Water & Oceans

"A second large oil spill into Montana's Yellowstone River in less than four years is reviving questions about oversight of the nation's aging pipeline network."

"For 24 years, traveling across the stark and dusty moonscape of what once was a glimmering 110-square-mile lake framed by snow-covered mountains, Ted Schade was a general in the Owens Valley water wars with Los Angeles. This was where Los Angeles began taking water for its own use nearly a century ago, leaving behind a dry lake bed that choked the valley with dust, turning it into one of the most polluted parts of the nation.
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"Farmers in Ohio, Michigan and Indiana are being asked to be part of the solution in fixing the algae problem in Lake Erie. Federal officials on Friday outlined a program that will make $17.5 million available to farmers who take steps to reduce the pollutants that wash away from the fields and help the algae thrive."

"An invasive snail in the Great Lakes may pose a larger threat to waterfowl than previously thought."

"Environmentalists are giving Gov. Peter Shumlin early accolades for his proposal to reduce the amount of phosphorus running into Lake Champlain. But a prominent agriculture group says the plan to clean up the lake might end up hurting the farms that operate near it."

"Truckloads of drinking water are expected to begin arriving Tuesday in an eastern Montana city where thousands of residents have been told not to drink from their taps following an oil spill along the Yellowstone River."

"Drinking water sources in West Virginia are at risk of contamination from more than 20,000 aboveground storage tanks located beyond an area where extra safeguards are required, a report released Thursday said."

"Montana officials said Sunday that an oil pipeline breach spilled up to 50,000 gallons of oil into the Yellowstone River near Glendive, but they said they are unaware of any threats to public safety or health."

"A U.S. federal court has ruled for the first time that manure from livestock facilities can be regulated as solid waste, a decision hailed by environmentalists as opening the door to potential legal challenges against facilities across the country."

"Researchers have found that pharmaceuticals and personal-care byproducts persist at low levels miles from sewage discharge pipes in Lake Michigan. And a study from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee shows that the most prevalent drug in the lake — the Type 2 diabetes medication Metformin — changes the hormonal system of fish exposed to it."