• Fort Collins, Colorado Reaches "Unhealthy" Air Quality After Wildfires
• Source: Denver Post   |   Fort Collins, Colo.   |   June 15, 2012
• Smoke from the High Park fire has sent particulate pollution to some new peaks in Fort Collins, pushing the warning bar into the full, red "unhealthy" range.

• North Dakota to Fund Child Care For Economic Development
• BY: Brian Peteritas   |   June 14, 2012
• The state will begin a pilot program aimed at providing more child care in it's booming western oil region.
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• Everglades Plan Gets Final EPA Approval
• Source: Miami Herald   |   Florida   |   June 14, 2012
• In a deal both sides called a milestone in Everglades restoration, federal regulators signed off on $880 million in state projects to reduce pollution.

• Fracking Restricted to a Few New York Counties Under Cuomo
• Source: New York Times   |   New York   |   June 14, 2012
• Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s administration is pursuing a plan to limit the controversial drilling method known as hydraulic fracturing to portions of several struggling New York counties along the border with Pennsylvania, and to permit it only in communities that express support for the technology.

• New Jersey DOT Works to Avoid Becoming Garbage State
• Source: New Jersey Star-Ledger   |   New Jersey   |   June 12, 2012
• In the last year, DOT workers have painted over nearly 23,000 square yards of graffiti and picked up nearly 6 million pounds of litter, often with the help of inmates, state transportation officials said. The state also has revived its Adopt-A-Highway program.

• Utilities Struggle Even as Water Bills Rise
• Source: Reuters   |   Nation   |   June 12, 2012
• With water bills on the rise even as consumers are being urged to use less, more than 70 percent of water companies either lack the funds to maintain aging infrastructure or have just enough to meet requirements, a new industry survey reports.

• Oregon Recycles Street and Highway Signs to Save Environment
• BY: Brian Peteritas   |   June 11, 2012
• Successful pilot project uses high-pressure water jets to strip signs for reuse

• New Hampshire Lawmakers Compromise on Greenhouse Gas Initiative
• BY: Stateline   |   New Hampshire   |   June 11, 2012
• The Legislature last week passed a bill that would remove New Hampshire from the New England cap-and-trade agreement (RGGI), but only if two other states leave first.

• New Farm Bill Upsets Peanut Growers in North Carolina
• Source: Raleigh News & Observer   |   North Carolina   |   June 11, 2012
• The bill has pitted farmer against farmer as North Carolina, Georgia and other Southern peanut and rice growers charge they’ve been left out of a Senate proposal skewed in favor of Midwest corn and wheat growers.

• High-Speed Rail Faces Environmental Objections
• BY: McClatchy News   |   California   |   June 11, 2012
• The California bullet train is promoted as an important environmental investment for the future, but the heavy construction project would potentially harm air quality, aquatic life and endangered species.

• State Nuclear Waste Storage Issue Still Unresolved
• BY: Stateline   |   Nation   |   June 8, 2012
• A U.S. Congressional subcommittee addressed a question states have long hoped the federal government would answer: Where will nuclear power plants permanently store their growing stockpiles of spent fuel and other hazardous waste?

• Energy-Producing States Bounced Back Fastest from Recession
• Source: USA Today   |   Nation   |   June 6, 2012
• The residents of only nine states have returned their economic output to the level that existed before the downturn struck at the end of 2007 — and most of those states are energy producers, according to data.

• Chipotle Stands by California State Parks
• BY: Leigh Ann Renzulli   |   California   |   June 5, 2012
• Chipotle Mexican Grill is giving $100,000 to the California State Parks Foundation (CSPF) in the wake of $22 million in budget cuts that could close up to 70 state parks.
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• Lake Erie Water Usage Bill Gets Ohio Governor's Signature Over Objections
• Source: Cleveland Plain Dealer   |   Ohio   |   June 5, 2012
• Gov. John Kasich signed legislation establishing the first permitting program for water withdrawals from Lake Erie.

• Farm Bill on the Move in Congress
• Source: Politico   |   Nation   |   June 5, 2012
• Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow said that she has the 60 votes to move ahead on the new farm bill this week and remains “very optimistic” about getting across the Senate floor by the end of this month.