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

South side of the United States-Mexico border wall in Progreso Lakes, Texas. March 2016. By Rebajae. From Wikimedia Commons. Used under CC BY-SA 3.0 US.

  • Two Virginia families filed a lawsuit against Dominion Energy, alleging the utility’s coal ash pond contaminated their wells and affected their property values.
  • Some members of Congress want to end the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program. The program was renewed until later this year. In the meantime, lawmakers are considering changing some of the requirements or possibly eliminating the program.
  • Property owners along the U.S.-Mexico border continue to fight eminent domain filings from more than a decade ago when President George W. Bush’s administration built additional segments of a border wall.
  • St. Louis officials announced that property values were up seven percent from two years ago, and it could result in increased property taxes for owners.
  • A resolution that would have rolled back regulations on methane emissions failed in the Senate.
  • The Dakota Access Pipeline had a minor leak last month that released 84 gallons of oil. The pipeline is not yet fully operational.
  • BP reached a settlement with the Plaquemines Parish in Louisiana over the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The company agreed to pay $45 million.
  • The Department of Environmental Conservation is testing test soil samples at homes near an old landfill. The decision to begin testing arose after complaints from landowners.
  • Officials in California found nearly one million residents have high levels of a dangerous chemical in their drinking water.