EPA to open new office: Mountains, Deserts and Plains
EPA is announcing the creation of an Office of Mountains, Deserts and Plains to focus on issues in the West, including mine cleanup across the region… The new office, [EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler] said, will more effectively address environmental challenges with those practices, including acid mine drainage, erosion and hazardous substance releases that resulted in surface and groundwater contamination and degraded habitat…It’s unclear how the new office will interact with EPA’s existing regional office system…