"A dozen environmental and animal rights groups are suing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over its decision not to update regulations that limit how much pollution from slaughterhouses can flow into rivers. "
"Business has blossomed at Interior Secretary David Bernhardt's former law and lobbying firm in the 31 months since he was first nominated to a Trump administration post, a new study by an environmental group shows."
"The acting chief of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) who backed the agency for siding with President Trump over its own scientists when the president claimed Alabama was in the path of Hurricane Dorian is being nominated for a position at the Department of Commerce, the White House said Wednesday."
"U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand on Tuesday called for more federal money and oversight to shore up the nation’s aging dams following an Associated Press investigation that found scores of potentially troubling dams located near homes and communities across the country."
"House Democrats introduced sweeping climate legislation Tuesday that would halt fossil fuel production on public lands for at least a year as the nation prepares to drastically cut climate-warming pollution from its own land holdings."
"Congress is providing a little more budgetary heft to EPA's inspector general, which has been fighting with the agency's leadership over access to staff and information."
"As his coal mining company hurtled into bankruptcy, Robert E. Murray, the former chief executive, paid himself $14 million, handed his successor a $4 million bonus and earmarked nearly $1 million for casting doubt on man-made climate change, new court filings show."
"A coalition of twelve mid-Atlantic and Northeastern states and the District of Columbia on Tuesday released a draft plan for an ambitious cap-and-trade program to curb tailpipe emissions from cars, trucks and other forms of transportation, tackling what has fast become the largest source of planet-warming gases."
FOIA is under fire. And for journalists who rely on open records to do their work, the coming year may prove a crucial test of policies at key federal agencies on the beat. This special WatchDog TipSheet takes a deep dive on looming FOIA controversies at Interior and EPA, flagging potential flashpoints for 2020.
"HELENA, Mont. — Ranchers and government officials here are keeping watch on an enemy army gathering to the north, along the border with Canada. The invaders are big, testy, tenacious — and they’ll eat absolutely anything. Feral pigs are widely considered to be the most destructive invasive species in the United States."
