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La alta contaminación diaria por partículas es responsable de casi 48,000 muertes prematuras cada año en los EE. UU., según el último informe ‘State of the Air’, publicado el jueves por la American Lung Association.

El 84% de las personas en Arizona viven en comunidades que recibieron calificaciones de "F" por la calidad del aire, con los condados de Maricopa y Pinal entre los más contaminados y los condados de Pima y Gila siguiéndolos. Read more»

Maricopa County received a failing grade in air cleanliness based on high ozone days and high particle pollution days in the latest State of the Air report by the American Lung Association.

84% of people in Arizona live in communities that received “F” grades for their air quality based on high ozone days and high particle pollution days, with Maricopa and Pinal counties among the most polluted and Pima and Gila counties following. Read more» 1

The Phoenix metro area experienced 153 days with high ozone or particulate metter levels in 2018, just one reason environmental groups want stricter standards. But in April the EPA said it would not expand the rule on air pollution regarding particular matter in the air.

Particulate matter kills people. That was true before the pandemic, and new research has tied it to coronavirus deaths. But the EPA is ignoring scientists who say stricter particulate matter limits could prevent tens of thousands of early deaths. Read more»

The Environmental Protection Agency lashed out against critics of its decision to ease enforcement of some reporting requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic, saying the policy had been distorted by opponents. But environmental groups were not convinced, saying it creates a “catch me if you can” situation for polluters.

The Environmental Protection Agency this week defended its plans to waive some environmental compliance requirements in the face of the coronavirus, insisting the temporary policy is “not a license to pollute.” Read more»

A gas flare burns bright on a production site northeast of Andrews.

A Texas environmental protection group said it is "reckless" for the Environmental Protection Agency to waive enforcement of many protections. The federal agency said companies could have trouble complying due to the new coronavirus. Read more»

Low uranium prices make it difficult to justify operating the Canyon Mine, which opened in 1986 but has produced no ore.

The U.S. imports most of the uranium it uses because it’s cheaper to buy from other countries. The Trump administration wants to change that and is looking into creating quotas on domestic use. This could affect the temporary ban now in place on uranium mining in and around Grand Canyon. Read more»

Protesters (from left) Andrea Castro, Janna Hynds and Karina Hawkins attend the Arizona Youth Climate Strike at the Capitol on March 15.

Federal judges are weighing whether the U.S. can be held legally responsible for failing to protect future generations from climate change. Read more»

The federal government has approved a proposal that would allow the Four Corners Power Plant to continue operating for another 25 years, while expanding a nearby coal mine that feeds the plant.

Federal officials approved a multi-year deal last week to allow expanded mining of coal on Navajo lands and continued burning of it at the nearby Four Corners Power Plant, along with other measures. Read more» 6

The Deepwater Horizon drilling rig on fire in the Gulf of Mexico in April 2010. Some question the U.S. Chemical Safety Board’s decision to investigate the accident in light of other federal inquiries and a lengthy case backlog at the CSB. Still incomplete, the investigation has cost about $4 million.

As members of Congress raise questions, the Environmental Protection Agency’s inspector general is auditing the U.S. Chemical Safety Board’s investigative process. Read more»

President Obama waves to the crowd at the Intel campus in Chandler in January 2012. Obama was there to discuss high-tech job creation and tour the computer chipmaker's new facility.

Despite congressional failure to pass essential legislation to reduce carbon pollution and establish a renewable electricity standard, during its first term the Obama administration successfully adopted policies to protect public health from air pollution, lower oil consumption, and create jobs. Read more»

Henry Darwin, director of the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, answers questions during an interview Tuesday.

Instead of tangling with Arizona over the Clean Air Act, federal regulators should consider Arizona's unique factors, the state's environmental chief says. Read more»

U.S. Rep. Jeff Flake, a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, speaks with business leaders on Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2012, in Phoenix about federal air-quality regulations.

The EPA's strict enforcement of air-quality regulations in Arizona is stifling job creation and proving costly to businesses unable to meet the standards, U.S. Rep. Jeff Flake said Wednesday. Read more» 2

Arizona Department of Environmental Quality Director Henry Darwin, right, told state environmental directors at a forum on Capitol Hill that his agency may have to sue the Environmental Protection Agency if it does not act soon on the state’s air-quality plan.

Arizona is tired of waiting for the federal government to act on the state’s proposed air-quality plan and “very well may” sue the Environmental Protection Agency if action is not taken soon, a state official said Thursday. Read more»

Navajo Nation officials say hundreds of tribal jobs are dependent on the San Juan power plant and an affiliated coal mine, but that the plant’s viability could be threatened by federal environmental regulations.

More than 300 Navajo Nation jobs are at stake because of “excessively stringent and expensive” regulations the EPA has proposed for the San Juan power plant, a tribal official testified Wednesday. Read more»

Wildfires cause haze over the Grand Canyon.

By November, the EPA is supposed to complete a plan that could regulate emissions from dozens of Texas’ industrial plants, with the goal of reducing haze at parks. Read more»

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