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An Insider review found that his company has sold to foreign governments, including a $228 million dollar contract. What Mills didn't advertise was Pacem's munitions contracts with foreign governments. The company's chief legal officer Joseph Schmitz said all of Pacem's foreign munitions sales are approved by the Department of State. Mills's influence over American military spending while having ties to a munitions company poses the potential for conflicts of interest, an ethics watchdog said. In Congress, Mills sits on the House Foreign Affairs and Armed Services committees, which oversee military spending and foreign weapons sales.

The Environmental Protection Agency order requires Norfolk Southern to submit a work plan for EPA approval for the clean up associated with the Feb. 3 derailment. Norfolk Southern shares were down 1.6% on Tuesday afternoon and have slid almost 11% since Feb. 3. Norfolk Southern did not immediately reply for a request for comment on Shapiro's remarks. Although no fatalities or injuries have been reported, residents have been demanding answers about health risks and blaming Norfolk Southern, state and federal officials for a lack of information regarding the crash. Norfolk Southern said it had consulted with town leaders and was worried about the safety of its employees if they did attend.

The comments by the head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) were echoed by President Joe Biden later on Tuesday. The EPA also ordered that Norfolk Southern officials attend town meetings about the Feb. 3 spill in East Palestine, Ohio. The EPA order requires Norfolk Southern to submit a work plan for EPA approval for the cleanup associated with the derailment. Norfolk Southern shares closed down 1.6% on Tuesday and have slid almost 11% since Feb. 3. Norfolk Southern did not immediately reply to a request for comment on Shapiro's remarks.

☆ Alabama’s Weekslong Landfill Fire Prompts Locals to Report Illnesses
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( Arian Campo-Flores | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A blaze ignited in the landfill near Moody, Ala., in late November for reasons that authorities say remain unclear. A fire that has been burning for nearly two months in a landfill northeast of Birmingham, Ala., has drawn complaints of headaches and nosebleeds from many residents, some of whom say they have moved away temporarily. The Environmental Protection Agency stepped in last week at the request of the Alabama Department of Environmental Management, or ADEM, to try to extinguish it. Kay Ivey declared a limited state of emergency on Wednesday.

☆ With Great Salt Lake at rock bottom, lawmakers aim for rescue
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-21 | by ( Evan Bush | Evan Bush Is A Science Reporter For Nbc News. He Can Be Reached At Evan.Bush Nbcuni.Com. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Water volume on the Great Salt Lake has dropped by more than two-thirds since pioneers once settled the Salt Lake Valley. Much of the lake surface is now exposed. Photographs of empty marinas and the cracking crust of the lake’s surface often illustrate the lake’s decline. The rivers and streams that feed The Great Salt Lake are overallocated, which means farmers and other water users collectively have rights to more water than what typically flows through each year. Spencer Cox last November closed the Great Salt Lake basin to appropriations for new water uses, effectively capping the line of water users wanting to use what flows into the lake.

☆ Aiming to cut emissions, New York to collect over $1 billion with big polluter permits
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 10 (Reuters) - New York will implement a program that sets an annual cap on pollution throughout its economy to lower emissions while aiming to bring in more than $1 billion a year, Governor Kathy Hochul said as part of her 2023 State of the State address on Tuesday. "Big emitters will have to purchase permits to sell polluting fuels. New York Governor Kathy Hochul speaks during a campaign rally with other New York Democrats, in Yonkers, New York, U.S., November 6, 2022. New York is among the 12 northeastern states participating in a cap-and-invest style program, the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, since 2005, which has helped halve power plant emissions and raised nearly $6 billion, it said. Reporting by Deep Vakil in Bengaluru; Editing by Aurora EllisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Mississippi agency denies NAACP’s water discrimination claim
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

A Mississippi environmental regulator has denied claims that the state agency he leads discriminated against the capital city of Jackson in its distribution of federal funds for wastewater treatment. Most of Jackson lost running water for several days, and people had to wait in lines for water to drink, cook, bathe and flush toilets. The EPA announced on Oct. 20 that it was investigating whether Mississippi state agencies discriminated against the state’s majority-Black capital city by refusing to fund improvements to the water system. EPA Administrator Michael Regan has visited Jackson multiple times and has said “longstanding discrimination” has contributed to the decline of the city’s water system. The federal agency could withhold money from Mississippi if it finds wrongdoing — potentially millions of dollars.

☆ New York is the first state to ban certain types of crypto mining—here's what to know
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Cheyenne Devon | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

New York just became the first state to ban certain types of cryptocurrency mining in an effort to address environmental worries over the energy-intensive process. The new law temporarily freezes the issuance and renewal of air permits to companies that have transformed some of the state's oldest fossil fuel plants into cryptocurrency mining hubs. Mining crypto can produce harmful emissions by generating electricity through burning coal, natural gas and other fossil fuels. However, as companies flocked to the region, climate advocates began ringing the alarm over crypto mining's potential environmental harm. On a national level, U.S. crypto mining produced about 25 to 50 million metric tons of carbon pollution according to a White House report.

☆ A new children’s book about glaciers aims to make activism second nature
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Terry Ward | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN: What do you think might surprise young readers to learn about glaciers in the book? Sanchez: To keep it relevant to young readers, I keep bringing the focus back to the animals that depend on glaciers. CNN: What are some of the tools your book gives young readers to take action to save the glaciers? CNN: What’s the most important message you hope young readers will take away from your book? They really need to be active, and there are so many things they can do.

☆ EXCLUSIVE Cheniere seeks 18 months to upgrade LNG turbines that failed pollution tests-document
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Nichola Groom | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Cheniere is one of only two LNG providers with turbines subject to the rule, according to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) data. He asked the state for 18 months to make changes to and retest the turbines. In the meantime, the company said it would take steps to minimize formaldehyde emissions, including taking a turbine offline or replacing components. In September, Cheniere submitted test results to Texas regulators that showed formaldehyde emissions at that facility were well below the EPA threshold. Cheniere has big plans to expand the Texas and Louisiana plants in coming years.

☆ U.S. EPA opens civil rights probe into Mississippi capital's water crisis
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Daniel Trotta | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Oct 20 (Reuters) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday opened an investigation into Mississippi state agencies to determine if they violated civil rights in the majority Black city of Jackson in the course of funding of the city's water infrastructure. Representatives of those two departments and the office of Governor Tate Reeves did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment. Even before that crisis, the city had been under a boil water notice due to "elevated turbidity levels," meaning the water appear cloudy. That followed a string of disruptions to the city's water supply in recent years caused by high lead levels, bacterial contamination and storm damage. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Daniel Trotta; Editing by Aurora EllisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The civil rights organization alleged that the state’s rollout of federal dollars has favored whiter communities, even as Jackson has struggled to comply with state and federal guidelines meant to protect drinking water quality. The NAACP’s federal complaint raises concerns about a loan program overseen by the state Department of Health that distributes federal funding to communities to improve their water systems. Problems with water billing and collections have also resulted in Jackson missing out on sorely needed revenue that could go toward repairs. The EPA’s inquiry comes just days after the launch of a congressional investigation concerning the city’s water crisis. Reps. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., and Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., have asked Reeves to answer a series of questions about how the state has spent or plans to spend federal funds that can upgrade water systems in the state.

☆ Mississippi Faces EPA Probe of Jackson Water Supply Cutoff
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Adolfo Flores | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday said it has launched an investigation into whether Mississippi state agencies discriminated against the mostly Black city of Jackson by not funding improvements to its crumbling water system. The investigation is in response to a complaint filed with the EPA against the Mississippi Department of Health and the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality by the NAACP on behalf of nine Jackson residents who went without running water late this summer.

Oakridge's air quality index was 487, in the hazardous category, according to the federal airnow.gov website. The air quality index measures a combination of ozone and particulate pollution in the air. In Oregon, smoke from numerous fires has been held close to the ground by a weather system, he said. Rain expected on Friday throughout the region was expected to aid firefighting efforts and improve air quality. The federal government's InciWeb wildfire information site shows more than two dozen wildfires currently burning in Washington and Oregon.

☆ Duke Energy is one of the top leakers of a gas that is 25,000 times more polluting than carbon dioxide, EPA records show
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Phil Mckenna | Inside Climate News | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +22 min

The emissions were equal to the annual greenhouse gas emissions of more than 59,000 automobiles, according to the EPA’s greenhouse gas equivalency calculator. Under such a scenario Duke Energy would likely have years of low emissions punctuated by a single year of high emissions. While other utilities have participated for decades in a voluntary program with the EPA to reduce SF6 emissions to next to nothing, Duke Energy has not. Brooks said Duke Energy is also targeting its most leaky equipment for faster replacement. The figure is roughly half of 1% of all greenhouse gas emissions worldwide, far smaller than yearly emissions of carbon dioxide, the primary driver of climate change.

An LNG tanker is guided by tug boats at the Cheniere Sabine Pass LNG export unit in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, U.S., April 14, 2022. “Our turbine engineers determined a repair could improve the emission performance of the turbine," Robert Gray, senior environmental coordinator for the Sabine Pass plant, wrote. EPA spokesperson Tim Carroll said "the agency will work with Cheniere to assure they meet Clean Air Act obligations." Colin Cox, an attorney with the Environmental Integrity Project, said it was important for Cheniere to monitor the turbines to ensure continuous compliance moving forward. Louisiana and Texas regulators are responsible for overseeing compliance with federal clean air laws and regulations for facilities in their respective states.

One of two state agencies responsible for pushing out millions of dollars in federal infrastructure funds said it could be at least mid-to-late 2023 before any allocations roll out. Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba, a Democrat, has said the price tag to overhaul the city’s water infrastructure could balloon into the billions. This year, the Mississippi Legislature created a $450 million water infrastructure funding program with money the state received through the Congressional Covid relief package that passed in 2021. The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality is administering the Clean Water State Revolving Fund program. Sam Mozee, director of the Mississippi Urban Research Center at Jackson State University, says his team is tracking what happens with funding going forward.

☆ Rainwater is no longer safe to drink anywhere on Earth due to 'forever chemicals' linked to cancer, study suggests
▼ + stars: | 2022-08-13 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Rainwater around the world contains levels of "forever chemicals" unsafe to drink, a study suggests. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are linked to cancer and pervade homes and environments. That's because rainwater across the planet now contains hazardous chemicals called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. Both substances' levels in rainwater "often greatly exceed" EPA limits, the study authors concluded. "Although in the industrial world we don't often drink rainwater [directly], many people around the world expect it to be safe to drink, and it supplies many of our drinking water sources," Cousins added.

☆ Nearly half of bald and golden eagles in the US have chronic lead poisoning, most likely from bullet fragments
▼ + stars: | 2022-02-17 | by ( Aria Bendix | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Nearly half of bald and golden eagles in the US have chronic lead poisoning, a study found. Of that sample, 47% of bald eagles and 46% of golden eagles had signs of chronic lead poisoning. The researchers estimated that lead poisoning slowed the annual population growth of bald eagles by 4% and golden eagles by 1%. Neither golden eagles nor bald eagles are endangered species. Up to 33% of bald eagles and up to 35% of golden eagles in the study showed signs of acute lead poisoning.

Persons: —, Todd Katzner, Mike McTee What's, Katzner, hadn't, Vince Slabe, Slabe Organizations: Eagles, Service, Geological Survey, Raptor Center, University of Minnesota, Conservation Science, California Department of Fish, New York Department of Environmental, Alaska Department of Health and Social Services Locations: Alaska, Florida, Maine, California, New York Department of Environmental Conservation

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