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

 

  • A 2015 rule aimed at keeping oil trains safe is being rolled back by the Trump administration. The rule required trains carrying highly explosive liquids to be installed with improved brakes.
  • Two months after a produced water spill in the Delaware River, the company responsible for the spill has finished the cleanup, and the affected soil will soon be remediated.
  • Following reported water contamination in Kent County, Michigan, a legislator wants to hold hearings on the incident, as well as the company that is responsible for the contamination.
  • Oregon will soon have a second natural gas power plant. Construction is expected to begin on the plant in January.
  • Residents of Fairway Oaks, Florida, are suing the city and the local Habitat for Humanity division, alleging that they were not told their homes were built on a former landfill. The lawsuit states the homes suffered foundation issues because they were built on top of the landfill.
  • Duke Energy could recover as much as $300 million from insurance companies connected with coal ash cleanup.
  • More than a dozen states are suing the current administration, alleging that officials are not enforcing smog regulations.
  • The utilities behind the Atlantic Coast Pipeline are looking to use eminent domain to acquire the land along the proposed route of the pipeline.
  • The Nebraska Public Service Commission approved a route for the Keystone XL pipeline. However, the route is not the one preferred by the company building the pipeline, so further negotiations and court battles could be in the future.
  • The unemployment rate remained at 4.1 percent, and analysts reported the economy continues to be strong, following the latest economic reports.