"The deputy Interior secretary held a secret meeting with the developer of a big Benson subdivision two weeks before a federal underling says he was pressured to reverse his tough stance on the project, CNN reports."
"Nearly two dozen governors, including several Republicans, are imploring the Trump administration to embrace more aggressive gas mileage requirements for the nation’s cars and pickup trucks, saying the White House’s effort to weaken existing requirements could hurt consumers, automakers and the environment."
"A group of US lawmakers including the 2020 Democratic presidential contender Bernie Sanders are proposing to declare the climate crisis an official emergency – a significant recognition of the threat taken after considerable pressure from environment groups."
"Two major health organizations on Monday sued the Trump administration over its rollback of an Obama-era rule on power plant emissions."
"Senators from both parties are unhappy with new Trump administration rules giving political appointees at two government agencies more power to review public information requests, and they say they may craft legislation to fix it."
"A March news release from the U.S. Geological Survey touted a new study that could be useful for infrastructure planning along the California coastline. At least that's how the Trump administration conveyed it."
"President Trump delivered a full-throated defense of his administration’s environmental record Monday, despite relaxing nationwide limits on air and water pollution and reversing course on U.S. climate policy."
"The US Department of Agriculture has suspended data collection for its annual Honey Bee Colonies report, citing cost cuts -- a move that robs researchers and the honeybee industry of a critical tool for understanding honeybee population declines, and comes as the USDA is curtailing other research programs."
"On Monday president will likely tout America’s clean air and water, even though he’s rescinded rules to cut pollution"
"The head of a House appropriations subcommittee that oversees the Interior Department threatened to investigate the use of National Park Service entrance fee funds to pay for a July 4 celebration on the National Mall.
House Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee Chairwoman Rep. Betty McCollum (D-Minn.) questioned Interior’s spending $2.5 million in park entrance fees on President Donald Trump’s July 4 “Salute to America” event on the National Mall, which will display heavy military tanks and have a ticketed viewing area for White House guests.
