Monday, October 28, 2019
A Disastrous Disconnect
Kentucky is among the states blocking climate action. As weather gets more extreme, its residents — and U.S. taxpayers — are paying a price.
EXPLAINER | EPA
76 stories EPA
Since the passage of the Safe Drinking Water Act in 1974, the federal Environmental Protection Agency has set the standards for what constitutes safe drinking water for all the states.
Occasionally, the agency updates its rules and regulations. That happened in 2006, with the passage of three new rules addressing contaminates in ground water.
Not long after that, Oklahoma ran into a serious budget crises, and the state Department of Environmental Quality was cut, so much so that it could not afford to implement the new EPA rules.
As of March 2013, DEQ still hasn’t implemented those new rules, and if it doesn’t, the federal government is set to take over drinking was regulation in the state. That would put millions of dollars in federal assistance to communities with water infrastructure needs at risk.
Latest stories
Friday, November 16, 2018
Conservation groups criticize joint Oklahoma-Arkansas plan for sensitive watershed
Environmental groups want Oklahoma to complete a pollution plan overseen by the EPA, which the backed away from in recent years.
Friday, February 16, 2018
Environmental Groups Fight State’s Effort To Regulate Coal Ash On Its Own
In testimony at meetings in recent years and documents filed in support of its application to the EPA, Oklahoma environmental officials and utility industry representatives argue strongly for more state authority over coal ash.
Friday, September 15, 2017
Guarded Hope At Oklahoma’s Abandoned Mine As EPA Promises Focus On Contaminated Sites
Tuesday, May 30, 2017
‘EPA Pledges Bird Creek Clean-Up’
EPA Administrator and former Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt was back in the Sooner State last week — to talk about what his agency plans to do about saltwater contamination in Bird Creek in Osage County that could be tied to the oil and gas industry.
Wednesday, March 29, 2017
Oklahoma’s Utilities Moving Away From Coal Despite Trump’s New Climate Order
President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed an executive order to roll back many Obama-era rules meant to combat climate change.
Thursday, February 2, 2017
Republicans Outmaneuver Democratic Boycott to Allow Senate Vote on Oklahoma’s Scott Pruitt for EPA Boss
Tuesday, January 10, 2017
‘Pruitt Fundraising PACs to Wind Down by EPA Confirmation Hearing, Attorney Says’
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StateImpact Oklahoma Team
