"Following a ProPublica article revealing that the U.S. Forest Service had for years issued clothing to wildland firefighters that it knew contained potentially dangerous “forever chemicals,” the agency has stopped distributing those garments."
"While the average lifespan of a wastewater system is 40 to 50 years, many of the plants and pipes across the nation could be twice that old or more."
"Federal regulators have a range of solutions available to tackle the widespread contamination of farmland with toxic chemicals, according to a new report by US academics."
"The International Energy Agency downplayed global warming this week amid U.S. pressure."
"The Department of the Interior issued a final rule that curbs and streamlines its environmental reviews. Critics say the move is illegal."
"The Supreme Court has [agreed to hear] green-lighted the fossil fuel industry’s latest attempt to quash a swath of lawsuits seeking to hold oil companies accountable for the costs of climate change."
"The Trump administration is reopening a loophole to allow more mercury emissions from some coal-fired power plants, provoking swift denunciations from public health advocates who said the rollback will leave children at further risk of exposure to the brain-damaging element."
"A massive snowstorm pummeled the northeastern United States from Maryland to Maine on Monday, forcing millions of people to stay home amid strong wind and blizzard warnings, transportation shutdowns, and school and business closures."
Want to pinpoint all the facilities regulated by the EPA in your ZIP code? Or scope out every U.S. operation owned by a particular industrial company? Or learn which polluter might be facing fewer enforcement actions under the current administration? Reporter’s Toolbox has a database for you — in effect, a master index to potential polluters.
The enforcement of environmental laws suffered a dramatic collapse during the Trump administration’s first year, several studies have found. Even the most serious violations, typically referred to the Department of Justice, are left unpursued because of DOJ staffing declines. The latest Backgrounder has the details, a look at the administration’s rationale for the decline and the implications for the environment and public health.
