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

By InSapphoWeTrust Los Angeles Airport. [CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

  • The Utah Attorney General is seeking nearly $2 million to cover the cost of damages and the cleanup of the Gold King Mine spill.
  • The proposed Trans Mountain Pipeline could be in jeopardy. Two Canadian officials are expected to discuss the future of the pipeline next week.
  • Workers at the Kingston coal ash spill are complaining of health issues. A lawsuit has been filed on behalf of several workers who became ill after working on the cleanup.
  • Australia’s first solar-methane plant will use methane from decomposed garbage and solar energy to power about 1,800 homes.
  • When an employee moves to begin work on a new hydraulic fracturing operation, the family will often move as well. This can put a unique strain on local school systems, and the economic benefits for the school systems from the fracking operations can be overestimated.
  • A proposed amendment to the Pennsylvania Constitution could provide relief to property owners if the amendment is approved by voters in November.
  • In Michigan, 130 homeowners are suing Ford Motor Co. after a plume of toxic chemicals was found to be moving underground toward several neighborhoods.
  • Investments in the U.S. infrastructure, especially from the private sector, is on the decline.
  • Officials in Los Angeles are using eminent domain to take over several homes in an area that will soon be developed for the Los Angeles International Airport.