"A federal judge today [Wednesday] dismissed a third lawsuit challenging a far-reaching EPA restriction on advisory committee membership, likely dealing a fatal blow to opponents' hopes of overturning the policy anytime soon."
"New Jersey sued chemical giant DuPont on Wednesday seeking financial damages for widespread pollution that contaminated air, soil and water at four sites across the state and endangered the health of thousands, including residents of a Pompton Lakes neighborhood who have had to endure cancer-causing solvents beneath their homes for decades."
"A federal jury on Wednesday ordered Monsanto to pay more than $80 million in damages to a California man whose cancer it determined was partly caused by his use of the popular weedkiller Roundup."
"Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Tuesday directed Michigan’s environmental agency to develop drinking water standards for certain toxic industrial chemicals rather than waiting for updated federal guidelines."
"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says it is assessing two Superfund sites located in areas that have seen overwhelming floods in recent weeks."
"More than 1 million private wells that supply drinking water in mostly rural parts of the Midwest could face the risk of contamination from floodwater, posing a health concern that could linger long after the flooding subsides."
"After years of effort, scientists at the Fish and Wildlife Service had a moment of celebration as they wrapped up a comprehensive analysis of the threat that three widely used pesticides present to hundreds of endangered species, like the kit fox and the seaside sparrow."
The Society of Environmental Journalists is backing right-to-know lawsuits brought by journalism groups, and a collaborative press freedom tracker gets new funding. Meanwhile, at the Interior Department, one watchdog group angles for environmental impact statements on ANWR drilling, while others track possible conflicts of interest by the acting secretary. That and more in the latest WatchDog roundup.
SEJ's own James Bruggers, long-time member, former board member and president of the SEJ board, was the last full-time environmental reporter at a Kentucky newspaper when he left to join the InsideClimate News team. The New Yorker's Charles Bethea interviewed Bruggers and SEJ's E.D. Meaghan Parker for his story on the continued demise of newspapers and staffers reporting on coal country — and the innumerable costs of that lack of coverage.
"Environmental groups and women from Alaska and Louisiana say the Environmental Protection Agency has dragged its heels on issuing rules for oil spill dispersants, and they’re ready to sue to demand them."
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