WASHINGTON - October 27 - The Bush administration allowed Phoenix-based Neutron Energy to stake 20 new mining claims south of the Grand Canyon on August 7, in violation of an emergency Congressional resolution passed seven weeks earlier that declared off limits to mining activity approximately 1 million acres adjacent to Grand Canyon National Park.

WASHINGTON - October 23 - Today, Environmental Defense Fund filed a notice of intent to sue the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for its failure to update emission standards for hundreds of landfills nationwide.  Landfills are the nation's second largest source of manmade methane pollution.  Methane is a potent greenhouse gas and a contributor to the smog air pollution that is associated with respiratory illnesses affecting millions of Americans.  In September, the U.S.

WASHINGTON - October 22 - Citizens in communities affected by cancer-causing air pollution from vinyl manufacturers went to court today to ask the federal government to regulate the host of toxins released from these plants.

The nonprofit public interest law firm Earthjustice filed the lawsuit today in federal district court in Washington, DC, on behalf of the Sierra Club and two community groups in Louisiana -- Mossville Environmental Action Now (MEAN) and Louisiana Environmental Action Network (LEAN).

SAN FRANCISCO - October 21 - Pesticide Action Network, in coalition with Earthjustice and United Farm Workers, this week delivered more than 25,000 individual signatures to EPA calling for the dangerous and antiquated pesticide endosulfan to be removed from our food supply. Twenty-four organizations joined in supporting the call.

EPA is currently considering action on endosulfan in response to a legal petition and growing pressure from environmental health and farmworker advocacy groups around the country.

AMES, Iowa - October 17 - Nitrogen and phosphorus pollution from agriculture sources flowing from the Mississippi River is devastating the northern Gulf of Mexico and impacting human health, killing fish and limiting recreation along the way. Lack of funding for voluntary conservation programs and inadequate regulations are contributing to this environmental disaster known as the Gulf ‘Dead Zone.'

ASHEVILLE, N.C. - October 16 - Conservation groups today asked a federal court in Western North Carolina to require Duke Energy to control hazardous air pollution from its Cliffside coal-fired power plant to the maximum extent possible. The groups told the court that construction on the 800-megawatt addition should be stopped because their air permit does not adequately control dangerous air emissions, including mercury and dozens of carcinogens such as arsenic, chromium, and dioxin.

WASHINGTON - October 16 - The Center for Biological Diversity and California Rural Legal Assistance filed suit today challenging the failure of the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District to properly consider the global warming and human health impacts of the proposed 6,120 animal Van Der Kooi Dairy under the California Environmental Quality Act.