Page 15 - Working Lands News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

The Environmental Protection Agency is proposing tougher air-quality standards for soot pollution, and an Arkansas clean-air advocacy group says it's a step in the right direction. Soot is fine particulate matter from power plants, vehicles and refineries, and the EPA wants to revise its National Ambient Air Quality Standards for soot. Glen Hooks, policy manager for the group Audubon Delta, said the EPA proposal would reduce the maximum allowable amount of this type of pollution from 12 micrograms per cubic meter of air to nine or 10. ...

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has refused to stop developers of the Thacker Pass Lithium Mine in Northern Nevada while an appeal by conservation groups is being considered. The groups said they're disappointed with the decision, as they hoped filing an emergency motion with the court would stop the development - at least, until their appeal could be heard. But the court gave mine developers the green light to proceed. ...

New York lawmakers have introduced a bill to ban radioactive waste from being discharged from the Indian Point Energy Center. This comes as the facility's owner, Holtec International, is considering dumping treated - but still radioactive - waste into the Hudson River. The river has a history of pollutants being dumped into it, and some 200 river miles are classified as a superfund site by the Environmental Protection Agency. ...

The first year of the state’s Climate Action Plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050 was marked by billions being pledged on facilities to help the state meet that goal. But there still is a lot of work to be done.

Now is the best time yet to ratchet up spending on natural resources.