A coal ash pond near the Dan River.

A coal ash pond near the Dan River. A coal ash pond near the Dan River. Credit: USFWS/Steven Alexander. CC BY 2.0, via Flickr.

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

  • Oil trains are being utilized less this year. In the first five months of 2016, crude oil train transport is down 45 percent from last year.
  • Property values in central London are falling at the fastest rates in seven years. The recent vote to exit the European Union as well as the slowing economy have contributed to the drop.
  • A toxicologist in North Carolina said in a deposition last month that water near Duke Energy’s coal ash ponds is not safe to drink. The toxicologist said in the deposition that a public health official was unethical when he told residents living near the ponds that the water was safe to drink.
  • Pennsylvania landowners appealed a ruling by a Cumberland County Court that approved Sunoco Pipeline to exercise eminent domain to acquire land for a pipeline.
  • Residents in Oakey in Queensland, Australia are planning to sue after toxic chemicals used in firefighting foam made their way into the water, raising concerns about the effects on the water supply and local property values.
  • Oklahoma is joining the fight against the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) new methane regulations. More than a dozen states are pushing back against the regulations.