Greenwire

The Supreme Court will hear arguments Wednesday in a lawsuit targeting President Obama's landmark air standards for mercury and other toxins.

Cheryl LaFleur will give up her gavel next month after a short, tumultuous run at the helm of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. In her 17 months as chairwoman, grass-roots grumbling over natural gas infrastructure erupted into protests with demonstrators disrupting commission meetings and blocking doors to the agency headquarters. U.S. EPA's draft Clean Power Plan sparked an explosive debate over whether FERC will protect the grid. A fight brewed over a capacity auction in her native New England with a call for her resignation. And there was a Capitol Hill battle over how long she should lead the commission. "My time as chair," the understated LaFleur says, "has not been really standard."

As the voices of concern over the Clean Power Plan's impact on grid reliability grow louder, do states have the ability to ensure reliability in their compliance plans by using tools currently at their disposal? During today's OnPoint, Susan Tierney, senior adviser at the Analysis Group, explains why she believes reliability issues will be solved as stakeholders proceed "in parallel" with compliance. She also discusses the growing support for states to employ the "just say no" option for power plan compliance.

After decades of water mismanagement, Iran is turning to technologies pioneered by its frequent enemy Israel in order to stave off a water crisis.

Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes said yesterday his city will fail to clean the heavily polluted site picked to host Olympic sailing events before the start of the 2016 games.

The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant wasted more than one-third of the $1.6 billion in taxpayer money meant to clean up the plant following the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, a government audit has found.

Chile's environmental court has ruled that a Toronto-based gold mining company has not damaged glaciers located near its operations.

As Hawaii lawmakers consider beefing up the state's pesticide regulations, the state Department of Agriculture has struggled to implement a 2013 law requiring it to disclose sales of the chemicals.

Scientists and water policy experts say a vast trove of California records on groundwater resources could dramatically improve the public understanding of the state's water resources if they were disclosed.

U.S. EPA and the government of the U.S. Virgin Islands are investigating the possible methyl bromide poisoning of a Delaware family.

A chemical used in paint stripping and industrial cleaning operations is likely to cause health problems under certain exposure scenarios, according to a new U.S. EPA report.

A Superfund cleanup in eastern Idaho isn't finished yet, but U.S. EPA said the area is already seeing results in the form of reduced phosphorous pollution.

Two common air pollutants may increase the potency of airborne allergens, a new study presented yesterday has found.

The Agriculture Department unveiled a highly anticipated rule today that would tighten eligibility standards for farm subsidies.

The Federal Highway Administration currently steers about $40 billion per year to states for road and bridge projects. How good a job the agency does in overseeing the use of that money will be the subject of two audits announced today by the Department of Transportation's inspector general.

Legalized marijuana in four states has indoor cannabis growers blazing through electricity bills.

A Dutch energy company is teaming up with a technology company to find out whether a computer server can generate enough warmth to heat a home.

A California wind farm is attracting the ire of environmentalists for delays in replacing outdated wind turbines that can be deadly to endangered birds.

A Washington, D.C.-based environmental group and a group of California parents have sued a Los Angeles-area school district over what they say is a lax cleanup of toxic chemicals.

Human waste could be worth mining for gold, according to a survey of U.S. sewage treatment plants presented at the American Chemical Society national meeting.

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