Worsening Drought Forces State of Emergency in Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico’s governor on Monday declared a state of emergency as a worsening drought creeps across the U.S. territory amid a coronavirus pandemic.
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water
Environmentalists Challenge Trump Rollback of Water Protections
Legal challenges continue to mount over the White House rolling back protections for America’s waterways, with the latest brought in the nation’s capital on Thursday.
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Justices Won’t Wade Into Fight Over Tribal Water Rights
Farmers won’t get paid for river water they lost out on during a drought in southern Oregon, because Native American tribes have water rights that rank above those of irrigators, stretching back to “time immemorial” — a ruling the U.S. Supreme Court refused to disturb on Monday.
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Pluto Likely Had Liquid Oceans After Quick and Violent Evolution
New research suggests that as Pluto formed billions of years ago, a series of natural materials impacting on the planetary surface may have created liquid oceans beneath the dwarf planet’s icy crust — oceans that may still exist to this day.
Read moreFlow Requirements
The California State Water Resources Control Board’s emergency orders during a drought, which set minimum water flow requirements for three tributaries of the Sacramento River, were not unreasonable or arbitrary, an appeals court in the state ruled. The orders were necessary to protect Chinook salmon and steelhead trout — two threatened fish species.
Read moreRivers Face ‘Ecological Collapse’ Amid Climate Change and Increasing Population
Rivers are the lifeblood of many communities and host some of the world’s most diverse ecosystems. They have also become increasingly strained in recent years due to damming, diversion and sediment mining coupled with climate change.
Read moreCalifornia and EPA Tussle Over Water-Quality Protections
Attorneys for 18 states and 2 major cities were in federal court Thursday asking a judge to grant a preliminary injunction that would prevent the Environmental Protection Agency from removing protections from temporary streams, wetlands and other minor water bodies.
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Sixth Circuit Hears Fight Over Obama-Era Clean Water Rule
A 2015 Environmental Protection Agency rule that expanded the definition of the waters of the United States was debated Thursday at the Sixth Circuit, as Ohio and Tennessee argued the since-repealed rule was unconstitutional and could still be put back into effect.
Read moreNinth Circuit Nixes US Bid to Revive Keystone XL Pipeline Permit Program
The Ninth Circuit on Thursday denied a request from the Trump administration to revive a permit program for oil and gas pipelines, serving yet another blow to the feds in a legal battle that originated with the long-disputed Keystone XL oil pipeline.
Read moreState and Local Officials Denied Immunity in Flint Water Suit
A Sixth Circuit panel on Friday upheld a federal judge’s denial of immunity to the city of Flint, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, and numerous other local and state officials in a class-action lawsuit brought by residents affected by the Flint water crisis.
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Judge Refuses to Divert Water for Endangered Salmon on Klamath River
Despite claims the federal government is pushing threatened Coho salmon closer to the brink of extinction by cutting off extra water flows to the Klamath River, a federal judge on Friday refused to intervene in the long-running water dispute.
Read morePFOA Contamination
The Second Circuit upheld the denial of Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics and Honeywell’s attempt to dismiss personal injury and property damage claims relating to a manufacturing facility that used perfluorooctanoic acid and contaminated the water supply in the Village of Hoosick Falls, New York.
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States to Sue EPA Over Chesapeake Bay Restoration Failures
A group of states and environmentalists said Monday they will sue the Environmental Protection Agency based on claims that a long-running plan to tackle pollution in Chesapeake Bay is not being enforced well enough to meet its 2025 goals.
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EPA to Deregulate Water Contaminant Tied to Brain Damage
The Environmental Protection Agency has reportedly decided to drop regulation of a water contaminant that’s been linked to brain damage in infants, though agency officials deny a final decision has been made.
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Federal Judge’s Order Protects California Trout
To protect the spring migration of threatened California trout species, a federal judge Monday halted the Trump administration’s bid to supply farmers with extra water from the West Coast’s largest estuary.
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Judge Throws Water on California Bid to Slow Delta Pumping
The judge said the case is too complex to rule on quickly in the middle of a pandemic.
Read moreEnvironment
The Wilderness Society et al. sued Interior Secretary David Bernhardt in federal court for renewing hardrock mining leases to Twin Metals Minnesota though the U.S. Forest Service has found they would damage the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.
Read moreCalifornia Appeals Court Revives Water-Pollution Lawsuit
A California appellate court has revived a lawsuit Wednesday from the city of Riverside who claim Black & Decker and several other companies contaminated the local drinking water with chemicals used to make explosive cartridges, flares and rocket fuel.
Read moreEnvironmental Groups Seek to Halt Minnesota Mining Project
A coalition of environmental advocates and outdoor outfitters renewed their push to stop a controversial mining project near Minnesota’s Boundary Waters in federal court on Wednesday.
Read moreContaminated Water
The United States is not a necessary party in the City of Riverside’s complaint alleging Black & Decker and other companies contaminated the city’s drinking water with perchlorate, an appeals court in California ruled, reviving a case that was stayed in federal court for several years before being dismissed by a trial court.
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