Pollution

"The EPA’s program for cleaning up the nation’s hazardous waste dumps has a backlog of sites that lack funding—the largest in 15 years."

"The EPA plans to decide the fate of a Texas oil and gas wastewater discharge plan the same day it closes public comment on the proposal, sparking concern from environmentalists that the agency is rushing to finalize the move in the waning days of the Trump administration."

"Blazes at the imperiled hazardous waste sites could release toxins ranging from acid mine drainage to radioactive smoke."

"As the mother of five asthmatic children, Charday Urey knows the drill. When an EPA air quality index tips into the "unhealthy" zone, she closes the windows, turns on the air conditioner and keeps her kids indoors."

"State prosecutors have announced they will not pursue felony charges against two New Orleans environmental activists who left plastic pellets on the doorstep of a chemical industry lobbyist."

"Ohio lawmakers faced fierce blowback last winter over a bill that would escalate criminal charges on fossil fuel protesters and threaten religious organizations or nonprofits that support such demonstrations with crushing fines."

"Some Hopi families don’t have running water. Many others have water tainted with arsenic. Steps toward fixes are finally taking shape."

"MISHONGNOVI — At the end of a dusty road, beside two water tanks in the desert shrubs, a windmill spins in the breeze.

From a spigot, water flows through a blue hose and gushes into a bucket.

When the water reaches the brim, Kayla Johnson heaves the bucket into the back of her family’s car. Her younger brother, Terron, holds the hose and keeps the stream running into a 5-gallon jug.