SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN)

"The state of North Carolina says it has secured an agreement with Duke Energy to excavate nearly 80 million tons (72.5 million metric tons) of coal ash at six facilities."

"Jim Beam was fined $600,000 earlier this month after a July warehouse fire sent a nearly 23-mile plume of alcohol into the Kentucky and Ohio rivers, killing fish."

"Officials in Mississippi are trying to force the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Mississippi River Commission to consult with them before opening the Bonnet Carré Spillway in Louisiana again and flooding the region with polluted river water."

"The Oak Flat land in Arizona is holy to the Apaches. A mining company wants to blow a two-mile-wide hole in it."

"Louisiana’s Department of Environmental Quality has been accused of protecting the chemical industry it regulates. The agency is facing cutbacks as new plants are slated for communities that already have some of the country’s most toxic air."

"Facing public pressure to rein in its pollution, a Japanese chemical manufacturer has instead launched an aggressive, years-long campaign to undermine the science showing that its compounds could cause cancer, according to newly released documents reviewed by the Guardian."

"The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration wants to restore seven reefs along the Keys reef tract from Key Largo to Key West."

"As cities in the South start exploring ways to expand renewable energy, some are running into an obstacle that could set those plans back decades: The nation's largest public utility, concerned about its income base, has started pressuring its customers to lock in long-term contracts that critics say could leave the region relying on fossil fuels for years to come."