"At a virtual public comment hearing hosted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday, a long line of environmental advocates voiced strong opposition to proposed new regulations weakening requirements that utilities must follow in cleaning up toxic coal ash residue at hundreds of sites across the country at which coal was burned to produce electricity."
"Illinois lawmakers last week passed a new law establishing more robust requirements for monitoring per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances — better known as PFAS “forever chemicals” — in wastewater discharges at major facilities across the state. The deciding 64-34 House vote came just days after the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed rescinding limits for select toxic PFAS compounds in drinking water — a decision that environmental advocates, and the Illinois EPA, immediately rebuffed."
"The Interior Department unveiled Thursday the first iteration of a new public tool for mapping federal lands and waters, rolling out a unified “national map” with boundaries used by five agencies."
"Nearly 3 million Cubans experience water shortages every day because of a severe oil shortage that government officials blame on a U.S. energy blockade, authorities said late Wednesday during a roundtable discussion regarding the impact of the ongoing blockade."
"The war over forever chemicals in cookware has seen celebrity chefs, major cookware makers, and state legislatures enter into battle. Now, a new front has opened over advertising claims."
"A new Trump administration plan to ditch Pfas drinking water regulations and instead attempt to destroy “forever chemicals” on a wide scale tears a page from the fossil fuel industry’s carbon capture playbook, and will benefit the industry while harming public health."
"The Interior Department plans to expand hunting and fishing access across national parks and wildlife refuges." "The hunting and fishing expansions would occur at refuges in 32 states, while Interior also removed some restrictions on hunting at certain national parks."
"Artificial intelligence is making it easier for bad actors to initiate cyberattacks on water infrastructure, yet the water sector remains inadequately prepared, a panel of experts told lawmakers Thursday." "House lawmakers are considering whether more funding or expanded EPA authority could address the problem."
"During his yearlong tenure leading the Food and Drug Administration, Marty Makary managed to bother various constituencies, but it was fruit-flavored vapes that apparently sealed his fate."
"The Trump administration has fired the two leaders of an influential health group that determines when insurance must provide free preventive care, like mammograms and colonoscopies, for millions of Americans."
