• Latest Superfund Efforts to Clean Waterways Hold Risks
• Source: New York Times   |   Nation   |   August 14, 2012
• The EPA is now taking on the most expensive and most technically complex cleanups ever attempted -- large stretches of urban waterways where the pollution is out of sight.

• USDA Buys Meat to Help Farmers During Drought
• Source: Wall Street Journal   |   Nation   |   August 14, 2012
• President Barack Obama used his first stop in Iowa to announce that the Agriculture Department would purchase $170 million of pork, chicken, lamb and catfish in an attempt to alleviate the burden put on U.S. farmers from the drought.

• Arlington County Leads Northern Virginia in Curbing Stormwater Runoff
• Source: Washington Post   |   Arlington County, Va.   |   August 14, 2012
• In Northern Virginia, ground runoff and discharges from stormwater systems are the second largest contributors of nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment pollutants to streams and rivers feeding into the Chesapeake Bay.

• Chattanooga, Tennessee to Reduce Its Energy Footprint by 25%
• Source: AP/Tennessean   |   Chattanooga, Tenn.   |   August 13, 2012
• Seeking to improve Chattanooga’s reputation as an environmental city, the mayor is mandating that city departments and offices reduce energy use by 25 percent by 2020.

• Fracking, Farmers and Scarce Water Supplies
• BY: Stateline   |   August 10, 2012
• As drought plagues more than half of the nation, concerns about hydraulic fracturing's effect on available water are increasing.
• 7 Comments

• Will Geothermal Solve California's Energy Crisis?
• BY: Government Technology   |   California   |   August 10, 2012
• Energy producers and experts discuss geothermal and other renewable power sources at the National Geothermal Summit in Sacramento, Calif.
• 1 Comments

• New Turbine to Generate Electricity from Underwater
• Source: New York Times   |   Maine   |   August 10, 2012
• When this project starts delivering electricity to the grid under a power-purchasing agreement, it will be the first tidal-power turbine to do so in the United States.

• Study: Kentucky Residents Exposed to Most Toxic Air Pollution
• BY: Dylan Scott   |   Nation   |   August 9, 2012
• Kentucky, Ohio and Pennsylvania are home to the most toxic air pollution from power plants, according to an analysis of 2010 data from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), conducted by the Natural Resource Defense Council (NRDC).
• 5 Comments

• Detroit Water Dept. May Slash Staff 80%
• Source: Detroit News   |   Detroit   |   August 9, 2012
• The Detroit Water and Sewerage Department could slash more than 80 percent of its staff over the next five years in a drastic overhaul to cut costs and reduce customers' rate increases.

• New Waiver Rule Allows Businesses to Bypass Environmental Rules in New Jersey
• Source: Newark Star-Ledger   |   New Jersey   |   August 8, 2012
• The rule is hailed by businesses who say they are buried in environmental red tape. Environmentalists, however, are livid over the potential to undermine protections to New Jersey’s land, water and air.

• NRC Freezes Licensing for Nuclear Plants
• BY: Stateline   |   Nation   |   August 8, 2012
• The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission won’t approve licenses for new or existing nuclear power plants until it figures out what to do with hazardous waste that's been piling up at storage sites across the country.

• Marcellus Shale to Be Nation's No. 1 Natural Gas Producer
• Source: AP/Philadelphia Daily News   |   Nation   |   August 6, 2012
• Though serious drilling began only five years ago, the sheer volume of Marcellus production suggests that in some ways there's no going back, even as New York debates whether to allow drilling in its portion of the shale, which also lies under large parts of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio.

• Sea-level Bill Becomes Law in North Carolina
• Source: AP/Myrtle Beach Online   |   North Carolina   |   August 6, 2012
• North Carolina lawmakers have temporarily banned using a science panel’s recommendation to plan for rising sea levels, after the governor decided not to veto the measure.

• Congress Can't Agree On Broad Drought Relief
• BY: McClatchy News   |   Nation   |   August 3, 2012
• As the drought worsened in the Midwest and Great Plains, Congress did not provide broad relief for farmers and ranchers before leaving for a month of campaigning Thursday.
• 1 Comments

• Schwarzenegger Partners with Public Policy Think Tank
• BY: McClatchy News   |   California   |   August 2, 2012
• The University of Southern California and former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Wednesday announced a partnership to establish a think tank that will seek bipartisan solutions to environmental problems, economic policy, political reform and other public policy issues.