Pollution

"In a win for the coal industry, a House committee approved a bill Tuesday that would prevent federal regulation of coal ash as hazardous waste."

From his deck, Bob Arrington can hear the rustle of aspens and the chirp of birds. He can see the golf course; Battlement Mesa, still spring green, to the south; and Roan Plateau, pink and tan, to the north. Soon he may also be able to see a drilling rig — right near the sixth hole."

"Oregon's Environmental Quality Commission [Thursday] adopted the strictest standards for toxic water pollution in the United States."

"THERMAL, Calif. — Community activists in Southern California's Coachella Valley have been toiling for years along the eastern rim of this crescent-shaped breadbasket to spread the word about the abandoned waste dumps, shoddy migrant housing and overburdened recycling facilities that are a fact of life in this poor, farmworker community."

"Ohio's state parks will be open for oil and natural gas drilling for the first time under legislation the state Senate passed on Wednesday."

"Indian officials signed an agreement with the World Bank on Tuesday to use a $1 billion loan to finance the first major new effort in more than 20 years to cleanse the revered Ganges, one of the world’s dirtiest rivers."

"This year's record Mississippi River floods are forecast to create the biggest Gulf of Mexico 'dead zone' since systematic mapping began in 1985, U.S. scientists reported on Tuesday."

"The largest mining company in Idaho's Silver Valley will pay $263.4 million plus interest to settle one of the nation's largest Superfund lawsuits -- one of the top 10 such settlements in history, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Monday."

"Tall smokestacks are one reason that emissions from coal-fired power plants are blown across state lines, making it more difficult for downwind states to clean up their air, a new Government Accountability Office study found."