National (U.S.)

Authorities re-opened a 65-mile reach of the Mississippi River which had been shut down for cleanup after an oil barge spilled.

Rep. John Dingell (D-MI), who played a key role in shaping the environmental legislation of the modern era, has announced he will retire. As he represented the auto industry in his Detroit district, that environmental legacy was mixed.

"The Supreme Court’s swing vote on Monday voiced skepticism of a key plank in the Obama administration’s efforts to limit greenhouse gas emissions."

"A federal court [Thursday] scrapped the so-called Stream Buffer Zone Rule promulgated under President George W. Bush to govern strip-mining activities."

"A Democratic fundraiser last week at billionaire Tom Steyer’s home amounted to a summit between Washington’s liberal elite and San Francisco’s climate intelligentsia."

"Starting Monday, a federal judge in Waco will hear arguments from the Sierra Club that Luminant Generation Company, the state’s largest electric generator, has been spewing far more pollution into the air from an East Texas coal plant than is allowed by federal and state law."

"Dozens of freight trains roll through downtown Parkville each day, their blaring horns annoying to anyone with ears. But the chief of the Southern Platte Fire Protection District, Richard Carrizzo, has far more chilling concerns these days."

"WILLIAMSTON — Water is seeping through a coal ash dam in the foothills of South Carolina, raising concerns about the structure’s stability and whether a failure would contaminate the Saluda River."

"The Obama administration is moving forward with another fuel efficiency rule that would cost automakers more than $14 million each year, according to government estimates."

"Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz traveled to Waynesboro, Ga., Thursday to announce the finalization of a $6.5 billion loan guarantee for the Vogtle Electric Generating Plant -- the first nuclear loan guarantee that the Obama administration has completed."