"EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler is rejecting a call by top House Democrats to formally scrap an opinion from the agency's top lawyer that limits the authority of an in-house watchdog."
"The Environmental Protection Agency warned Friday that disinfectants and sanitizers falsely claiming to protect against the coronavirus are flooding the market and threatened legal action against retailers that sell unregistered products."
"The Interior Department on Friday extended the appointment of William Perry Pendley to lead the Bureau of Land Management in an acting capacity until May 5."
"The U.S. government’s efforts to clean up Cold War-era waste from nuclear research and bomb making at federal sites around the country has lumbered along for decades, often at a pace that watchdogs and other critics say threatens public health and the environment."
"A law firm that previously employed President Donald Trump’s interior secretary has, for several years, represented Saudi Arabia, the petroleum-rich nation that recently launched an oil price war that could bankrupt U.S. fossil fuel producers."
"A week after EPA issued a controversial enforcement policy, the agency declined to reveal how many companies sought waivers of noncompliance due to the novel coronavirus pandemic."
While the COVID-19 outbreak may be absorbing most of the world’s attention, the latest TipSheet advises journalists not to back-burner climate-related energy reporting, as industries and activists continue lobbying for new energy stimulus measures from Congress. On the watch list: tax breaks, airline emission cuts, infrastructure, fossil fuel industry bailouts and more.
"San Francisco is banning reusable shopping bags to prevent outside germs from entering grocery stores as the coronavirus pandemic affects cities around the country,"
"The Trump administration has directed all agency rulemaking activities to continue despite growing calls from lawmakers, state attorneys general, and regulated entities to postpone consideration of any rule that doesn’t address the novel coronavirus pandemic."
"ARTESIA, N.M. — When the new pastor arrived at Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church a few years back, he was struck by the sight and smell of the towering refinery a block east of his chapel. The Rev. A.L. Vijaya Raju had a question: Were fumes from the flares, pipes and tanks to blame for breathing problems afflicting some parishioners?"
