"Under fire from water agencies who were losing millions of dollars in lost water sales, Gov. Jerry Brown's administration two months ago dropped all mandatory water conservation targets and allowed cities, water districts and private water companies across the state to set their own targets."

"A leading U.S. coal regulator announced plans on Tuesday to toughen what it called "out-of-date" rules for guaranteeing mine cleanups."

"A pollutant that has leached into California aquifers since farmers first began using synthetic fertilizer continues to accumulate and would not be removed from groundwater even if the state’s agriculture businesses abruptly quit using nitrogen-based materials to boost the productivity of their crops."

"California is burning. The state has nine active wildfires as large as 25 acres or more, including the massive Clayton fire north of San Francisco that forced nearly 1,500 residents to flee their homes after it erupted Saturday in dry conditions created by the state’s extreme drought. On Sunday the blaze doubled in size."

"When a deadly patch of warm water shocked the West Coast, some feared it was a preview of our future oceans."

"Negotiators for two Native American tribes and the state of Oklahoma said Wednesday they have reached a settlement that would end a modern-day water rights and tribal sovereignty dispute that has its roots in the 19th century."

"Science advisers to the Environmental Protection Agency Thursday challenged an already controversial government report on whether thousands of oil and gas wells that rely on hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” systemically pollute drinking water across the nation."

"KENORA, Ont. — The federal Liberal government is formally committing $1.7 million over two years to support a renowned freshwater research station that nearly fell victim to Conservative budget cuts."

"North Carolina’s state epidemiologist resigned Wednesday to protest her employer’s depiction that “deliberately misleads” how screening standards were created to test private wells near Duke Energy’s power plants."

"An unknown amount of diesel fuel has leaked from a Transocean Ltd. drilling rig that ran aground in Scotland, authorities in the U.K. said Wednesday."