Greenwire

A federal appellate court today denied the Obama administration's request to reconsider its ruling that ordered the Department of Energy to stop collecting fees from electric utilities for the disposal of nuclear waste.

Mentioning FERC, or the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, at social gatherings inside the Beltway hasn't always been cool. Dropping the f-bomb, some energy wonks say, could clear your corner of the room. No more. The electric grid, renewable power, and oil and gas pipelines have moved onto front pages, and FERC has gone with them.

The Chilean government has withdrawn from Congress a controversial seed patent law that activists say favors industrial seed developers like Monsanto over small-scale farmers.

French farmers plan to mount a new legal challenge to the country's ban on genetically modified maize.

China has approved a new plan aimed at curbing soil pollution and protecting food supplies.

Michigan's Department of Natural Resources released a five-year plan outlining a mission as well as values and goals to guide forestry decisions.

Idaho's House of Representatives has spiked a bill that would have declared U.S. EPA has no regulatory authority in the state.

Alaska lawmakers yesterday approved a controversial natural gas proposal that could become the largest infrastructure project in state history.

Months of back-and-forth over suspected soil pollution at some of California's choicest public schools may be coming to an end.

In late 2012, an explosion at a former munitions plant near Shreveport, La., produced a 7,000-foot mushroom cloud, shattered windows miles away and forced rail cars off their tracks.

A small fraction of cars sold last year met the Obama administration's 2025 fuel economy standard, but the auto industry is still on a "very good path" to meet the regulation, a U.S. EPA official said.

Almost three-quarters of New Jersey voters oppose a hike in the state's 14.5-cent-per-gallon gas tax, newly released poll results indicate.

The National Science Foundation has released a new strategic plan that calls on the agency for the next five years to support basic research that helps address "particularly urgent challenges" like climate change and cybersecurity, and it introduces a new review process for research proposals.

An Oregon-based startup is finalizing a new strategic partnership to help fund its efforts to develop a small-scale nuclear reactor design.

Montana's Land Board yesterday voted unanimously to allow a 7,160-acre expansion of the Signal Peak coal mine north of Billings.

New Mexico's Waste Isolation Pilot Plant yesterday said it detected a "very small" radiation release last week and pointed to contamination in the ventilation system as the likely cause.

University of Louisiana researchers have developed a method to turn alligator fat into biodiesel after gators are processed for food and leather.

U.S. EPA plans to update its renewable fuel review process with an eye toward cutting down long approval delays that biofuel producers say have stymied investments.

Two former Boy Scout leaders yesterday avoided jail time by pleading guilty to misdemeanor charges for toppling over an ancient boulder in a Utah state park.

The New York attorney who successfully obtained $9.5 billion in damages from Chevron Corp. for environmental pollution in Ecuador said yesterday that he will appeal a federal judge's ruling that he secured the settlement through bribery and fraud.

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