""President Barack Obama signed a proclamation Wednesday formally designating nearly half a million acres of land in Doña Ana County as a national monument — a move that comes after years of heated local debate over the proposal."

"Q'eqchi Mayan families vow to fight construction, which they say will destroy their livelihoods and flood ancestral land."

"When 39,000 tons of coal ash spilled into North Carolina's Dan River in February, it grabbed national headlines and raised the ire of environmentalists. But by sheer numbers, the 14 coal ash ponds spread across North Carolina pale in comparison to the nearly 3,000 various waste sites across the state. That includes decommissioned industrial facilities, abandoned dry cleaners and old landfills."

"Thirteen per cent of household water tests conducted in Toronto over the past six years showed unsafe levels of lead, according to city data obtained by the Star."

"Louisiana Republicans work to quash lawsuits seeking oil and gas industry funds to restore the coastline."

"President Barack Obama plans to announce a new national monument on Wednesday, protecting nearly half a million acres in southern New Mexico."

"A proposed Canadian nuclear waste site near the shores of Lake Huron is facing mounting criticism from Michigan lawmakers who say it's dangerous and called on the federal government to intervene."

"It's widely used nationwide as a germ-killing ingredient in soaps, deodorants and even toothpaste, but it's being banned in Minnesota."

"The government has no way of fully knowing which U.S. chemical facilities stock ammonium nitrate, the substance that exploded last year at a Texas fertilizer plant and killed 14 people, congressional investigators say. Outdated federal policies, poor information sharing with states and a raft of industry exemptions point to scant federal oversight, says a new report obtained by The Associated Press."