SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN)

"An environmental group is demanding that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency take emergency actions to reduce chloroprene emissions at the Denka Performance Elastomer manufacturing plant in LaPlace and ethylene oxide emissions at two nearby chemical plants, charging that EPA’s own data show nearby minority and low-income residents of St. John the Baptist Parish face the highest risk of cancer in the country."

"In a political culture where bipartisan legislation is a rare species, lawmakers in one state have come together to agree major new conservation efforts that will help that other endangered animal – the Florida panther."

"The Environmental Protection Agency said Thursday that it was weighing whether a controversial refinery on St. Croix posed “an imminent risk to people’s health” after a third accident in the span of three months sickened local residents and forced three schools to close."

"A Tennessee gravel and sand mining operator has been ignoring a cease and desist letter for months, and opponents say its continued construction on the banks of North America’s most biodiverse river may already be harming wildlife."

"A novel lawsuit is taking advantage of a local ‘rights of nature’ measure passed in November in effort to protect wetlands".

"Brad Robinson's eyes roll upward in thought as he counts them out — his mother, father, grandmother, his father-in-law and more. 'All of 'em,' he said. 'Died of cancer, and we never knew why.'"

"A giant oil and gas refinery was served with a “notice of violation” by the Environmental Protection Agency following two major accidents that released noxious fumes and a chemical-filled vapor cloud over nearby neighborhoods in the U.S. Virgin Islands."

"The first release of genetically modified mosquitoes in the United States began this week in the Florida Keys -- the culmination of a decade-long effort by local mosquito control authorities to see if a genetically modified organism is a viable alternative to spraying insecticides in the region."