Articles by Greg Stohr and Jennifer A. Dlouhy

Fishing Fee Case May Lead Supreme Court to Limit US Agency Powers

The US Supreme Court questioned a longstanding legal doctrine that gives federal agencies wide berth to interpret unclear laws as the justices heard two appeals that would constrain environmental, consumer-protection and financial regulators. The court is considering overturning a watershed …

Biden to Restore Legal Foundation for Limits on Mercury Pollution, Discarded by Trump

President Joe Biden plans in coming days to shore up one of the most consequential environmental regulations in history by moving to restore the legal foundation for limits on mercury pollution from power plants. Restrictions on mercury, imposed by the …

Keystone XL Oil Pipeline Is Terminated After Years of Climate Activism

TC Energy Corp. has ended its 16-year quest to build the Keystone XL oil pipeline, a controversial cross-border project that became a litmus test for climate activism and was blocked by President Joe Biden. Calgary-based TC Energy said in a …

Ransomware Attack on Colonial Again Shows U.S. Ignores Warning After Warning

The ransomware attack that shut down the nation’s biggest fuel pipeline prompted an all-too familiar question in the corridors of power in Washington and boardrooms across the country: Can anyone stop debilitating hacks? The assault on Colonial Pipeline Co. last …

AXIS Capital Decides to Stop Insuring Arctic Oil and Gas Projects

AXIS Capital Holdings Ltd. said it won’t insure oil and gas projects in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, becoming the first North American underwriter to make the commitment after pressure from native Alaskans and environmentalists. The move follows similar pledges …

Trump Regulatory Rollback Targets Safety Rules Prompted by Industrial Disasters

The Trump administration’s move to relax an Obama-era chemical safety regulation put in place after an explosion at a fertilizer plant is the latest example of the White House easing rules established in the wake of disasters. Trump’s professed goal …

Industry Flexes Political Muscle in States to Criminalize Aggressive Pipeline Protests

After protesters disrupted construction of an oil pipeline in North Dakota by chaining themselves to construction equipment and pitching tents along the route, oil and chemical companies found a way to keep it from happening again. They made it a …

EPA Begins Rewrite of Rules on Costs, Benefits of Environmental Regulations

The Trump administration is planning to write new rules for how it weighs the human costs and benefits of environmental regulations, a move that could make it harder for future presidents to stiffen limits on pollution and combat climate change. …

Supreme Court May Overturn Tradition of Courts Deferring to Regulatory Agencies

The U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative justices expressed doubts about a precedent that business groups and the Trump administration say gives federal agencies too much power to change regulations without notice. In an hour-long argument in Washington on Wednesday, the court …

Assessing Effects of Government Shutdown on Wildfires, Workforce, Research

The government may be reopening, but the consequences of the longest federal shutdown in U.S. history are likely to linger for national parks, forests, the federal workforce and cutting-edge scientific research. Some may even be permanent. Many fire crews missed …