Articles by Michael Phillis

EPA Considers Weakening Regulations on Coal Ash Disposal

In 2022, federal officials rebuked a major coal plant next to the Ohio River for letting coal waste — in a pile so big it could fill the Dallas Cowboys’ football stadium twice over — threaten groundwater with heavy metal …

Justice Dept. Says Ending La. Petrochemical Case Helps Dismantle ‘DEI Programs’

The Justice Department on Friday celebrated its decision to drop a federal lawsuit against a Louisiana petrochemical plant accused of worsening cancer risks for residents in a majority-Black community, saying the dismissal showed that officials are “delivering on President (Donald) …

Trump Administration Plans to Drop Lawsuit Against Louisiana Petrochemical Plant

President Donald Trump’s administration plans to drop a federal lawsuit against a synthetic rubber manufacturer accused of worsening cancer risks for residents in a majority-Black community near its Louisiana plant, two sources familiar with the matter said Tuesday. The move …

Helene’s Flooding a Reminder of Appalachia’s Growing Risk From Violent Storms

HENDERSONVILLE, N.C. (AP) — Hurricane Helene dumped trillions of gallons of water hundreds of miles inland, devastating communities nestled in mountains far from the threat of storm surge or sea level rise. But that distance can conceal a history of …

EPA Issues Rare Emergency Ban on Pesticide That Damages Fetuses

For the first time in roughly 40 years, the Environmental Protection Agency used its emergency authority to halt the sale of a weed-killing pesticide that harms the development of unborn babies. Officials took the rare step because the pesticide DCPA, …

Worsening Floods Pose Threat to US Dam Safety

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Early last week, floodwater in rural Minnesota pushed debris against a more than century-old dam and then carved a path around it, eroding so much of the riverbank that most of a house fell into the …

For Shrinking Mississippi River Towns, Frequent Floods Worsen Fortunes

WEST ALTON, Mo. (AP) — Devastating flooding, driven in part by climate change, is taking an especially damaging toll on communities that once thrived along the banks of America’s most storied river. Flooding has pushed people out of their homes …

Mississippi River Flooding is Pushing People Out of Their Homes, Data Shows

WEST ALTON, Mo. (AP) — Commerce along the Mississippi River has evolved over the past century at the expense of many once-thriving river towns. But persistent and sometimes devastating flooding has added to the woes of some of those towns. …

EPA Says Water Utilities Need to Do More to Stop More Frequent Cyberattacks

Cyberattacks against water utilities across the country are becoming more frequent and more severe, the Environmental Protection Agency warned Monday as it issued an enforcement alert urging water systems to take immediate actions to protect the nation’s drinking water. About …

Once Praised, Settlement to Help BP Oil Spill Workers Leaves Most With Nearly Nothing

When a deadly explosion destroyed BP’s Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico, 134 million gallons of crude erupted into the sea over the next three months — and tens of thousands of ordinary people were hired to …