ENVIRONMENT POLICIES, ANALYSIS, AND RESOURCES
Latest Environment Posts
Judge Rules That Environmental Studies Are Not Required for Border Wall Construction Order in re: Border Infrastructure Environmental Legislation; Case 3:17-cv-01215-GPC-WVG
Earlier this month, U.S. District Court Judge Gonzalo Curiel ruled that the Trump Administration and the Department of Homeland Security have not exceeded their legal limits in waiving environmental reviews based on the REAL ID law of 2005. This Bush era law allows Federal agencies to waive previously required environmental reviews.
EPA Announces Remedy for West Lake Landfill Superfund Site
EPA Secretary Pruitt announced a proposed remedy for the West Lake Landfill in North Saint Louis County calling the site a top priority for the EPA. The project, named “Excavation Plus,” will remove most of the radioactive material that poses a public health threat and place a permanent cap and engineered cover system for long-term…
DOI Secretary Zinke Announces Offshore Oil Drilling Program [UPDATED]
Both officials and residents of California have come out in droves to push back against Zinke’s draft of the Offshore Oil Drilling Program. Protests have spanned the length of California, involving thousands of people. The protest in Sacramento preceded a Federal “open house,” which many are calling a peace offering for the lack…
Restoring the Rule of Law, Federalism, and Economic Growth by Reviewing the “Waters of the United States” Rule [UPDATED]
Almost a year after the announcement of its review, the Trump administration has formally suspended the “Waters of the United States” Rule. This suspension paves the way for this Administration’s version of the pollution regulating rules. The original Obama rule was up for implementation, and the documents filed on January 31…
Nominations for the EPA, NOAA and Environmental Policy Advisor Positions [UPDATED]
Over the last few weeks, Trump has submitted nominations for various environmental positions within the government. With these nominations, many are worried that the administration has the manpower it needs to roll back green energy initiatives and replace them with coal and fossil fuel programs. There have been four nominations…
Scientists Sue EPA and DOI Advisory Board Members Quit
Earlier this month, The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) and Protect Democracy sued EPA Secretary Pruitt for blocking scientists who receive EPA funding from being on advisory boards within the agency. Pruitt announced this unprecedented shift back in October 2017 without any window for public comment, citing a potential…
Increased Oversight on HHS Word hoice and EPA employees
In a recent budget preparation meeting, members of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), a subset of the Division of Health & Human Services (HHS), were informed that a list of seven words were not to be used in budgets and budget proposals. These seven words were “vulnerable,” “entitlement,” “diversity,” “transgender” …
Trump Announces Downsizing of Two National Monuments
Trump announced on Monday that he would reduce the size of two Utah national monuments, Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante, by about two million acres as recommended by Interior Secretary Zinke. The Bears Ears national monument was downsized by 85 percent and Grand Staircase-Escalante by 50 percent [see map], which is the…
White House Releases Report on Human Responsibility for Climate Change
Earlier this month, thirteen federal agencies published a report through the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) that claims humans are primarily responsible for global warming through the increased production of greenhouse gases in the last century. The White House has released this report, despite its direct…