Water & Oceans

"More than 5 billion gallons of oil are transported by boat and barge to the five refineries located in Puget Sound each year. With so much petroleum moving along our coastlines, accidents are, sadly, almost bound to happen. Is Washington ready for the next big one? That’s the question the state Department of Ecology had in mind at the first-of-its-kind “worst-case” oil spill drill off the coast of Anacortes earlier this month."

"Deborah Graham’s life changed on April 18, 2015, with the arrival of a letter."

"A group of Senate Democrats introduced a bill Wendesday to invest in water infrastructure and remove lead from pipes around the country. The bill would pump $7 billion a year into water infrastructure repair work and lead programs through loans, grants and tax credits for states."

"The Senate narrowly defeated a controversial amendment Thursday that would have stripped funding for clean water protections and ensured defeat of a $37.5 billion energy and water spending bill."

"Three officials responsible for maintaining safe water in Flint tinkered with evidence, tweaked testing and misled county and federal officials, helping to set in motion the contamination of the city's drinking water with lead, according to criminal charges filed by Michigan's chief law enforcement official Wednesday."

"The House Appropriations Committee voted Tuesday to approve bills to fund the Agriculture and Energy departments and the Army Corps of Engineers."

"Michigan's attorney general will announce criminal charges Wednesday against two state regulators and a Flint employee, alleging wrongdoing related to the city's lead-tainted water crisis, according to government officials familiar with the investigation."

"Once again the assault came under the cover of night, loud and impressive, and by the time daybreak arrived, Houston and its neighboring communities were literally awash in familiar scenes of misery."

"Michigan would have the toughest lead-testing rules in the nation and require the replacement of all underground lead service pipes in the state under a sweeping plan that Gov. Rick Snyder and a team of water experts unveiled Friday in the wake of Flint's water crisis."