Herbicide Maker Asks That Lobbying Be Excluded From Class Action Lawsuit

Lawyers representing the maker of the herbicide atrazine are asking that documents related to the company’s lobbying and trade association activities be excluded from a class action lawsuit being filed by some Illinois water utilities.

Court Allows Gold Mine to Dump Waste in Lake

The U.S. Supreme Court's Monday decision allowing a gold mine near Juneau to discharge its waste into a fish-bearing lake could be the final word in the long-running dispute.

But environmentalists hope that it is not.

Their lawsuit over the Kensington mine, 45 miles northwest of Juneau, fueled a bitter war between industry boosters and environmentalists in the state's capital.

Statewide, the suit cast a shadow over Alaska's mining industry, and in particular, the massive Pebble copper and gold prospect in Southwest Alaska.

Obama Mining Plan Draws Criticism From Both Sides

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Obama administration officials on Thursday outlined their plans to try to reduce environmental damage from mountaintop removal, but stopped short of actions coal industry critics say are needed to curb destruction of Appalachian hills, forests and streams.

Federal regulators said they planned to abandon a streamlined permitting process for valley fills that bury streams, toughen ongoing reviews of a permit application backlog, and examine long-term changes to policies to find ways to continue large-scale strip mining without doing as much damage.

Illinois Town Sued, Accused of Lying About Carcinogen-Filled Town Water

Already facing a federal criminal investigation, Crestwood Mayor Robert Stranczek and his father were sued in state court today and accused of repeatedly lying about their secret use of a community well contaminated with cancer-causing chemicals.

US Seeks to End Bush Mountaintop Coal Mining Rule

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Interior Department said on Monday it will try to overturn a Bush administration rule that made it easier for coal mining companies to dump mountaintop debris into valley streams.

Calling the rule "bad policy," Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said he will ask the Justice Department to go to the courts to withdraw the Bush regulation and send it back to Interior to stop the policy.

Salazar said the Bush-era rule allowed coal mine operators to use "the cheapest and most convenient disposal option" for mountaintop fill.

An Unearthed Resource: Gas Drilling in Northeast Raises Health and Environmental Concerns Among Residents

The road leading to Ron Carter’s trailer is made of red clay that melts away a little every time it rains. Truck traffic has created an obstacle course of tall divots that punch at the bottom of cars, rattling spines and scraping mufflers. Some lawns along the way host bathtubs full of garbage or rusty drums belching out dark smoke. Others have drill pads and cranes that stab 200 feet into the air. This is Dimock Township, the speck on Pennsylvania’s map that just became ground zero for America’s energy future.

Palestinian Water Crisis Deepens

A World Bank report blames Palestinian mismanagement and Israeli restrictions for severe water shortages in Palestinian areas.

Palestinians get only a quarter of the water Israelis have access to.

The existing problems effect not just daily supply but the development of water resources, water uses and wastewater management.

"Water related humanitarian crisis are in fact chronic in Gaza and parts of the West Bank," says the report.

Across the United States, Waters in Crisis

WASHINGTON - Over the last years, up to 60 percent of lakes, rivers, streams, and drinking water sources across the United States have lost crucial environmental protections at the hands of polluters, developers, and the U.S. Supreme Court.

"Without immediate action in Congress, a generation of progress in cleaning up our nation's waters may be lost," says a new report by seven U.S.-based environmental advocacy groups.