Environment

CNN reports: The Supreme Court on Thursday limited the scope of environmental reviews of major infrastructure projects in a decision that could speed up approvals of highways, airports and pipelines. The decision is the latest setback for environmentalists at the conservative Supreme Court, which has in recent years shut down regulations intended to protect wetlands, for instance, and reduce air pollution wafting across …

The Texas Tribune reports: The Texas Legislature has given oil and gas companies legal cover to sell wastewater to be treated and released into the state’s rivers, lakes and streams. State Rep. Drew Darby’s [photo] House Bill 49 — on its way to Gov. Greg Abbott — marks a step the oil and gas industry has said is a key barrier …

NPR reports: Congress has voted to undo a Clean Air Act regulation that strictly controls the amount of toxic air pollutants emitted by many industrial facilities like oil refineries, chemical plants, and steel mills. The decision represents the first time since the creation of the landmark environmental law that Congress has rolled back its environmental protections. Environmental groups and public …

Florida Politics reports: Speaking in Tampa, DeSantis complained about benchmarks that can qualify states for federal dollars, explaining that to “change your behavior to get crumbs from the federal government” is not “something that you want to do.” “They did this infrastructure bill, and you get the bill and they try to give you money. But then you’ve got to …

The Washington Post report: The Environmental Protection Agency plans to rescind and reconsider limits on four different “forever chemicals” under a landmark drinking water standard implemented last year by President Joe Biden, according to documents reviewed by The Washington Post. The drinking water rules were adopted as part of the Biden administration’s efforts to limit public exposure to per- and …

Axios reports: Stop-start technology has become a common feature in new vehicles as a way to save a few bucks on gas and reduce emissions. Advocates like it because it helps combat climate change, but critics find it irritating. EPA administrator Lee Zeldin blasted stop-start systems in a post Monday on X, signaling that the agency would take action against …

The New York Times reports: The White House has ordered federal agencies to stop considering the economic damage caused by climate change when writing regulations, except in cases where it is “plainly required” by law. The directive effectively shelves a powerful tool that has been used for more than two decades by the federal government to weigh the costs and …

Government Executive reports: The Interior Department is finalizing reduction-in-force plans expected to target thousands of employees, including 1,500 at the National Park Service, with notices going out to employees within 10 days. The anticipated layoffs follow the departure of thousands of Interior employees leaving the department under various incentives. Interior earlier in May initiated a consolidation of several functions currently …

The New York Times reports: The Environmental Protection Agency plans to eliminate Energy Star, the popular energy efficiency certification for dishwashers, refrigerators, dryers and other home appliances, according to agency documents and a recording of an internal meeting. E.P.A. managers announced during a staff meeting on Monday that divisions that oversee climate change and energy efficiency would be eliminated as …

The Washington Post reports: The Trump administration has temporarily suspended an air-quality monitoring program at national parks across the country, according to an internal email obtained by The Washington Post and two people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the decision is not public. The program collects data on levels of harmful air pollutants, …

The New York Times reports: The Trump administration is set to cancel tens of millions of dollars in grants to scientists studying environmental hazards faced by children in rural America, among other health issues, according to internal emails written by senior officials at the Environmental Protection Agency. The planned cancellation of the research grants, which were awarded to scientists outside …

The Associated Press reports: The Trump administration has granted nearly 70 coal-fired power plants a two-year exemption from federal requirements to reduce emissions of toxic chemicals such as mercury, arsenic and benzene. A list quietly posted as of Tuesday on the Environmental Protection Agency’s website lists 47 power providers — which operate at least 66 coal-fired plants — that are …

The Washington Post reports: The Trump administration has removed environmental protections covering more than half of the land managed by the U.S. Forest Service as part of the president’s aim to significantly bolster the U.S. logging industry. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said “heavy-handed federal policies” have prevented the United States from making use of its “abundance of timber resources that …

The Guardian reports: The US could be plunged back into an era of toxic acid rain, an environmental problem thought to have been solved decades ago, due to the Donald Trump administration’s rollback of pollution protections, the scientist who discovered the existence of acid rain in North America has warned. A blitzkrieg launched by Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on …

CBS News reports: The U.S. beekeeping industry is in crisis over the shocking and unexplained deaths of hundreds of millions of bees over the last eight months. It’s an unfolding disaster for the industry. Blake Shook, one of the nation’s top beekeepers, has found tens of thousands of dead insects at his businesses. He said that he’s never seen losses …

NewsNation reports: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has set up a portal allowing polluters to request exemptions to nine Clean Air Act rules. The EPA posted online this week that it had set up an email address allowing companies to more easily request such presidential exemptions. The news comes after the EPA recently announced that it planned to roll back …

Politico reports: A list circulating inside the Energy Department suggests cutting funding for the development of four hydrogen production hubs in mostly Democratic-leaning states while maintaining funding for three hubs spread across mostly red states, three people familiar with the plan said Wednesday. The cuts, if carried through, would politicize the federal funds that Congress and the Biden administration awarded …

Courthouse News reports: A federal judge temporarily blocked the Environmental Protection Agency from suddenly canceling three multibillion-dollar clean energy grants on Tuesday. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan found that the EPA had likely violated the law by issuing identical termination letters to Climate United Fund, Coalition for Green Capital and Power Forward Communities, which said their grants were terminated, effective …

Bloomberg reports: US President Donald Trump said he would look to counter China’s economic advantage from coal-based electricity by authorizing his administration to ramp up production of power from the fossil fuel. It’s not clear what Trump was referring to or how his social media decree would affect US policy. Trump already signed an executive order declaring a national energy …

The New York Times reports: The Environmental Protection Agency plans to eliminate its scientific research arm, firing as many as 1,155 chemists, biologists, toxicologists and other scientists, according to documents reviewed by Democrats on the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology. The strategy is part of large-scale layoffs, known as a “reduction in force,” being planned by the Trump …