Laws & Regulations

"The partial U.S. government shutdown has docked fishing boats in Alaska, delayed public meetings on a proposed wind farm off the Massachusetts coast and blocked pharmaceutical companies from seeking approval for new drugs. But the Trump administration is working overtime to make sure the shutdown doesn’t halt oil drilling too -- in ways critics say may flout federal law."

"The RCMP say it has arrested 14 people Monday evening for allegedly violating the conditions of an interim court injunction requiring the removal of a blockade to a forest service road in northern British Columbia that is preventing access to a pipeline project."

"A plea deal was reached Monday for the fired former head of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality's division responsible for overseeing Flint’s water source switch."

"The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to take up ExxonMobil's latest attempt to block Massachusetts' investigation into whether the oil giant misled the public and investors about climate change."

"Democrats in Congress are demanding answers about a plan by the Trump administration to use visitor fees toward the operation of popular national parks during the partial government shutdown, claiming that the move could be illegal."

"A federal judge has ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to release tens of thousands of emails and other documents involving the agency’s top-level political appointees — including acting chief Andrew Wheeler — in a move activists hope will clarify how industry interests may be influencing their decisions."

"In recent years, thousands of children started kindergarten in Cleveland public schools already poisoned by lead, which threatens their chances to achieve and poses steep challenges for the district charged with educating them."

"The Trump administration is pushing the Supreme Court to review what could be the most consequential environmental case of the term: a broiling Clean Water Act debate."

Many government scientists are barred from doing research or professional activities while the government is shut down.