"SULLIVAN COUNTY, Ind. -- A fine layer of gray dust coats nearly every surface in the parts of this Southwest Indiana town nearest the Bear Run Mine, the largest surface coal mine east of the Mississippi."

"Western New York state braced for a fresh wave of heavy snow on Wednesday after a freakish storm swept off the Great Lakes and deposited 5 feet (1.5 meters) of powder in parts of the region, killing at least six people and stranding motorists overnight."

"The 'beneficial reuse' of coal ash, often touted as a way to keep the material out of landfills, is potentially causing serious contamination of drinking water in southeast Wisconsin and possibly across the state, according to a report released today by Clean Wisconsin."

"Creepy critters are leaching onto the gills of Wisconsin's brook trout and choking off their oxygen, stoking fears in anglers that the iconic fish may be on the outs in many streams."

"The state has slapped Madison’s sewage treatment plant with 32 air pollution violations alleging excessive emissions from burning biogas and a near absence of effective monitoring and record keeping."

"To many Toledoans, the Detroit River is just another waterway on a map."

"Haul out the oil rigs, fracking can begin in Illinois."

"Minnesota regulators, for the first time, are considering banning or restricting a controversial class of insecticides that have been linked to honeybee deaths."

"A pipeline carrying condensate, a toxic substance produced during natural gas and oil processing, caught fire in eastern Ohio early this morning."

"Climate change has thrown historic rain patterns out of whack. Sanitation departments throughout the Midwest are bracing to keep up with more frequent and intense runoff."