Gov. Whitmer Proposes $120M For Michigan Drinking Water
"LANSING, MI — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is proposing $120 million in new general fund spending to improve drinking water infrastructure."
Source: Grand Rapids Presss, 03/06/2019
Government
Where Does All That Recycling Go?
Where do all those recyclables actually go? This week’s TipSheet dives into the trash to find a story worth telling — of troubling overseas dumping, problematic local incineration and a fraying patchwork of U.S. regulation. Plus, several dozen questions you might want to ask, a pair of pro tips and a dozen resources to track the story in your area.
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Wheeler, Who Continued Environmental Rollbacks, Confirmed to Lead EPA
"The Senate on Thursday confirmed Andrew R. Wheeler to be the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, giving oversight of the nation’s air and water to a former coal lobbyist and seasoned Washington insider."
Source: NY Times, 03/01/2019
"U.S. Lawmakers To Grill Trump's EPA On Enforcement Drop-Off"
"U.S. lawmakers will grill the Environmental Protection Agency’s top pollution enforcement official on Tuesday after the agency’s recent annual report showed a big decline in civil penalties and site inspections."
Source: Reuters, 02/26/2019
"EPA Regulator Skirts The Line Between Former Clients And Current Job"
"Less than a month into his tenure as the top air-policy official at the Environmental Protection Agency, Bill Wehrum hopped into the EPA’s electric Chevy Volt and rode to the Pennsylvania Avenue offices of his former law firm."
Source: Washington Post, 02/26/2019
Border Wall a Way into Environmental Stories
The fierce contest over the Trump border wall has critical environmental implications, both local and regional, per the latest TipSheet. A key suit against the Trump emergency declaration was filed by environmental groups and plans for a border barrier may harm significant wildlife habitat, as well as numerous migrating species, including some that are endangered. Get the back story and why it matters, along with story ideas and reporting resources.
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Climate Scientist Canned, SCOTUS To Rule on Chemical ‘Secrets’ and Army Corps Sued Over Permit Info
A scientist contracted to report on climate impacts for the National Park Service was caught up in a fracas over attempted censorship of her findings. Now she’s been fired. That, plus a FOIA case before the Supreme Court and an enviro group sues the Army Corps of Engineers over info on a permit for a new plastics plant in Louisiana. Read the latest on freedom-of-information issues in this month’s WatchDog TipSheet.
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Interior To Rely On Staff With Less Training For Park Law Enforcement
"The Interior Department is looking to increase its reliance on seasonal National Park Service (NPS) staffers who have received less training than their full-time counterparts in order to cut costs, according to a new report."
Source: The Hill, 02/25/2019
Grand Jury Probing Whether Zinke Lied To Federal Investigators
"Prosecutors have begun presenting evidence to a grand jury in Washington in their probe of whether former interior Secretary Ryan Zinke lied to federal investigators, according to two individuals briefed on the matter."
Source: Washington Post, 02/25/2019
How Wehrum’s Law Firm Profited From The Fight To Roll Back Air Rules
"The nation’s biggest coal-burning power companies paid a top lobbying firm millions of dollars to fight a wide range of Obama-era environmental rules, documents obtained by POLITICO reveal — shortly before one of the firm’s partners became President Donald Trump’s top air pollution regulator."
Source: Politico, 02/21/2019
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