"RENO, Nev. -- Rural neighbors of an abandoned World War II-era copper mine that has leaked toxic chemicals in northern Nevada for decades have won up to a $19.5 million settlement from companies they accused of covering up the contamination."

"The Transportation Department hit oil giant Exxon Mobil on Wednesday with a proposed $2.6 million fine for a pipeline rupture in Arkansas earlier this year."

"President Barack Obama will use his executive powers to protect more mountains, rivers and forests from development if Congress does not act to preserve such wild spaces, the U.S. Interior Secretary said on Thursday."

"The White House is expected to take new steps on Friday to help society adapt to global warming, an acknowledgment that worldwide efforts to control emissions will be inadequate to head off big climatic shifts."

"BECKLEY, W.Va. -- The stately, wood-paneled chamber in the federal building here unsettled Gary Fox and his wife, Mary. Fox was used to the dusty caverns of the mines in the southern part of the state, where he'd spent more than 25 years working underground in the heart of Appalachian coal country. They had never been in a courtroom before."

"WASHINGTON -- A federal judge has called on the Environmental Protection Agency to come up with a plan for finalizing federal regulations on coal ash that have been stalled for four years."

"Federal regulators may be able to assert Clean Water Act jurisdiction over more waters and wetlands than are now protected on the basis of a draft scientific study that links all streams and certain wetlands with larger, downstream navigable waters, attorneys and policy analysts say."

"WASHINGTON -- The Transportation Department office charged with overseeing the 2.6 million miles of pipelines in the United States is spending more time at oil and gas industry conferences than it is addressing spills and other incidents, a watchdog group contends in a new report."