Environment

Former Rep. Justin Jones, D-Memphis, concludes his defense prior to the House of Representatives voting to expel him on partisan lines. (Photo: John Partipilo)

U.S. House votes to roll back Biden’s WOTUS rule

BY: - March 15, 2023

The U.S. House voted last week to undo a Biden administration definition of wetlands that allows for regulations on private lands. The chamber approved, 227-198, a resolution to roll back the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s broader definition of what qualifies as “waters of the United States,” or WOTUS, for the purposes of federal regulation under […]

A locked gate keeps trespassers out of the former Monsanto plant property in Maury County, which Trinity Business Group proposes developing for a regional waste center. (Photo: John Partipilo)

Louisiana landfill company pushes back on Duck River protections

BY: - March 9, 2023

The owner of a Louisiana company with plans to develop a controversial regional waste complex on 1,300 acres in Maury County pushed back Wednesday against a bill that would provide protections to a stretch of the Duck River, suggesting it was a thinly veiled effort to tank his business plans.  Trinity Business Group plans to […]

"Legislating inequity, economically, is wrong," said Rep. Justin J. Pearson, photographed on March 6, 2023, in Memphis, Tenn. (Photo By Karen Pulfer Focht)

Brownfield bill funnels millions into polluted properties but slights environmental justice needs

BY: - March 7, 2023

Tennessee legislative committees are moving forward a bill that would give money to communities that want to clean up abandoned and polluted properties, but not all counties will have the same opportunity to obtain funding from the emerging Brownfield Redevelopment Area Fund and Grant Program.   Across the state, factories, gas stations, dry cleaners and other […]

From left, U.S. Rep. Brittany Pettersen, mountain climber Sasha DiGiulian and Vice President Kamala Harris take part in a panel discussion on the climate crisis at the Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities west of Denver on March 6, 2023. (Lindsey Toomer/Colorado Newsline)

Kamala Harris visits Colorado to highlight Biden administration’s climate action

BY: - March 6, 2023

Vice President Kamala Harris joined an audience of Colorado elected officials and other stakeholders in Arvada to talk about the Biden administration’s latest efforts to tackle climate change. In a panel discussion led by U.S. Rep. Brittany Pettersen of Lakewood as well as rock climber and environmental advocate Sasha DiGiulian of Boulder at the Arvada […]

(Photo: Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency)

Trotline safety bill stalls out in Tennessee legislature

BY: - March 6, 2023

An effort to regulate trotlines — unmanned fishing lines studded with hooks that are strung across some Tennessee waterways — has stalled in the Legislature, frustrating paddler groups who say they pose a safety hazard on the state’s increasing crowded rivers and streams. Rep. Paul Sherrell and Sen. Paul Bailey, both Sparta Republicans, earlier this […]

Former Rep. Justin Jones, D-Memphis, concludes his defense prior to the House of Representatives voting to expel him on partisan lines. (Photo: John Partipilo)

Effort to protect Duck River advances in Tennessee legislature

BY: - March 1, 2023

A bill to designate a stretch of the Duck River in Maury County a “scenic waterway” advanced in the Tennessee Legislature on Tuesday — a measure that may come into play with local efforts to fight a for-profit mega trash complex along its banks. The measure by Rep. Scott Cepicky, R-Culleoka and Sen. Joey Hensley, […]

Aerial view of the train derailment wreckage in East Palestine. (Screenshot from NTSB B-roll recorded Feb. 5, 2023)

Federal government to send medical experts to site of Ohio train derailment

BY: - February 20, 2023

WASHINGTON — The federal government is sending medical personnel and toxicologists to conduct public health testing following the derailment of a train carrying hazardous materials that released into a small town near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border. A team from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will be […]

Tennessee Valley Authority offices in Knoxville. (Photo: TVA)

As Southeast states warm, TVA criticized on preparations for dealing with climate hazards

BY: - February 5, 2023

WASHINGTON – Extreme weather patterns have sparked several improvements to the climate resiliency of Tennessee Valley Authority electrical infrastructure over the past two decades.  However, a report from a government watchdog found the huge utility still has work to do in mitigating climate hazards to the regional power grid. “TVA has taken several steps to […]

Wind turbines in Schlewswig, Iowa. MISO, which manages the flow of electricity in all or part of 15 U.S. states, was able to export power to its southern neighbors in part because its wind turbines produced enough energy during the storm. (Photo by Christopher A. Jones/Getty Images)

How did renewables fare during Winter Storm Elliott

BY: - January 31, 2023

A day after Christmas, as parts of the country were still digging out from Winter Storm Elliott, the Wall Street Journal’s editorial page, undeterred by the absence of much concrete data, already knew where to cast the blame for rolling blackouts implemented in parts of the South to keep the grid from collapsing.  “While there […]

Will Burton, a Weakley County farmer, said the overbearing smell of rotting chicken carcasses is affecting his family: "Just death and rotting carcasses."(Photo: John Partipilo)

‘Composting’ birds: Avian flu hits West Tennessee farm and 267,000 birds are destroyed

BY: - January 30, 2023

The first sign of something awry was the road closure on the two-lane country road that goes right past Will Burton’s Weakley County farm, his fields, barns and the one-story house he shares with his fiancee and three kids.  White trucks — emblazoned with the seal of the Tennessee Department of Agriculture and “fire and […]

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 29: Brielle Robinson, daughter of the late Army Sgt. First Class Heath Robinson, joins veterans advocacy groups, activists, politicians and fellow victims' families during a news conference about military burn pits legislation outside the U.S. Capitol on March 29, 2022 in Washington, DC. The legislation, called the SFC Heath Robinson Burn Pit Transparency Act passed the House of Representatives and is aimed at addressing issues impacting toxic-exposed veterans’ access to earned benefits and care. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Calls by Tennessee veterans double after expansion of VA healthcare benefits

BY: - January 23, 2023

More than 100,000 veterans in Tennessee may have been exposed to toxic substances during their military service and could be eligible for newly expanded healthcare benefits, according to the state’s department of veteran’s services. In August, President Joe Biden signed the PACT Act into law, expanding Veterans Administration  benefits for men and women who were […]

With three hurricanes in 2020, Louisiana had the worst performance among states for getting the power back on after a major event, according to a new report that compared how utilities ranked in three areas: reliability, affordability and environmental responsibility. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Affordable, reliable and sustainable: report compares utility performance

BY: - January 23, 2023

A nationwide comparison of electric utility performance by an Illinois consumer advocacy group found that customers in states that are heavily reliant on fuel oil and natural gas, as in the Northeast and South, tend to pay more than those with larger amounts of carbon-free generation, among other findings.  The report by the Illinois-based Citizens […]