SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN)

"An 8-acre mound of oven-baked dirt -- so sterile that no worms or weeds can live in it -- is all that remains after an $82 million Superfund cleanup at the site of Ward Transformer Co., the Triangle’s nastiest industrial polluter."

"Most of the Duke Energy coal ash that spilled into the Dan River in February will stay there, creating a rift between regulators and river advocates over the cleanup."

"A new barrage of TV ads criticizing state lawmakers over environmental issues will begin airing this week, this one singling out House Speaker Thom Tillis."

"Lack of land for endangered puma has US officials preparing payment plan to ranchers, many of whom resent the cats."

"ASHEVILLE, N.C. — North Carolina's environmental agency has ordered Duke Energy to install monitoring wells in a residential neighborhood outside Asheville to determine whether toxic chemicals from the company's coal ash pits are contaminating homeowners' drinking water."

"South Florida's coastal real estate may become uninsurable as the sea level rises unless Miami's county government takes urgent action, a task force said on Tuesday."

"In southwest Florida, county officials are fighting the state over a new oil drilling process that's known by many different names: acidification, acidizing, acid stimulation and acid fracking."

"Tropical Storm Arthur has strengthened into a hurricane taking aim at North Carolina's Outer Banks, a thin ribbon of barrier islands and popular vacation spot, before the Fourth of July holiday."

"FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The manatee's 47-year run as an endangered species may soon come to an end, as the federal government assesses whether the tubby marine mammal can look forward to a brighter future."

"The North Carolina Senate gave tentative approval Tuesday to a bill that makes Duke Energy close its 33 coal ash ponds in the state within 15 years, but it blocked a vote on shifting costs away from consumers."