Former EPA chief Scott Pruitt said his proposal would increase transparency, but opponents say it will keep certain scientific studies out of the hands of EPA decision-makers and addresses “a ‘problem’ that does not exist.”
EPA
After touring Chicago’s industry-dominated Southeast Side on Thursday, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin pressed the Environmental Protection Agency to increase monitoring of brain-damaging manganese dust.
In a joint statement released Thursday, attorneys general from nearly 20 states, including Illinois, said weakening the so-called clean car rules would cause Americans to breathe dirtier air and pay higher gas prices.
General Iron announced plans earlier this month to move its scrap metal yard from Lincoln Park to the Southeast Side, where residents are concerned about the company’s environmental track record.
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has joined her counterparts in 14 states in suing the EPA over its suspension of a rule that limits the number of highly polluting trucks on the nation's roads.
Hours before the resignation Thursday of EPA head Scott Pruitt, a federal judge ruled that Pruitt had violated the Clean Air Act by allowing Illinois and two other states to avoid conflict-of-interest rules.
The scandal-ridden EPA chief resigned Thursday amid a number of ethical and legal violations over his travel spending, security costs and ties to industry lobbyists.
Water testing at a Chicago day care center showed at least one sample 16 times higher than the lead level allowed in bottled water, according to a new report from an environmental watchdog group.
As part of its investigation into high levels of manganese on the Southeast Side, the EPA will hold an open house this week to talk about soil sampling and sign residents up for testing.
The EPA has failed to implement a 2016 regulation aimed at reducing landfill emissions of methane and other pollutants, according to a lawsuit filed this week by Illinois and seven other states.
About 100 Southeast Side residents attended the first public meeting addressing exposure to neurotoxic manganese since the city became aware of it in 2016. “How are you going to keep us healthy?” one resident asked.
The proposed new Foxconn plant in Wisconsin gets an air quality exemption. We speak with a former senior EPA administrator on the impact of that move and more.
A week ago, test results from soil samples collected at two dozen Southeast Side homes revealed high levels of manganese. Now, the EPA will conduct further testing in the area.
A bill moving through the state legislature would prevent the weakening of federal safeguards that were in place as of Jan. 1, 2017 – about three weeks before President Donald Trump took office.
Test results from soil samples collected at 27 homes near a bulk storage facility along the Calumet River reveal high levels of manganese.
A group of U.S. senators are trying to preserve regulations for the disposal of coal ash generated by coal-burning power plants, a mixture that can pollute drinking water if disposed of improperly.
