Articles by Jennifer A. Dlouhy

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 …

Supreme Court Nominee Kavanaugh Seen as Business Friend, Regulation Skeptic

Brett Kavanaugh could add a powerful new voice on the Supreme Court to restrain what government agencies can do, ushering in a new era of tougher scrutiny of federal regulations loathed by businesses. In a dozen years on the U.S. …

Trump Administration Begins Repeal of Obama Clean Power Plan

When President Barack Obama unveiled his plan to pare emissions from U.S. power plants two years ago, he stressed the long-term health benefits: 3,600 fewer premature deaths, 90,000 fewer asthma attacks in children and a decline in hospital visits. Now, …

Harvey Leaves Texans to Clean Up Amid Health and Environmental Dangers

Harvey has moved on from the U.S. Gulf Coast, leaving behind a toxic stew of human sewage, dead cattle, leaking chemical plants, spilled gasoline storage tanks and abandoned pickup trucks. The cleanup will take patience, billions of dollars and fleets …

Trump Hands Climate Leadership Role to China to Dismay of Global Leaders

President Donald Trump’s decision to isolate the U.S. on climate change triggered waves of complaints from government and business leaders around the world and handed China a golden opportunity to burnish its image as a global leader. Trump’s withdrawal from …