Environmental Health

"The Trump administration is chasing down fewer environmental crimes than any administration since the mid-1990s, according to new data from an independent research group."

"In March 2017, a politically connected oil firm called Cimarex Energy Co. was in a hurry to begin fracking on a flat expanse of farmland in the western Oklahoma oil patch."

"A previously undisclosed E. coli outbreak linked to romaine lettuce sickened nearly two dozen people between July and early September, the Food and Drug Administration said Thursday — a delayed announcement one food safety lawyer called a “lie to the public in all respects.”"

"Business and industry representatives appointed to a controversial regulatory oversight board by former Republican Gov. Rick Snyder helped temporarily slow down advancing drinking water standards that would limit allowable levels of toxic fluorochemicals called PFAS in Michigan drinking water if enacted."

"Air pollution in New Delhi and surrounding towns reached the worst levels so far this year on Sunday, with authorities in the world’s most polluted capital city having already declared a public health emergency and ordered the closure of schools."

"Nearly 50 different Democratic requests for documents have been unanswered by departments and agencies that oversee President Trump’s science and environment policies, lawmakers say, underscoring the brick wall the administration has put up against congressional oversight."

"Jasper Davis stoops to tilt a plastic bottle under a drip of water that's trickling from a crack in the mountainside. 'Tastes better than what the city water does,' he says. 'Way better.'"

"The Trump administration is expected to roll back an Obama-era regulation meant to limit the leaching of heavy metals like arsenic, lead and mercury into water supplies from the ash of coal-fired power plants, according to two people familiar with the plans."

"Two environmental groups sued the Trump administration on Wednesday over its plan to open up more than 720,000 acres (291,370 hectares) of federal land in California for oil and gas development."

"The Grand Canyon Centennial Protection Act, which passed the House today [Wednesday] by a vote of 236–185, would permanently withdraw more than 1 million acres of public lands surrounding the Grand Canyon from new mining claims."