The Rundown
An Idaho Republican proposes a $33.5 billion initiative to
breach dams in the Snake River basin, help salmon, and invest in the regional economy. A Senate committee holds a
confirmation hearing for President Biden’s pick to lead the EPA. Senators team up for bipartisan bills on
rural water assistance and
tribal water infrastructure. Oregon senators intend to designate thousands of miles of streams in their state as
wild and scenic. A Florida representative proposes adding
harmful algal blooms to the list of hazards that can trigger a major disaster declaration. FEMA releases funds to California for
Oroville Dam spillway repairs. And lastly, the EPA resumes public check-ins on
Electric vehicle charging stations in one of the parking decks in downtown Wilmington. (Port City Daily photo/Hannah Leyva)
WILMINGTON – The City of Wilmington is joining other urban cities across the nation in the fight against climate change by committing to clean energy over the next 30 years.
In March 2020 the city council established the Ad Hoc Clean Energy Policy Task Force to set the path for these green ambitions. Since then, a group of 34 volunteers – made up of residents, business and utility representatives, council appointees and others – have met to conduct research and study best practices.
“As we all begin to have to deal with the impacts from climate change, looking at ways that we can reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and lower our dependence on fossil fuels is going to be increasingly important,” said Wilmington Sustainability Program Manager David Ingram, who led the effort.
EPA administrator nominee Michael Regan yesterday appeared to somewhat ease Republican anxiety over the fate of President Trump's controversial rule that rolled back federal protections for streams and wetlands by vowing to listen to farmers at the center of the fight.
President Joe Biden's pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency acknowledged that the administration's green energy agenda will enrich China in the near future.
February 5, 2021
IARN President Biden’s nominee to head the Environmental Protection Agency testified before the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works late Wednesday afternoon.
EPA nominee Michael Regan, age 44, most recently led the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality. He spoke to the Senate panel about his last four years of work providing North Carolina residents cleaner air and water while nurturing the state’s economy.
“I fell in love with the outdoors, growing up in eastern North Carolina, hunting and fishing with my father and grandfather,” Regan said. “Those beautiful waters and those lands are legacies they were proud to share with me, but they also taught me that protecting them was my responsibility as well. Like millions of Americans living rural communities, preserving our natural resources isn’t something just to balance with the economy. It’s essential for economic growth, along with protecting public health and our way of