"Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Tuesday directed Michigan’s environmental agency to develop drinking water standards for certain toxic industrial chemicals rather than waiting for updated federal guidelines."
"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says it is assessing two Superfund sites located in areas that have seen overwhelming floods in recent weeks."
"More than 1 million private wells that supply drinking water in mostly rural parts of the Midwest could face the risk of contamination from floodwater, posing a health concern that could linger long after the flooding subsides."
"A year ago, the last Kentucky newspaper staffer dedicated to the environmental beat full-time left his job. He was not replaced."
"EPA chief Andrew Wheeler has promised not to weigh in on the Pebble mine proposal and toxic waste site cleanups connected to his former lobbying clients after media scrutiny."
"The Senate blocked consideration of the Green New Deal on Tuesday, ending a Republican effort to hitch Democratic presidential candidates to the climate plan and paint Democrats as out-of-touch socialists and fantasists."
"After years of effort, scientists at the Fish and Wildlife Service had a moment of celebration as they wrapped up a comprehensive analysis of the threat that three widely used pesticides present to hundreds of endangered species, like the kit fox and the seaside sparrow."
The Society of Environmental Journalists is backing right-to-know lawsuits brought by journalism groups, and a collaborative press freedom tracker gets new funding. Meanwhile, at the Interior Department, one watchdog group angles for environmental impact statements on ANWR drilling, while others track possible conflicts of interest by the acting secretary. That and more in the latest WatchDog roundup.
With flood-ravaged Midwestern states in the news, it’s time to ask whether your own community is ready for the “big one.” This week’s TipSheet offers a 10-point Resiliency Checklist to focus your reporting. Track the vulnerability of infrastructure like drinking water and sewage plants, roads, bridges and levees, the adequacy of flood insurance and much more.
SEJ's own James Bruggers, long-time member, former board member and president of the SEJ board, was the last full-time environmental reporter at a Kentucky newspaper when he left to join the InsideClimate News team. The New Yorker's Charles Bethea interviewed Bruggers and SEJ's E.D. Meaghan Parker for his story on the continued demise of newspapers and staffers reporting on coal country — and the innumerable costs of that lack of coverage.
Advertisement 
