"The Obama administration on Thursday unveiled new oil well control rules to prevent the kind of blowout that happened six years ago on a BP Plc rig in the Gulf of Mexico."
"Chicago's North Broadway Street is always bustling, but in the past few weeks, it has been noisier than ever. There is water flowing from an open fire hydrant, and as traffic inches by, a cement truck backs up and pours concrete down into a big hole in the street."
"Michigan urged to terminate Line 5 crossing in the Straits of Mackinac."
"Twin, 63-year-old oil pipelines crossing beneath the waters that connect Lake Michigan and Lake Huron are currently out of compliance with the state agreement that allows their existence, according to a letter and memorandum sent Wednesday by 22 environmental and tribal groups to Michigan’s governor and attorney general.
"FLINT, Mich. — Near the top of the daily challenges that Flint residents face in a city without safe drinking water is how and where to shower."
Thanks to the Federation of American Scientists' Project on Government Secrecy, we can share some recent CRS reports of interest to environmental journalists.
The Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission (IOGCC) lobbied successfully to pass and preserve the "Halliburton Loophole," which exempts the oil and gas industry from the law requiring disclosure of toxic fracking chemicals.
"Flint residents aren’t using enough water to pull necessary chemical treatments through the city’s system, hindering efforts to get water up to safety standards in a community where residents are afraid to use their taps and loathe to pay for what comes out of them.
Although the past six months have produced improvements, recent testing by Virginia Tech researchers, including expert Marc Edwards, shows contamination still at problem levels.
As legal actions against the chemical company 3M go forward, lawyers are charging that 3M "knew about the health hazards posed by the perfluorinated chemicals it was manufacturing and using to make carpet coating, Scotchgard, firefighting foam, and other products — and that the company knew the chemicals were spreading beyond its sites."
"In-depth scientific research and broad-based communications are both needed to get control of harmful algal blooms and low-oxygen conditions called hypoxia in U.S. waters, advises a new report to Congress."
"As Pennsylvania’s natural gas production continues to expand, so does the possibility of potentially harmful methane emissions."
