environmental protection agency | KUNR

environmental protection agency

EPA Finalizes 'Transparency' Rule, Which Critics Say Undermines Public Health

By • Jan 8, 2021

The EPA is finalizing a rule that says it’ll prioritize science that publishes raw data to make policy decisions.


Reno Lands EPA Funds To Help Revitalization Efforts

By • May 9, 2020
An image of the Truckee River at sunset.
Travel Nevada

The city of Reno is getting some help from the federal government in redeveloping its downtown core and riverwalk districts.

Citing COVID-19, EPA Puts Big Polluters On The Honor System

By • Apr 1, 2020

Some of the nation's top polluters are now running on the honor system after the Environmental Protection Agency last week announced relaxed enforcement of environmental regulations amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

GAO: Taxpayers On The Hook For Cleaning Up The West’s Abandoned Mines

By • Mar 13, 2020

A new government watchdog report published Wednesday says taxpayers are shouldering the burden of cleaning up the nation’s thousands of abandoned hardrock mines on public lands.

EPA Reauthorizes 'Cyanide Bombs' To Kill Predators, But With Buffers

By • Dec 6, 2019

The Trump administration has reauthorized the use of "cyanide bombs," a controversial device that kills animals suspected of preying on livestock and threatened species.

EPA Proposal Could Restrict The Science That Informs Public Health Laws

By • Nov 12, 2019

A new draft proposal by the Trump administration may throw both current and future clean air and water laws into question.

Wildfire Smoke Contributes To Air Quality Plummeting In The West

By • Nov 6, 2019
Wildfire smoke crosses the U.S. on jetstream
NASA

For much of the last decade, air pollution was decreasing. But it’s now on the rise, particularly in the West.

That’s according to a recent study by the National Bureau of Economic Research. It found that between 2016 and 2018, the levels of fine particulate matter increased 11.5% in the West. California's been impacted the most.

Tensions Over A Federal Agency That Kills Wildlife

By • Aug 28, 2019

You might not know it but there’s a branch of the U.S. Department of Agriculture whose job includes killing wild animals – to the tune of millions each year.  It used to be called Animal Damage Control. Now it’s simply called Wildlife Services. Depending on who you talk to, the agency is controversial and secretive or, well-managed and essential.