"The Interior Department said it would fast-track the permitting process for a uranium mine in Utah as part of President Trump’s plan to shorten environmental reviews and speed the construction of certain types of energy projects." "An environmental review of the project, known as Velvet-Wood, would normally take roughly a year. The government says it will complete the process in two weeks."
"The Trump administration has moved to end federal protections for the lesser prairie chicken, a showy grouse with the misfortune of inhabiting southern and central grasslands long sought-after for agriculture and energy development."
"BILLINGS, Mont. — An asbestos screening clinic in a small Montana town where thousands have been sickened by toxic dust from a nearby mine has been abruptly shuttered by authorities following a court order to seize the clinic’s assets to pay off a judgment to the railroad BNSF."
With wildfires becoming more extreme in every way, reporters covering them face new challenges along with familiar hazards. A pair of experienced wildfire journalists and others on the front lines offer advice on dealing with access restrictions, on-the-ground dangers, toxic exposure risks and traumatized survivors — as climate change speeds up the news cycle and misinformation muddies the reporting landscape.
"Evacuating the Tahoe basin in summer could take 14 hours, and 99% of properties in South Lake Tahoe are at risk — yet new resorts are being built in high-danger fire areas."
Industry experts and government regulators have long known that radionuclides reside in oil and natural gas. Yet radioactive emissions and waste continue to threaten the lives of workers and community members across the country. Investigative journalist Justin Nobel on the opportunities and urgent need for reporters to drill into a story steeped in questions of accountability, health and justice.
"Utah could become the first state to ban fluoride in its drinking water, alarming public health experts and dentists who note the mineral’s role in reducing tooth decay across the nation. The Republican-controlled statehouse sent the legislation to Gov. Spencer Cox (R) last week after both chambers passed it largely along party lines."
"The Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho have long fought for water sovereignty on the Wind River Indian Reservation, but their effort is being challenged by federal legislation and a changing water landscape."
"Shipments of uranium ore from a revived mining operation just south of the Grand Canyon are expected to resume in February after the Navajo Nation reached a settlement with the mining company, clearing the way for trucks to transport the ore across the largest Native American reservation in the U.S."
"The Great Salt Lake is shrinking, and new research published Tuesday reports that saving it requires reducing the amount of farmland that is irrigated in the region."
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