almost all waters around the United States. But in an interview with The Well News, he acknowledged... Read More

WASHINGTON - The House will vote next week on a trio of bills that would effectively block all new offshore oil and gas drilling in the waters around the United States. In a letter to House members, Democratic House Leader... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration said Thursday that it intends to revoke regulations on methane leaks from oil facilities, a decision even some oil industry giants oppose. In announcing the plan, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler said the proposal... Read More

WASHINGTON - With trade tensions between U.S. and China still on a high boil, Australia stands poised to become the Defense Department's primary supplier of Rare Earth metals, a department official said Monday. Rare Earth metals are a collection of... Read More

WASHINGTON - A coalition of 22 states and seven major cities sued the Trump administration Tuesday in a bid to prevent it from dismantling an Obama-era regulation that established national limits on the carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants. In... Read More

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously adopted the Our County Sustainability Plan, which they are calling “the most comprehensive regional approach to sustainability ever issued by a county in the United States.” The plan was drafted... Read More

The New Democrat Coalition on Wednesday released a statement of principles aimed at reasserting the United States’ role as a global leader in addressing climate change. A statement outlining the principles says they are intended to combat climate change “with... Read More

WASHINGTON - The Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday replaced Obama-era rules intended to tamp down on carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants with new regulations that allow states to decide whether such steps are needed. The new rule will go... Read More

For the second time in five days, a conservative Republican member of the House has blocked a long overdue $19 billion disaster bill. Representative Thomas Massie, R-Ky., said that if Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Democratic leaders had thought the... Read More

For the first time in history, renewable energy surpassed coal earlier this month as a source of electricity generation in the United States, the Brookings Institution reported Wednesday. The paper underlying the report attributes this remarkable development to U.S. municipalities... Read More

WASHINGTON - Democratic members of Congress said Wednesday that environmental policies of the Trump administration are threatening the nation’s outdoor recreation industry. During two House Natural Resources Committee hearings, a Trump administration official defended the Interior Department’s record, but environmentalists... Read More