Pollution

"In the decade since the record-breaking use of oil dispersants in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill response, science shows they’re dangerous, potentially deadly, and rarely useful. A new court case is forcing the US EPA to reconsider their use."

"Methane continues to escape at a high rate from oil and gas operations in the Permian Basin, according to an aerial survey released Tuesday that detected major methane plumes from 40% of 900 sites that were measured. The latest research conducted by the Environmental Defense Fund via helicopter during the first two weeks of November found that 14% of those plumes were the result of malfunctioning flares."

"Almost a decade after a Chalmette fuel plant admitted responsibility for most of the toxic sulfur dioxide emissions in St. Bernard Parish, federal regulators are taking steps that might finally force Louisiana and the plant to clear the air."

"Congress approved $11.3 billion to clean up abandoned mine lands in the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill, but environmental groups are worried that President Biden hasn’t chosen anyone to oversee how that money is spent on coal mines."

"Phyllis Taylor’s company is responsible for the longest-running oil spill in U.S. history. That’s been a disaster for the Gulf of Mexico — but a tax bonanza for Taylor."

"HAROLD, Ky.—Along the winding, two lane road that leads to Tracy Neece’s mountain, there’s no hint of the huge scars in the hills beyond the oaks and the pines. "

"Plans to use billions of infrastructure dollars to clean up and redevelop long-neglected brownsfield waste sites may cause unintended harm to low-income neighborhoods, advocates warned a House panel Wednesday."

"Toxic Superfund sites vulnerable to flooding, hurricanes and wildfires driven by climate change should be prioritized for cleanup with funds from a tax on polluting industries reinstated in the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure plan approved by Congress last month, two environmental watchdog organizations urge in a new report."

"A small town in southern Utah wanted to suppress dust on its roads. Not everyone was pleased."

"Starving manatees will soon be fed by hand in Florida, a rare ... intervention to save the marine mammals whose natural food is vanishing from the effects of pollution, state officials told Reuters."