by Michael Bastasch President Donald Trump signed a pair of executive orders aimed at speeding up oil and gas pipeline permitting, including limiting the ability of activists and states to block key energy projects. Trump signed the orders Wednesday at an International Union of Operating Engineers’ training center near…
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by Chris White Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler criticized the Obama administration’s handling of Flint’s lead water problems and promised Wednesday he is going to avoid making the same mistakes. “Part of the problem with Flint was there was a breakdown in once they got the data, once…
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by Michael Bastasch Mandy Gunasekara served two years as a top Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) adviser, but now is leaving the government to be an advocate for President Donald Trump’s agenda. “There is a void out there of folks who can understand and have the pertinent experience to talk…
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by Michael Bastach Environmentalists kicked off the new year with a campaign to derail the nomination of Andrew Wheeler, President Donald Trump’s pick to head the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). “Make no mistake — to protect our health, planet, economy, and national security we must #StopWheeler from being permanently…
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by Michael Bastasch The Trump administration proposed rolling back Obama-era regulation that opponents called a de facto ban on building new coal-fired power plants. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will raise carbon dioxide emissions limits for new coal-fired power plants and eliminate the Obama administration’s mandate that new facilities…
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by Michael Bastasch Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler suggested the Obama administration told the authors of the latest National Climate Assessment (NCA) to emphasize “worst-case” global warming predictions. “And I don’t know this for a fact — I wouldn’t be surprised if the Obama administration told…
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by Michael Bastasch The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will not be providing any near-term relief to manufacturers burdened by Obama-era regulations on glider kits, two sources familiar with the matter told The Daily Caller News Foundation. EPA Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler told EPA staffers Wednesday he would not be…
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The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said Tuesday that it would waive environmental laws so it could build gates between sections of border barriers in South Texas’ Rio Grande Valley. The waiver posted online lists 11 locations where the government plans to install gates in existing fencing. DHS has in…
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by Michael Bastasch Republicans senators asked the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to review its implementation of a key provision of the Clean Water Act being used by states to block energy projects. “We ask that you work with other federal agencies to determine whether new clarifying guidance or regulations…
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by Michael Bastach The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) paid $14.5 million to foreign nationals to work at agency laboratories over the past 11 years that could have been awarded to U.S. citizens and permanent residents, according to federal investigators. EPA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) found the agency’s cooperative…
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by Evie Fordham The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) shed approximately 1,200 jobs as roughly 1,600 employees departed and less than 400 new employees were hired during President Donald Trump’s first year and a half in office. Departing employees included “at least 260 scientists, 185 ‘environmental protection specialists’ and 106…
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by Tim Pearce Federal investigators are probing into a 2017 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) report that claimed refurbished trucks emitted significantly more pollution than new models. The EPA Office of Inspector General (OIG) announced Tuesday that it would look into allegations that EPA officials improperly colluded with truck manufacturer Volvo to…
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by Tim Pierce The Department of the Interior (DOI) is scrapping an Obama-era policy mandating energy companies mitigate development on federal land by funding offsite environmental projects. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) — a DOI-controlled agency and the largest land-owning agency in the U.S. — began forcing oil,…
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by Michael Bastasch The battle over the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) plan to repeal an Obama-era regulation has been reignited. The Sierra Club, Environmental Defense Fund and Center for Biological Diversity sued EPA on Tuesday to prevent the agency from repealing regulations on refurbished truck engines, called glider kits. Their suit…
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by Michael Bastach A regulation to strictly limit the sale of refurbished truck engines was effectively repealed on Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt’s final day in office. Pruitt’s last day at the agency was Friday, but that same day, EPA shifted its policy towards glider kits, which…
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by Michael Bastach Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt cited “unrelenting attacks” against himself and his family in his resignation letter that was delivered to President Donald Trump on Thursday. Pruitt thanked Trump for allowing him to serve at EPA, but says “the unrelenting attacks on me personally, my…
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By Printus LeBlanc The ethanol lobby and corn farmers are teaming up to keep the government mandated gravy train flowing into their bank accounts. After a deal was reached between the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), several Senators, and oil refiners regarding the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), the deal suddenly collapsed…
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by Michael Bastach An attorney and junk science blogger uncovered emails suggesting lobbyists and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials coordinated on an effort to preserve regulations on used truck engine manufacturers. “The purpose, of course, was to embarrass and intimidate the Trump EPA into aborting the rollback of the…
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Reuters A coalition of conservation groups sued the Trump administration on Thursday, accusing the government of slashing protections for migratory birds. At issue is the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which the National Audubon Society and other plaintiffs say has been undermined. In the past, the act helped hold parties…
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by Michael Bastasch Democrats mischaracterized emails between top Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials to claim Administrator Scott Pruitt wanted “misuse” of taxpayer dollars by creating a new agency office in his hometown. Pruitt directed his staff “to establish a new EPA office in his hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma,” sparking a…
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by Jason Hopkins In what is seen as another major blow to Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt, two officials have resigned from the agency. Albert “Kell” Kelly and Pasquale “Nino” Perrotta — two Pruitt allies engulfed in their own separate scandals — tendered their resignations on Monday. Kelly served as head…
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