Methane rule on pause
On Tuesday, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed a two-year pause on implementing an Obama-era rule meant to limit the release of methane from oil and gas operations. Congressional Republicans wanted to roll back the legislation in May under the Congressional Review Act, but the effort narrowly failed. Read more: “Trump administration delays rules limiting methane emissions”
Another monuments battle
A group of Oregon counties is in the midst of a lawsuit over the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument, one of several designated or expanded in the final days of the Obama administration. Earlier this year, the Association of O&C Counties, an organization dedicated to advocating for lands set aside for timber harvest, sued the federal government, alleging the monument included lands already set aside for another special purpose: timber harvest. The little-visited area has a long legacy of tension over the dwindling logging economy.
Crack-down on the border
On Thursday, the rule that was meant to protect parents of U.S.-born residents from deportation was rescinded by the Department of Homeland Security. But since Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) was proposed by Obama in 2014, its implementation has been ensnarled by legal challenges. Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program will remain in effect. On the same day in Arivaca, Arizona, the U.S. Border Patrol raided the medical aid camp of the humanitarian organization No More Deaths, which provides food, water, and medical care for undocumented immigrants crossing the border through the Sonoran Desert.
The Salton Sea, explained
If you need a refresher on the convoluted saga that is the Salton Sea, Contributing Editor Ruxandra Guidi recommends this fantastic explainer from The Desert Sun. “Beware the crunchiness,” she says, referring to its intricate explanations and mountains of detail. Well worth biting into.
Take a second look at steelheads
“How sockeye salmon turn red” is a question that, somehow, I had never considered. https://t.co/AwPc3y9vRx — Ben Goldfarb (@ben_a_goldfarb) June 13, 2017
Did you drown in a wave of news this week?hcn.org is your life preserver:
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