"The Minnesota Supreme Court has agreed to hear PolyMet Mining Inc.’s appeal of a ruling that canceled three permits needed for its proposed copper-nickel mine in northeastern Minnesota."
"The Minnesota Court of Appeals sent an air-emissions permit for the PolyMet copper-nickel mine back to state regulators for further review on Monday, giving another victory to environmental groups who oppose the project."
SEJournal welcomes back from hiatus our WatchDog feature, now recast as an opinion column from Joseph A. Davis, Society of Environmental Journalists’ veteran freedom of information advocate and longtime SEJournal contributor. In part one of a two-parter, find out why we’re relaunching the new column, plus get Davis’ take on government openness (or lack thereof) around coronavirus, as well as more on SEJ’s deep commitment to open information and a rundown of its recent FOI activities. And watch for part two next week.
"Climate change is causing record high water levels in the Great Lakes basin only years after record lows, battering coastal communities and fundamentally changing aquatic ecosystems."
"The Minnesota Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld Winona County’s ban on the mining and processing of silica sand, which is used in the oil and gas industry for hydraulic fracturing."
"Indiana’s coal bill is heading to the governor’s desk as legislation that would extend the life of the state’s coal-fired power plants for a year — following a seesaw battle between lawmakers over its major tenets."
"The Lake Erie Bill of Rights was invalidated Thursday night by U.S. District Judge Jack Zouhary, who said in an eight-page ruling that his decision was “not a close call” because he believes the citizen-led referendum — though approved by a majority of Toledo voters in a special election last year — “is unconstitutionally vague and exceeds the power of municipal government in Ohio.”
"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has launched a hazardous waste investigation at a sprawling former oil refinery in northwestern Indiana that was shuttered in 1973 and later was the scene of a major fire."
Hundreds of U.S. dams are at risk, and the Associated Press undertook a massive two-year-long investigative reporting project to gather and sort data that would identify those presenting the greatest hazards. In this guest Reporter’s Toolbox, AP data journalist Michelle Minkoff details the news service’s painstaking process, its striking findings and the impact of its reporting. Plus, key lessons learned for other data news projects.
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