For decades, federal law has required environmental impact statements for big federal actions, like the building of dams, highways and more. Those impact statements, a valued reporting tool, may now be under threat. This week’s TipSheet explains how journalists can find them and use them, and why they could be at risk.
"Just days after helping orchestrate the United States’ exit from a global climate accord last June, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt embarked on a whirlwind tour aimed at championing President Trump’s agenda at home and abroad. On Monday, June 5, accompanied by his personal security detail, Pruitt settled into his $1,641.43 first-class seat for a short flight from the District to New York City."
"Forestry experts have a dire warning for California: the conditions are ripe for more catastrophic fire seasons like the one last fall. And an arcane federal funding arrangement is making it a lot harder for forestry officials to do something about it. Instead of fixing the problem, however, Congress just punted — again."
"A bipartisan group of 19 Western governors said Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke did not consult with them about major plans for reorganizing the agency, and have asked him to delay implementing the proposal until he speaks with them."
"The top Democrat on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee sent a letter to the head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Tuesday, calling into question a dramatic decrease in grant funding awarded by the agency in the past year."
"A climate-denying coal lobbyist is close to becoming the agency's deputy administrator." The Senate Environment Committee expects to vote on the nomination today.ats sounding the alarm?"
Somewhere near you is a toxic waste site. And as the EPA brings the Superfund cleanup program back into its sights, TipSheet helps you cover this perpetual problem. Info on cleanup funding and priority-setting, resources to locate nearby sites, questions to ask to dig into your Superfund story and more.
"A small but vitally important program within the Environmental Protection Agency is in a fight for its life. The Integrated Risk Information System, or IRIS, is the only division of the EPA that independently assesses the toxicity of chemicals."
"The White House has withdrawn its controversial nominee to head the Council on Environmental Quality, Kathleen Hartnett White, whose selection failed to gather momentum with some Senate Republicans raising questions about her expertise."
After an EPA Superfund settlement was rebuffed by a small town, a local environmental advocate goes to jail while executives behind a chemical plant contamination remain free. In the latest Q&A for our Inside Story column, we hear from investigative reporter Sharon Lerner of The Intercept about the complex challenges of telling this award-winning tale.
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