"A niche rule established by the U.S. Forest Service to justify the clearing of tens of thousands of acres of forest in the name of reducing wildfire risk was unlawfully created and applied, the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon found last week, invalidating its future use across the United States."
"Conservationists fighting Alaskan efforts to build a 211-mile industrial mining road across pristine lands of the southern Brooks Range, including a portion of Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, told a federal court that President Donald Trump and his team violated numerous environmental laws in pushing through approvals to let it proceed."
"A federal judge ruled Friday against the Trump administration’s freeze on a $5 billion program that seeks to fund the build-out of electric vehicle (EV) chargers."
Even though the United States suffers multiple billion-dollar climate change-related catastrophes, the federal government has ceased sharing the data publicly. And it’s far from the only example of environmental data being blacked out, notes the latest Reporter’s Toolbox. But at least in some cases, civil society organizations have rescued the information and put it back online. See what’s still available.
"The state of Michigan is suing major oil companies and an industry association, alleging that they colluded to hamper the adoption of renewable energy and electric vehicles (EVs)."
"California sued the federal government Friday for approving a Texas-based company’s plans to restart two oil pipelines along the state’s coast, escalating a fight over the Trump administration’s removal of regulatory barriers to offshore oil drilling for the first time in decades."
"While the president has settled some suits, and judges have dismissed others, his court fights continue with the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and other news outlets."
"The state’s environmental agency has the authority to investigate and issue fines for illegal spills, but lacks sufficient staff and resources."
"Virginia’s newly elected Democratic Attorney General Jay Jones took action Thursday that creates a pathway for Virginia to rejoin the carbon market called the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, or RGGI."
"Six cities and 13 nonprofit groups still cannot recoup millions of dollars after the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals this week overturned a lower court’s ruling that forbade the Trump administration from terminating or freezing grant funding for environmental justice, agricultural and climate programs."
