Pollution

"MADISON, Wis. -- Federal transportation officials have ordered a Houston-based energy transportation company not to re-open a pipeline after it ruptured and leaked oil into a Wisconsin field."

"Owners of one of the nation’s largest impoundments of the often-toxic byproducts of burning coal must do more to protect residents from groundwater contamination and stop accepting waste by 2016, under an agreement with Pennsylvania regulators."

"CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Dealing another blow to the Obama administration's crackdown on mountaintop removal, a federal judge on Tuesday threw out new federal guidance that aimed to reduce water pollution from Appalachian coal mining operations."

"A byproduct of the ongoing heat wave, increased smog, may ultimately bring more and longer-lasting annoyance than the heat itself. The heat wave will eventually break, but Wichita’s smog reports probably already have been damaged to the extent of triggering some mandatory -- and potentially costly and inconvenient -- pollution controls like those in other big cities."

"Canada's Enbridge Inc. on Sunday raced to repair a major pipeline that spilled more than 1,000 barrels of oil in a Wisconsin field, provoking fresh ire from Washington over the latest in a series of leaks."

"BILLINGS, Mont. -- Environmentalists filed notice Wednesday that they plan to sue the six companies that co-own eastern Montana's Colstrip power plant over alleged pollution violations."

"The Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday approved a first-of-its-kind program to cut phosphorus levels in Wisconsin's lakes, rivers and streams."

"A settlement reached between environmentalists, the state's pollution regulators and the state's largest steel mill raises questions about the agency's actions -- and invites scrutiny of its leader."

"Thousands of people consume fish from Washington, D.C.’s highly polluted Anacostia River, despite safety warnings."

For years, controversy has been raging over what little 'science' there is on questions related to the environmental and health impacts of the hydraulic fracturing boom. The scientific controversies may be a proxy for the conflict over the gas-extraction method itself. Billions of dollars are at stake, the debate is getting ever more intense, and its intensity challenges the objectivity of scientists, government regulators, and journalists.