Natural Resources

"BUTTE, Mont. — The long-awaited discharge of treated wastewater from a former open pit copper mine into Silver Bow Creek in Butte has started with little fanfare."

"Interior Secretary David Bernhardt signed a secretarial order today keeping William Perry Pendley at the helm of the Bureau of Land Management for an additional four months and appointing two others to unfilled positions at the Interior Department."

"The Interior Department is resisting congressional oversight by failing to comply with House Natural Resources Committee requests for documents, according to Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.)."

"The U.S. government is keeping details secret about a cattle grazing program in six Western states that could be harming habitat and endangered species, an environmental group says."

"An oil spill has contaminated beaches and coastline across eight Brazilian states, the country’s environment agency said on Friday, although authorities are still stumped as to its origin."

"Bipartisan dissatisfaction with the Department of the Interior was on display Thursday as lawmakers on the House Natural Resources Committee probed the difficulties they’ve faced in getting information on department business."

"Tucked into the Trump administration's assessment on the first oil and gas leasing program for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) is a blunt denial that there's a 'climate crisis.'"

"Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the US Fish and Wildlife Service has links to powerful agricultural interests opposed to protections for endangered species she would oversee, the Guardian has learned."

"A trio of utility giants building a natural gas pipeline that would cut across the Appalachian Trail has spent more than $109 million lobbying federal lawmakers and officials since the $7.8 billion project was unveiled five years ago, according to a MapLight analysis."

"William Perry Pendley, the sagebrush rebel-turned acting director of the Bureau of Land Management, has identified nearly five dozen organizations, companies and individuals that will trigger his recusal from decisionmaking, according to his ethics filing."