"U.S. President Donald Trump sought to ease concerns on Wednesday that his administration would make major alterations to biofuels policy, telling Iowa’s governor he was committed to a decade-old biofuels program even as a top official considers changing it."
"When Trump administration officials travel to Germany next month for United Nations climate change discussions, they will face a fundamental contradiction: how to negotiate the terms of a deal they say they’re walking away from."
"The State Department has granted Enbridge Energy a presidential permit for the final piece of its project to boost the capacity of its Alberta Clipper oil pipeline."
"PORT ARTHUR, Texas — The church was empty, except for the piano too heavy for one man to move. It had been 21 days since the greatest storm Wayne Christopher had ever seen dumped a year’s worth of rain on his town, drowning this church where he was baptized, met his high school sweetheart and later married her."
"More than 350 former National Park Service employees today disparaged Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke's recommendations to reduce the acreage of a half-dozen national monuments and alter the management plans of others. They also criticized the agency as 'utterly unconscionable' for failing to release a public report following its review of those sites."
"Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt hinted Tuesday at plans to rid the agency’s scientific advisory boards of researchers who get EPA grants, arguing that the current structure raises questions about their independence."
"Records show the coal mining company formerly run by David Zatezalo retaliated against a foreman who complained of harassment and unsafe conditions."
"The coal mining company run by President Donald Trump’s nominee to be the nation’s top mining regulator has already come under criticism for weaknesses in its safety record. It turns out the company was also found by the government to have illegally retaliated against a foreman who complained about sexual and ethnic harassment from supervisors, unsafe conditions and drug use at one of its mines.
The SEJ has written the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to object to its criticism of an Associated Press story about Superfund sites following Hurricane Harvey floods. That, plus a judge rules against EPA for withholding records on the pesticide Enlist Duo, and more, in this month's WatchDog.
"Senate appropriators aren't likely to follow the White House's lead this week when they mark up their fiscal 2018 spending bill for U.S. EPA and the Interior Department."
"President Donald Trump's approval rating for handling the federal government's response to recent hurricanes has dropped 20 points in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, according to a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS."
