Apparently, our "president" did it again! Tuesday morning Trump signed a moratorium on rolling back President Obama restrictions for coal mining on federal lands.
According to the Washington Post, “This is an important moment for EPA,” chief of staff Ryan Jackson wrote. “As the Administrator has mentioned many times, we do not have to choose between environmental protection and economic development.”
On Thursday, President Trump outlined his plans to slash 31% of the Environmental Protection Agency’s budget. The specifics on exactly what programs will be slashed in that included 31% reduction is still hazy, with no real detailed plan released by the White House. But, the bold statement beckons back to the Trump campaign theme to significantly reduce government spending in environmental and social services.
In the wake of the King County Wastewater Treatment plant operating at less than full capacity after heavy rainfall resulted in flooding and insurmountable damage to the plant, Bainbridge Island residents are concerned about the water quality and safety on their beaches.
The plant has been continually releasing excess sewage from the plant since early February, with no time frame available of when they will be able to fix all of their equipment. The wastewater treatment plant is located 4 miles from Bainbridge Island, which is raising concerns for Bainbridge residents.
A crash involving a tanker carrying butane and multiple vehicles has resulted in a rollover of the tanker on Interstate 5 between I-90 and the West Seattle Bridge in both directions. The Washington State Department of Transportation has warned driver to expect heavy congestion to and through downtown Seattle. They haven’t given an estimated time for reopening and drivers should use alternate routes or expect lengthy delays.
After enormous amounts of rain today in the Western Washington area, the King County Wastewater Treatment Division reported that they had experienced flooding at their West Point Treatment Plant in Seattle, WA.
As a result, they've had to shut down some of their operations and divert 150-200 million gallons of combined stormwater and wastewater to an emergency bypass outfall into Puget Sound since about 2:30 a.m. Thursday morning.
On Thursday Myron Ebell, former head of President Trump's transition team at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), said in an interview with The Associated Press that he expects to see massive cuts in the agency's budget. The results of a cut in budget allocation would result in significant staffing reductions.
Today President Trump signed a presidential order to roll back the halt of two controversial oil pipelines, the Keystone XL and the Dakota Access.
This reversal comes after, under the Obama administration, the State Department rejected TransCanada's application for a permit to complete the Keystone XL pipeline. Then, after a growing backlash from Native American groups from across the country and environmentalists, former President Obama put a stop to the Dakota pipeline.
During a powerful windstorm over the weekend in California’s Calaveras Big Trees State Park, resulted in the toppling of the iconic “Tunnel Tree”. This, and many other ancient Sequoia trees in the region, can live up to 3,000 years old, though the age of this particular tree is unknown.
On Tuesday, President Obama announced a permanent ban on offshore drilling in wide areas of the Arctic and the Atlantic Seaboard. This comes as President-Elect Donald Trump has secured enough electorial votes to secure the presidency.
In a North Dakota creek pipeline burst, electric monitoring equipment failed to detect an equipment rupture. According to sources,“[M]ore than 176,000 gallons of crude oil into a North Dakota creek, according to the pipeline’s operator, about 150 miles from the site of the Standing Rock protests.
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