Nærøyfjord in Norway. By Samuli Lintula (Own work). [CC BY 2.5 , CC BY 2.0, GFDL, or CC-BY-SA-3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Here are some of the stories we’ve been following this week.

  • Norway boasts a sovereign wealth fund of nearly $1 trillion. The country is now trying to decide how best to manage the fund, which up until now has relied on avoiding risks.
  • A town in Slovakia is once again fighting to prevent construction of a landfill in the area. The battle over the landfill stretches back almost two decades.
  • The stench from a leaking natural gas pipeline that travels from Alabama to Florida has raised health concerns for people living along its route.
  • New legislation being considered in Massachusetts would require homeowners to disclose if lead was found in a property’s drinking pipes.
  • Activists in Colorado are working to keep residents on top of the news when it comes to the cleanup of mines like the Gold King Mine that spilled toxic waste into the Animas River two years ago.
  • An air force base in Illinois expects to finish removing soil contaminated with lead from nearby historic housing districts by 2019.
  • Despite the number of jobs created by hydraulic fracturing operations, many former coal workers are finding it hard to land a job in the fracking industry.
  • Homeowners in Ohio lost more than $150 million in property value over six years due to algal blooms in nearby lakes.
  • A debate over fines for  companies transporting oil and coal in uncovered rail cars could end up in court if voters in November approve the controversial law.