"Plastics: The New Coal in Appalachia?"
"With the natural gas fracking boom, plastics production is spreading in the Ohio River Valley. But at what cost to health and climate?"
Source: InsideClimate News, 02/25/2019
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV)
"Turning Salt-Damaged Fields into Marshes Could Save Maryland Farmland"
"As sea levels rise, saltwater is entering farms near the bay, damaging crops and releasing legacy nutrients into already-polluted waterways. "
Source: Civil Eats, 02/22/2019
"Virginia Lawmakers Send Coal Ash Bill To Governor"
"Virginia lawmakers have approved legislation to require the state’s largest electric utility to excavate and clean up unlined coal ash pits."
Source: AP, 02/19/2019
"Pipelines: Pa. Suspends Energy Transfer's Permits"
"Energy Transfer, the company behind the Dakota Access pipeline and other controversial projects, has failed to fix problems that were uncovered after an explosion on one of its projects in Pennsylvania, state regulators said."
Source: EnergyWire, 02/12/2019
Delay in EPA Rule on Wood Stove Heating Fires Controversy
If a wood stove seems like a good solution to the winter’s bitter cold, you may want to think again. The unhealthful particulate pollution many such stoves generate has prompted new federal emission standards. But some states are pushing back, and the EPA is now considering a two-year delay in the new regulations. This week’s TipSheet has the latest news and why it matters, plus story ideas and reporting resources.
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"Chesapeake Falls To A D-Plus In Bay Foundation’S Annual Report Card"
"The Chesapeake Bay Foundation downgraded the health of the nation’s largest estuary Monday from a C-minus to a D-plus, blaming the dip in its latest report card on increased pollution from extraordinary amounts of rainfall in 2018."
Source: Bay Journal, 01/08/2019
"Plastic Straws Now Officially Banned In D.C."
"Add one more item to those “Out for 2019” lists : plastic straws. D.C. banned plastic straws in restaurants and other businesses effective Jan. 1, 2019, becoming the second major U.S. city to do so. Seattle made the change six months ago."
Source: WAMU, 01/03/2019
"Maryland Board Votes Against Natural Gas Pipeline Project"
"ANNAPOLIS, Md. — A board of high-ranking Maryland officials on Wednesday rejected a proposed pipeline across the western part of the state that would carry natural gas produced in Pennsylvania to West Virginia.
The Board of Public Works voted 3-0 against an easement for TransCanada’s pipeline. It would run under the Potomac River near Hancock, Maryland, and extend about 3 miles (4.8 kilometers) from Columbia Gas’ network in Pennsylvania to Mountaineer Gas’ distribution system in West Virginia.
Source: AP, 01/03/2019
Oversight on EPA FOIA Screening, Covering Pipeline Protests, Feedlot Air Emissions, Data on Illegal Fishing
The new year will likely mean subpoenas on EPA’s FOIA response policies, as a Democrat takes the chair in the House Oversight Committee amid charges the agency is choking off politically sensitive record requests. And are new laws in a dozen states making coverage of pipeline protests a felony? That, plus air emission exemptions for animal feedlot operators and data on illegal fishing. All in the latest issue of the WatchDog.
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2019 Journalists’ Guide to Energy & Environment
On January 25 in Washington DC, SEJ and the Wilson Center presented the 7th annual Journalists' Guide to Energy and Environment, where top reporters looked ahead at 2019's biggest stories to a packed house.
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