The EPA released rules ordered by Congress last year on testing for chemicals used in commercial products.
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke testified before Senate about his plans to cut 4,000 employees (about 8 percent of his department’s workforce) through attrition, buyouts and reassignments.
Energy Secretary Rick Perry said the government needs to prioritize nuclear waste storage and move forward on the Yucca Mountain waste depository project when he testified on the energy budget before a House budget subcommittee.
Energy Secretary Rick Perry denied that carbon dioxide emissions from human activities are the main cause of climate change or that climate change is primarily caused by CO2, contrary to scientific opinions and the conclusions of government agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency.
The Environmental Protection Agency dismissed implications that fossil fuel companies had any special access to Administrator Scott Pruitt after emails were released last week.
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke recommended that President Donald Trump shrink the boundaries of the Bears Ears National Monument. Zinke also said he is considering changes to Maine’s Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument, a move that may include making it a national park.
The Department of Energy will eliminate its Office of International Climate and Technology, which works with other countries to develop clean-energy technology.
A federal judge ruled that the Trump administration has to conduct further environmental reviews on the Dakota Access Pipeline, but he did not halt the pipeline’s operations.
Global coal consumption dropped 1.7 percent in 2016, compared to an average of 1.9 percent growth from 2005 to 2015.
The Environmental Protection Agency will reassess a chemical safety rule, delaying its implementation at least until 2019.