"Companies unable to get outside contractors to verify the accuracy of air emissions monitoring data because of the pandemic would be able to delay some tests under an EPA rule now under review."
"The White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs is working on some high-stakes environmental and public health regulations — possibly to beat a May deadline that could prevent Democrats from using the Congressional Review Act to kill the Trump administration's efforts should they retake the Senate after November's elections."
"Energy advocates and their congressional allies are highlighting the mounting economic fallout from COVID-19 as negotiations on another limited round of stimulus appeared to struggle over the weekend."
The economic fallout from COVID-19 is severely damaging the news business, but may also point to transformative new ways of doing journalism, writes columnist Joseph A. Davis in the latest WatchDog. Meanwhile, the coronavirus-climate connection shows the importance of good, scientifically sound journalism. And are federal agencies leaning on COVID-19 to slow FOIA actions?
"Ten years after the Deepwater Horizon disaster, the Interior Department agency that regulates offshore energy development is fractious, demoralized and riddled with staff distrust toward its leadership, according to multiple accounts from current and former employees."
"The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Friday announced that the cleanup of hazardous waste sites and other pollution spills may be slowed or paused during the coronavirus outbreak."
"Environmental groups are pushing former Vice President Joe Biden to adopt a more aggressive platform on climate change after losing a big champion for their cause with the departure of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).
Climate change is emerging as a significant issue within the Democratic Party, pitting progressives like Sanders who have called for more aggressive environmental policies such as a total ban on fracking against others like Biden, who instead opposes new fracking on public lands.
"An examination reveals the president was warned about the potential for a pandemic but that internal divisions, lack of planning and his faith in his own instincts led to a halting response."
"This week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that soybean farmers in 25 states are now able to spray a pesticide that the agency has determined is likely to cause cancer and drift hundreds of feet from where it is applied."
"OPEC and its allies locked in a historic oil supply accord Sunday after Saudi Arabia, under pressure from the US, agreed to give Mexico a looser production quota, ending a four-day stalemate that threatened to escalate a price war in the midst of the coronavirus crisis."
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