Counties, currently in 12 states with more likely to be added next year as a result of new lead monitors, must take steps within five years to meet the standard.

As drought blankets much of the western U.S. and Canada, so do grasshoppers, Mormon crickets, and other associated bugs. The cyclical insect infestations, which are occurring in pockets in every state west of the Mississippi and in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, range from light to very severe.

As the Gulf oil spill continues to spread and become a growing concern to more parts of the US, these key tools will help you tell and illustrate the story.

The National Trails system, already stretching more than 12,500 miles, expands with the addition of 31 more trails totalling 716 miles.

The changes affect only new drilling areas and may include greater consideration of environmental impacts, more public review, fewer "categorical exclusions" from environmental review, and more.

EPA Region 6 officials deliberately stopped creating written records related to their oversight of a New Mexico waste facility in order to thwart Freedom of Information Act requests from a citizens' group, according to an EPA Inspector General's report.

A new report by the US Geological Survey, Bureau of Reclamation, US Forest Service, other federal agencies, and university experts says the water-hogging reputation of the two species has little merit, but found that effects on wildlife are mixed.