Laws & Regulations

"A federal appeals court upheld the government’s new coal dust exposure rule for coal miners Monday, rejecting industry challenges to it."

"A U.S. activist featured in the Oscar-winning documentary "The Cove", about a gory Japanese dolphin hunt, has been detained in Japan and said on Tuesday he was a political prisoner for his efforts to save dolphins."

"The Supreme Court on Monday ruled that federal regulators may encourage electricity users like schools, hospitals and shopping centers to reduce consumption at peak times in exchange for price breaks. The regulatory approach, known as “demand response,” lowers costs for consumers and lessens the risk of system failures that can cause blackouts."

"Attorney General Bill Schuette on Monday appointed former Wayne County Assistant Prosecutor Todd Flood to lead an investigation into the Flint water crisis, but some are questioning his impartiality due to past political donations, including to Gov. Rick Snyder."

"A new generation of chemicals added to furniture, building insulation and baby products like car seats to slow the spread of flames are escaping into air at higher levels than previously thought, according to a new study out of Washington state."

"SEATTLE — A proposed pipeline-expansion project in Canada will put the fishing rights and cultural heritage of U.S. tribes at risk, a lawyer representing several Washington state tribes told Canadian energy regulators."

"Federal officials must re-examine a 117 million-ton expansion of a Montana coal mine after a judge sided with environmentalists who sued over the project’s potential to make climate change worse and cause other environmental damage."

"More than 400 facilities holding huge storehouses of natural gas get little regulatory oversight as their infrastructure ages."

"A German newspaper has reported that the use of "defeat device" software to cheat on U.S. emissions laws was widespread knowledge within the diesel-engine group at Volkswagen headquarters in Wolfsburg, Germany."

"In a big victory for the Obama administration, a U.S. federal court on Thursday rejected a bid by 27 states to block its Clean Power Plan, the centerpiece of its strategy to combat climate change by reducing carbon emissions from power plants."