The Trump EPA ends protections for nearly a fifth of the nation’s streams and half the wetlands, and proposes ending the requirement for environmental reviews and public input for all kinds of projects. Plus, what’s next for air quality in Allegheny County? A look at mercury pollution in the Ohio River.
Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google | TuneIn
Is Weakening a Landmark Environmental Law Trump’s Biggest Rollback Yet? - One advocate says rolling back of rules for environmental assessments is "a fundamental attack on our system of environmental protection.”
Whose Job Is it to Reduce Toxic Mercury in the Ohio River? - The brain-harming metal is discharged directly into the river or carried to it on air currents. Some argue authorities are doing too little to stop both routes of pollution. 
Study: Redlining Intensifies the Impact of Climate Change in Urban Areas - The legacy of the discriminatory federal housing policy known as redlining continues to deprive some urban neighborhoods of investment. A new study maps how that former policy worsens the impacts of climate change.
A Decade of Cleaner Air Ended in Controversy and Questions about Allegheny County’s Future - Recent fires at the Clairton Coke Works and temperature inversions have sparked a debate about what should be done to address air pollution in the county.
Trump Administration Rescinds Protections for Some Streams and Wetlands - The new rule would exempt 18 percent of the nation’s streams, and more than half of its wetlands from oversight. Farmers, developers and energy companies applauded the rule.
Sunoco fined $2 million for Mariner East spills in Raystown Lake - In 2017, Sunoco spilled more than 200,000 gallons of drilling mud into the lake while building the Mariner East pipeline beneath it. Sunoco didn’t immediately report the spills, which coated 8-acres of the lakebed.
