Pollution

"A new study says oil from the Deepwater Horizon disaster is still trapped in Alabama's beaches four years later."

"Missouri environmental advocates who have fought for stricter oversight of coal ash waste are eagerly awaiting the mid-December release of new federal rules that will require, for the first time, detailed data."

"SULLIVAN COUNTY, Ind. -- A fine layer of gray dust coats nearly every surface in the parts of this Southwest Indiana town nearest the Bear Run Mine, the largest surface coal mine east of the Mississippi."

"The scientific case has been building for how a smoggy summer afternoon in North Texas might harm a child playing outdoors, a person with asthma or, on the worst days, perhaps even a healthy adult."

"FAIRBANKS -- The city of North Pole [AK] filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the two most recent owners of the oil refinery within its borders over sulfolane contamination that has spread into residents' groundwater."

"A federal judge blocked the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from taking action against a massive proposed mine in Alaska."

"Capping more than three years of study, the O'Malley administration declared Tuesday that hydraulic fracturing for natural gas can be done safely in Western Maryland, but only after regulations are tightened to reduce air and water pollution and protect residents from well contamination, noise and other disruptions associated with an anticipated drilling boom."

"The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to weigh a challenge by industry groups and some states to an Obama administration regulation intended to limit emissions of mercury and other hazardous pollutants mainly from coal-fired power plants."

"The Obama administration is expected to release on Wednesday a contentious and long-delayed environmental regulation to curb emissions of ozone, a smog-causing pollutant linked to asthma, heart disease and premature death."