These are some of the stories we’ve been following this week.
- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has found additional private properties near Coldwater Creek in Missouri that have radioactive contamination from old nuclear processing waste storage sites.
Barnett Shale drilling rig, courtesy of David R. Tribble, CC BY-SA 3.0.
- Environmentalists and residents living near fracking sites have been criticizing the conclusions of a draft study the U.S. EPA released in June that concluded that there was no evidence of widespread contamination of drinking water due to fracking. We wrote about the study here.
- The Colorado Supreme Court heard arguments this week from Longmont and Fort Collins about fracking in the state and whether local governments should be able to ban the controversial drilling technique.
- The United States now has a large supply of proved reserves of natural gas, and unconventional shale gas production has played a considerable role.
- A North Carolina Administrative Law Judge wants to know why the State granted Duke Energy permits to dump coal ash into open-pit clay mines in Chatham and Lee counties as a “beneficial use.”
- With the clock counting down, it looks like Congress could reauthorize the EB-5 Immigrant Investor visa program very soon.
- Part of the intent of the EB-5 program is to stimulate investment in projects that will help low-income areas. However, loopholes allow investors to put that money in areas that are more prosperous. Civil rights groups are upset about what they call “bait and switch” tactics.
- Wells Fargo is being sued by an individual homeowner over alleged predatory lending practices. The lawsuit was filed in 2010 by an African-American veteran of the U.S. Army.
- Federal railroad regulators are focusing on worn rail systems after several dangerous train derailments in the last few years. However, the railroad industry may oppose any attempts at new regulations.
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