Articles by Michael Phillis and John Hanna

Worsening Floods Pose Threat to US Dam Safety

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Early last week, floodwater in rural Minnesota pushed debris against a more than century-old dam and then carved a path around it, eroding so much of the riverbank that most of a house fell into the …

For Shrinking Mississippi River Towns, Frequent Floods Worsen Fortunes

WEST ALTON, Mo. (AP) — Devastating flooding, driven in part by climate change, is taking an especially damaging toll on communities that once thrived along the banks of America’s most storied river. Flooding has pushed people out of their homes …

Mississippi River Flooding is Pushing People Out of Their Homes, Data Shows

WEST ALTON, Mo. (AP) — Commerce along the Mississippi River has evolved over the past century at the expense of many once-thriving river towns. But persistent and sometimes devastating flooding has added to the woes of some of those towns. …

EPA Says Water Utilities Need to Do More to Stop More Frequent Cyberattacks

Cyberattacks against water utilities across the country are becoming more frequent and more severe, the Environmental Protection Agency warned Monday as it issued an enforcement alert urging water systems to take immediate actions to protect the nation’s drinking water. About …

Once Praised, Settlement to Help BP Oil Spill Workers Leaves Most With Nearly Nothing

When a deadly explosion destroyed BP’s Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico, 134 million gallons of crude erupted into the sea over the next three months — and tens of thousands of ordinary people were hired to …

EPA Assessment Reveals Persistent Nutrient Pollution in US Rivers and Streams

The nation’s rivers and streams remain stubbornly polluted with nutrients that contaminate drinking water and fuel a gigantic dead zone for aquatic life in the Gulf of Mexico, according to a recently released Environmental Protection Agency assessment. It’s a difficult …

Flooding Drives Millions to Move as Climate Migration Patterns Emerge

Flooding is driving millions of people to move out of their homes, limiting growth in some prospering communities and accelerating the decline of others, according to a new study that details how climate change and flooding are transforming where Americans …

Louisiana Was Open to Cancer Alley Concessions. Then EPA Dropped its Investigation

For more than a year, the Environmental Protection Agency investigated whether Louisiana officials discriminated against Black residents by putting them at increased cancer risk. Federal officials said they had found evidence of discrimination and were pressuring the state to strengthen …

Many US Cities Vulnerable to Low Water Pressure Amid Wildfire Dangers

Hours before devastating fires scorched the historic town of Lahaina on Maui, Kyle Ellison labored to save his rental house in Kula, a rural mountain town 24 miles away, from a different blaze. As high winds whipped burning trees and …

How Push for the Atomic Bomb Spawned Enduring Radioactive Waste Problems in St. Louis

ST. LOUIS (AP) __ The federal government and companies responsible for nuclear bomb production and atomic waste storage sites in the St. Louis area in the mid- 20th century were aware of health risks, spills, improperly stored contaminants and other …