Pollution

"Volkswagen AG is set to plead guilty on Friday to three felony counts in the Justice Department's diesel emissions investigation, as the German automaker seeks to move past its cheating scandal."

"Federal regulators have given oil and gas operator Hilcorp until May 1 to permanently repair a pipeline spewing more than 200,000 cubic feet of gas a day into Alaska's Cook Inlet or shut it down, citing public safety and environmental risks. The line has been leaking since late December, the regulator disclosed, longer than reported by the company."

"If President Trump tries to overhaul the contentious Clean Water Rule, he may find himself in much the same legal quagmire as his predecessor."

"The company whose pipeline dumped more than 46,000 gallons of diesel on northern Iowa farmland in January has had more spills than any other pipeline operator in the state over the past 16 years, according to a Des Moines Register analysis."

"U.S. coal miner Peabody Energy Corp said on Monday it has agreed to set aside collateral to cover future mine cleanup costs as part of its bankruptcy reorganization plan, ending its controversial use of 'self-bonds.'"

"PORTSMOUTH, N.H. — The Pease International Tradeport, which features an airport, hundreds of businesses and several day care centers, has been called a textbook example of how to redevelop an air base. But many who worked or had their children looked after there are coming to terms with a hidden risk: drinking water contaminated by military firefighting foam that contained perfluorinated compounds, or PFCs."

"The Trump administration would slash programs aimed at slowing climate change and improving water safety and air quality, while eliminating thousands of jobs, according to a draft of the Environmental Protection Agency budget proposal obtained by The Associated Press."

"The Environmental Protection Agency has a murky future in the Trump administration. Hours before the President promised in his address to Congress 'to promote clean air and clear water,' he signed an executive order to roll back an Obama-era EPA clean water rule. Whatever happens to the EPA, this might be a good time to reflect on its legacy, especially in urban spaces. Though environmentalism conjures 'America the Beautiful' images of purple mountains and unspoiled wilderness, much of the EPA’s heaviest lifting in rescuing this nation from its own filth happened in cities."

"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday withdrew a requirement for the oil and gas industry to provide information on methane emitted from its operations, one of what will be several moves to undo the Obama administration's climate change regulations."