Laws & Regulations

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has slightly relaxed some requirements for secrecy on decisions it makes on "critical energy infrastructure."

Consumers who want to choose milk produced without the use of artificial hormones are out of luck - if they live in Pennsylvania. That is not a choice the state will allow them.

Shirley E. Scheier, a University of Washington fine-arts professor, was handcuffed, frisked, and detained for 44 minutes when she took some art photos of powerlines against the sky in Snohomish County, Washington.

The Smithsonian Institution, a federal agency with many environment-related research and public education activities, opposes a Congressional move that would subject it to the same open-records law that applies to other executive branch agencies.

Concerns over emissions from formaldehyde in pressed-wood products have been building for many years. California's new rules addressing the problem went into effect Jan. 1, 2009. Now EPA is looking at following suit.

The Energy Department in December 2008 published an 11th-hour proposed amendment to the Bush administration's secrecy rules that shroud the policies that brought Americans Enron, California blackouts, and $4 gasoline.

Environmental policy, legislation, and regulation are likely to be different under the Obama administration than the Bush administration. It's difficult to know yet what the priorities will be, or what shifts will occur. This is the first half of potential topics for journalists to keep an eye on.

Environmental policy, legislation, and regulation are likely to be different under the Obama administration than the Bush administration. It's difficult to know yet what the priorities will be, or what shifts will occur. This is the second half of potential topics for journalists to keep an eye on.

Scientists advising the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on air pollution issues are criticizing EPA higher-ups for ignoring their scientific counsel. Specifically, they are accusing the Bush Administration of excising science from the process the agency uses to determine how clean the air we breathe should be. The Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) challenges EPA administrator Stephen L. Johnson.

On Oct. 2, the National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act turns 40. How are your local rivers faring? Here's a collection of ideas, sources, and resources for river-related stories.