Crypto mining, controversy, and questions about environmental impacts
For decades, the Mechanicville hydroelectric plant generated power from New York’s Hudson River, converting the flowing waters into energy that fueled General Electric.
Air & Water
Facing tight budgets, states ask Congress for $636 million to protect environmental programs
Warning that some of their budgets are at a breaking point, state environmental agencies are urging Congress to provide more than $636 million in fiscal year 2023 funding to ensure the viability of key programs to protect air and water, handle waste, and fight the climate crisis.
EPA prioritizes PFAS, equity for $6.5 billion water infrastructure funding
The Environmental Protection Agency is offering up to $6.5 billion in funding to support water infrastructure projects around the United States, prioritizing work that tackles the “forever chemicals” known as PFAS and promotes environmental justice.
A fight for river salmon and the “rights of nature”
A battle for the “rights of nature” is underway in Washington state, as an Indian tribe takes on Seattle over allegations that decades-old hydroelectric dams are contributing to declining salmon populations.
Refineries’ benzene blight of fenceline communities spurs call for EPA enforcement
Almost half of all U.S. oil refineries are emitting benzene at levels known to cause long-term health harms to communities living within a few miles of the facilities, according to a new report from environmentalists who say stricter Environmental Protection Agency enforcement and monitoring is needed.
California’s fight over cancer-causing drinking water contaminant
Bertha Magana has lived in the same house in rural Monterey County, California since 1987; it’s where she and her husband raised their four children, and the place they enjoy visits from their 11 grandchildren.
Environmentalists cite “political indifference;” call for Senate to confirm EPA enforcement chief
A coalition of 55 environmental groups is urging the U.S. Senate to confirm President Joe Biden’s nominee to lead the enforcement office within the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), citing a need for stronger agency actions to protect vulnerable communities from illegal pollution.
In 5-4 order, Supreme Court reinstates Trump-era Clean Water Act rule
The Supreme Court has reinstated a Trump Environmental Protection Agency water quality certification rule that a federal district court judge had earlier vacated and sent back to the agency, reviving the regulation while an appeal over the prior ruling continues.
Analysis: Supreme Court nominee Jackson’s record reveals clues about her environmental leanings
As confirmation hearings get underway Monday for Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, environmental advocates say her record provides a few clues as to how she might rule on key in energy and environmental cases as a justice.
More than 50% of tested U.S. rivers, lakes, and ponds heavily polluted, research shows
More than 700,000 miles of America’s rivers, streams and creeks and more than 11 million acres of lakes, ponds and reservoirs are so excessively polluted that they are classified as “impaired,” according to a new report by the Environmental Integrity Project (EIP).