"Michigan on Thursday adopted the strictest U.S. rules to guard against lead in drinking water, a move sparked by the Flint water crisis that exposed thousands of city residents to the toxic chemical, officials said."
"Global warming is on course to exceed the most stringent goal set in the Paris agreement by around 2040, threatening economic growth, according to a draft report that is the U.N.’s starkest warning yet of the risks of climate change."
"A Senate committee unanimously passed a spending bill Thursday with a non-binding provision taking aim at Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) chief Scott Pruitt for his recent ethics scandals."
"The Republican chairman of the Senate committee that oversees the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) wants to ensure that the agency’s internal watchdog office has the funding it needs."
"Scott Pruitt, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, is expected on Friday to send President Trump a detailed legal proposal to dramatically scale back an Obama-era regulation on water pollution, according to a senior E.P.A. official familiar with the plan. It is widely expected to be one of his agency’s most significant regulatory rollback efforts."
"House Republicans put forward a proposal this week to impose hefty fees on states that do not approve of drilling for oil and natural gas off their coasts, a move that would pressure local leaders who oppose the Trump administration’s plan to expand offshore leasing."
"Senior staff members at the Environmental Protection Agency frequently felt pressured by Scott Pruitt, the administrator, to help in personal matters and obtain special favors for his family, according to interviews with four current and former E.P.A. officials who served as top political aides to Mr. Pruitt."
"The Environmental Protection Agency is under unprecedented scrutiny, with an almost daily drip of news reports about regulatory rollbacks, questionable expenses by Administrator Scott Pruitt, and ethical scandals large and small ... . What’s a press office to do? In the EPA’s case, the answer has been to play offense."
"Kansas corn and ethanol leaders told Administrator Scott Pruitt Tuesday that his efforts to undermine the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) are helping Big Oil while hurting rural America. Administrator Pruitt was in the state touring the East Kansas Agri Energy LLC ethanol plant in Garnett."
"The Obama-era regulation is meant to curb leaks of methane, which is about 30 times more potent than carbon dioxide."
