"The Trump administration is allowing loggers to extend their tree-cutting contracts in national forests to support the timber industry during the coronavirus pandemic and to help national forests create jobs after the crisis ends."
"EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler today proposed leaving national soot standards unchanged at least through the middle of the next decade as he questioned the reliability of scientific research suggesting that tighter limits are needed to save lives."
"The U.N. human rights office in Mexico issued a statement Monday condemning the killing of an environmental activist in the violent Gulf coast state of Veracruz."
"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."
"A new Fish and Wildlife Service proposal to expand hunting opportunities on national wildlife refuges has flushed into the open a heated debate over the role of sport shooting on public lands."
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?
"PORTLAND, Maine — A judge has ruled the federal government failed to adequately protect endangered whales from lobster fishing activities, sending the industry and regulators scrambling to figure out what the future holds for one of America’s most lucrative marine industries."
"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."
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