Southwest (AZ NM OK TX)

"U.S. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt has picked Anne Idsal, a well-connected Texas state official, to lead the agency's Region 6 office."

"A government program to clean up 503 contaminated military sites across Oklahoma will have cost an estimated $677 million by the time it concludes at the end of the century, Department of Defense records show."

"Native American activists and tribal leaders from around New Mexico are joining the chorus of environmentalists who have been fighting for years to stop oil and gas development."

"Prior to the chemical fire at its Crosby plant, Arkema underestimated the potential for storm damage and failed to keep essential backup power protected from rising floodwaters, documents obtained by the Houston Chronicle show."

"Few people in potential inundation zones are aware of the hazard, a Statesman investigation found. Texas applies its strictest safety standards only if a dam’s failure would probably cost seven or more lives."

"Irreplaceable cultural resources in New Mexico are among those areas targeted for expedited drilling – and conservationists say it’s ‘like losing pages and chapters of that history book’."

"Juan Flores and his family live in Galena Park, Texas, which is bordered on three sides by pipeline terminals, oil refineries, fertilizer plants and rail yards."