Water & Oceans

"As persistent drought and climate change threaten the Colorado River, several states that rely on the water acknowledge they likely won’t get what they were promised a century ago. But not Utah."

"U.S. House Republicans are weighing whether to join Democrats in getting back into “earmarks” - the practice of loading spending bills with legislators’ pet projects - and a decision is expected this week, two sources familiar with the process said."

"Senators are offering early optimism that they can find common ground and pass an infrastructure package later this year."

"The Arizona Legislature has taken up a range of water-related measures this year, but some bills that would strengthen the state’s water rules to protect declining groundwater and desert streams have run into opposition and have failed to move forward."

"The Biden administration announced on Wednesday that it is delaying the implementation of a Trump administration update to a rule governing lead and copper in drinking water."

"There are few places to purchase a home in the U.S. that have a greater risk of flooding than on the coast of Florida. But sellers needn’t lose sleep over that. That’s because the Sunshine State doesn’t mandate disclosure of whether a property has previously flooded."

"Each year the amount of plastic swirling in ocean gyres and surfing the tide toward coastal beaches seems to increase. So too does the amount of plastic particles being consumed by fish — including species that help feed billions of people around the world."

"A diverse coalition of more than 370 environmental and tribal rights organizations demanded Monday that President Joe Biden act immediately to halt construction of Enbridge's Line 3 pipeline, a multi-billion-dollar crude oil project that the groups called "an urgent threat" to Minnesota waters and the global climate."

"The Interior Department moved one step closer Monday to allowing for the construction of the country’s first commercial-scale offshore wind project."

"One of the most expensive, ambitious and controversial proposals in Louisiana’s 50-year, $50 billion bid to save the southern third of the state from disappearing like a modern-day Atlantis passed a major milestone Thursday night with the release of a mostly positive assessment from the Army Corps of Engineers."