Energy & Environment
Biden reinstates migratory bird protections gutted under Trump
The Interior Department on Monday revoked a Trump administration policy that would have undercut a century-old law protecting migratory birds. The move strengthens federal regulators’ authority to enforce the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, a 1918 law that allows the government to prosecute polluters whose actions are responsible for the deaths of about 1,100 protected bird […]
Ga. House panel passes bill to require coal ash monitoring for decades
The state’s largest electric public utility would have to monitor groundwater near toxic coal ash ponds for five decades under a revived proposal that cleared a Georgia House committee Tuesday. And while the GOP bill has largely found support at the statehouse, environmentalists and residents living near the coal ash ponds have urged lawmakers to take […]
Okefenokee lovers still hope state, Biden administration will halt mine
This story was updated 11:50 a.m. Monday. Environmentalists hold up the controversial proposal to mine for minerals near the Okefenokee Swamp as the poster child of the lands that lost federal protection under former President Donald Trump’s administration last summer. That rule replaced an Obama-era one that opponents criticized as government overreach and shifted the […]
Rep. Scott leads House Ag panel to key in on climate change and farming
WASHINGTON — Democrats are eyeing proposals that would support programs for U.S. farmers — including Georgians who have suffered catastrophic losses from severe weather events in recent years — to reduce carbon emissions on their land. In his first major policy hearing as House Agriculture Committee chairman, Georgia Rep. David Scott said Thursday that the […]
Ga. House OKs bill to prohibit local bans against natural gas hookups
Officials from a handful of Georgia cities across the state are decrying legislation that would stop them from ever banning certain types of fuel connections, like natural gas hookups, as they try to hash out plans to reduce carbon emissions locally. That measure, sponsored by Republican Rep. Bruce Williamson, cleared the House of Representatives Monday […]
Georgia-Florida water wars case heard by U.S. Supreme Court
WASHINGTON—U.S. Supreme Court justices on Monday heard oral arguments in a long-running fight pitting Georgia farmers against Florida oystermen over water rights. The case, Florida v. Georgia, stems from a 2013 lawsuit filed by the state of Florida that argued Georgia was using too much water from the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint river system, which resulted in damage to oystermen […]
Georgia Power: Be a good ‘citizen’ with toxic coal ash
As sure as salt water licks the sands of our Golden Isles, we can expect the state’s largest utility to put a squeeze on Georgia’s Gold Dome. And if mythical sleuth Sherlock Holmes were stalking the halls, he’d say, in his British accent, “They don’t call it Georgia Power for naught.” Very few—if any—pieces of […]
Ga. lawmakers push bills to limit local government sway over energy rules
No Georgia city has passed an ordinance that dictates what energy sources can be used to power local homes and businesses – and some state lawmakers want to keep it that way. Still, Savannah Alderman Nick Palumbo and other city officials oppose a state proposal targeting the kind of ordinances seen in other states that […]
Interior delays last-minute Trump rule that would weaken bird protections
The Interior Department is delaying a last-minute Trump administration rule that would have weakened a century-old law protecting migratory birds, Interior officials said Thursday. Two weeks before former President Donald Trump left office, the Interior Department published a final rule that would have left the federal government unable to enforce the Migratory Bird Treaty Act against polluters […]
EPA nominee fields GOP discontent on Biden climate change orders
Michael Regan would “follow the science and follow the law” if confirmed as EPA administrator, he told the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee during a three-hour confirmation hearing Wednesday. President Joe Biden nominated Regan, who is currently the Secretary of Environmental Quality in North Carolina, for EPA administrator last month. Although Regan’s confirmation […]
U.S. Senate panel approves Vilsack as Ag secretary in bipartisan vote
WASHINGTON—The Senate Agriculture Committee on Tuesday unanimously approved Tom Vilsack’s nomination to lead USDA, after a hearing in which Vilsack discussed climate change goals in farming, food insecurity, supply chain problems and inequalities faced by Black farmers. Vilsack, a former Iowa governor who also ran the Agriculture Department for eight years during the Obama administration, […]
Firing of Georgian dogs Ag nominee Tom Vilsack at confirmation hearing
This post was updated 2 p.m. Feb. 3 to include this correction: An earlier version of this report misstated the connection that Lawrence Lucas, head of the USDA Coalition of Minority Employees, has to farming. Lucas grew up in a Black farm family. WASHINGTON — Tom Vilsack, the president’s pick to lead the Agriculture Department, […]