Environment
U.S. Satellite Capabilities for Tracking Wildfires
NASA's Aqua and Terra satellites, which have provided critical wildfire observation data for years, are expected to cease operations by late 2026 or early...
Geos Institute Ends 17-Year Lobbying Campaign
Geos Institute, which operates in environment, conservation, and scientific research, signed a termination of its lobbying registration on September 4.
Congress Debates Who Pays for Data Center Water Use
The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment held a hearing on September 3 to examine legislation reauthorizing drinking water programs and...
EPA Proposes Rescinding PFAS Drinking Water Standards
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) May 2026 proposal to rescind drinking water standards for four PFAS compounds threatens to unwind one of...
Congress Challenges Trump Over Conservation Fund Spending
Congress continues to debate how the Land and Water Conservation Fund's $900 million in annual mandatory spending should be used as lawmakers review the...
House Passes Mining Bill Locking in Expedited Environmental Reviews
The House passed the Protecting Domestic Mining Act on a narrow, nearly party-line vote on September 2, advancing legislation that would lock in expedited...
Marine Mammal Act Faces Pressure From Climate, Competing Uses
A Congressional Research Service (CRS) report on the Marine Mammal Protection Act reveals mounting tensions between conservation and competing ocean uses,...
House Passes North Atlantic Right Whale Regulation Extension
The House passed H.R. 9436 in a sharply divided vote on September 1, with Republicans largely backing an extension of the Trump administration's preferred...
House Rules Committee Weighs Whale Israel Mining and Socialism Bills
A House Rules Committee hearing scheduled for August 31, 2026 will consider four measures that span environmental protection, higher education policy,...
American Electric Power Maintains In-House Effort on Environment
American Electric Power Co. Inc. registered Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP as a lobbying firm on August 1, 2026, with Environmental/Superfund (ENV) listed as the...
U.S. Advances Seabed Mining Leases Amid Congressional Divide
The Trump administration is rapidly advancing seabed mining off U.S. coasts, and Congress is sharply divided on whether the strategy will help secure...
RMR Aggregates Hires Firm for Natural Resources Lobbying
RMR Aggregates Inc., the regulatory name for Rocky Mountain Industrials, hired Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck LLP in July to lobby on natural resources...
CIFA Hires Connor Deegan on Water Lobbying
The Council of Infrastructure Financing Authorities engaged Connor Deegan Government Affairs LLC to lobby on Budget/Appropriations issues. The registration...
Mesabi Metallics Hires Babbage Cofounder for Tariffs
Mesabi Metallics Co. LLC is ramping up federal lobbying efforts as it prepares to open Minnesota's first new iron ore mine and pellet plant in nearly 50...
U.S. Pursues Seabed Mining in International Waters
A Congressional Research Service report published in May 2026 examines how the Trump administration is pursuing seabed mining in international waters, a...
Trump Administration Cuts Three GeoXO Instruments
The restructuring of NOAA's next-generation geostationary satellite program has eliminated critical climate and ocean observation capabilities, even as...
ESA Funding Drops While Staffing Cuts Strain Implementation
A recent Congressional Research Service report examines how budget cuts and workforce reductions are straining federal agencies' ability to enforce the...
Chesapeake Bay Restoration Faces Funding and Pollution Challenges
A 2014 cost estimate suggested Chesapeake Bay restoration would require $5 billion per year just to implement the water quality TMDL by 2025, while CRS...