Two massive wildfires in south Georgia have scorched more than 40,000 acres and destroyed over 120 homes.

By The Associated Press

Extreme drought has turned the region into a tinderbox, allowing flames to spread. Overnight, new fires broke out in rural South Georgia. High winds have made efforts to contain the fires difficult, officials said in a news conference Saturday afternoon.

Brantley County Manager Joey Cason called the wildfires a “dynamic situation” in a Saturday-morning video posted on social media and begged residents to “please evacuate” if they are ordered to do so. New evacuation orders were issued as the fire spread.

“Leave the scene. This fire is moving quickly, and we do not have much control over where it’s headed. Please leave,” Cason said Saturday afternoon at a news conference, addressing Georgia residents facing evacuation orders.

One woman — who saw flames coming and fled with four kids and 10 dogs to Florida — said she watched her family’s home burn on her phone, through Ring cameras.

“When both of my devices were offline, and it was black, and I couldn’t see more, it was so gut-wrenching because then I knew, like, they got … what I call home,” Anna Dudek told CBS News’ Mark Strassmann.

Two massive wildfires in south Georgia have scorched more than 40,000 acres and destroyed over 120 homes. Read More »

EPA releases PFAS destruction and disposal guidance 

The guidance, now updated once a year, maintains that landfills are likely emitting more PFAS than previously thought. Newer data shows promise for some incineration, but more research is needed.

By Megan Quinn, Waste Dive

Updated PFAS destruction and disposal guidance, released by the U.S. EPA on Thursday, notes “promising” new research into the effectiveness of certain methods for destroying per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances, along with ongoing research gaps and areas of concern.

The EPA’s destruction and disposal guidance document, first published in 2021, summarizes the available research on three “widely used and commercially available” types of technologies: deep-well injection, landfilling and thermal treatments such as incineration. The document isn’t meant to endorse one method over another, the agency says, and it doesn’t establish regulations or requirements. 

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In 2025, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced the agency would update the document annually instead of every three years, saying “we need to continue to research PFAS” both within the agency and outside EPA’s jurisdiction.

The newly published guidance says certain hazardous waste combustors could effectively destroy some types of PFAS. Yet it also highlights “unknowns” over emission control efficiency and other elements that need further study.      

Meanwhile, landfills are likely releasing more PFAS to the environment than researchers previously thought in 2024, the document states. The agency recommends operators choose a hazardous waste landfill when “PFAS concentration of the waste is relatively high,” but notes that more research is needed into the possible pathways PFAS can take once inside any kind of landfill, such as through leachate or air emissions.

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Mexico pulls a “land-based Panama Canal” out of its hat

Trains idle at what is set to become the country’s largest railway complex in Matías Romero, Oaxaca, a city of under 40,000 people, according to Mexico’s 2020 census. When construction is completed, by the end of 2025, the complex will comprise a range of facilities, including dispatch and education centers that will train personnel from across the region.
Trains idle at what is set to become the country’s largest railway complex in Matías Romero, Oaxaca, a city of under 40,000 people, according to Mexico’s 2020 census. When construction is completed, by the end of 2025, the complex will comprise a range of facilities, including dispatch and education centers that will train personnel from across the region.

By Sonia Ramírez, EcoNews

In southern Mexico, bulldozers and rail crews are reshaping one of the narrowest slices of land on the continent. Millions of tons of earth are being moved to finish the Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, a 303 km rail bridge that links the Pacific and the Gulf of Mexico.

Officials present it as a modern dry canal that can rival the historic Panama Canal and help keep global trade moving even when water runs short.

A rail bridge across a biodiversity hotspot

The corridor connects the ports of Salina Cruz on the Pacific and Coatzacoalcos on the Gulf through upgraded tracks, highways, and a string of industrial parks.

Official planning documents describe a logistics platform designed for heavy container trains, with the main rail line stretching a little over 300 kilometers and engineered for port-to-port journeys in under six hours. Planners say the system could eventually move around 1.4 million containers per year.

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On paper, that sounds like efficiency. Trains move large volumes of freight using far less fuel per ton mile than trucks, and several studies suggest rail can cut freight-related greenhouse gas emissions by roughly three quarters when it replaces long-haul road transport.

For shippers tired of watching vessels queue for canal slots, the idea of loading goods onto a train for a same day crossing has obvious appeal.

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Pa.’s largest coal-fired power plants would stay open until 2032 in proposed DEP deal

The Keystone Generating Station is located in Plumcreek Township, Armstrong County. The coal-powered power plant is scheduled to close before the end of 2028. (Photo by John Beale for the Pennsylvania Capital-Star)
The Keystone Generating Station is located in Plumcreek Township, Armstrong County. The coal-powered power plant was scheduled to close before the end of 2028. (Photo by John Beale for the Pennsylvania Capital-Star)


By Peter Hall PA Capital Star -April 22, 2026

 The commonwealth’s two largest coal-burning power plants, which were slated to cease operation in less than three years, would remain in service through 2032 under an agreement with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

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Instead of shutting down, owners of the Keystone and Conemaugh generating stations in Indiana and Armstrong counties have agreed to make upgrades to reduce ash and heavy metal pollution from the wastewater the plants discharge into western Pennsylvania waterways.

Under a proposed consent decree, the plants’ owners would have until 2028 to complete the upgrades with periodic deadlines for progress. The DEP filed a motion seeking a judge’s approval Tuesday in Indiana County Court of Common Pleas.

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Ohio court may OK fracking-waste wells despite pollution concerns

A legal challenge to the fossil fuel project faces dismissal, which would let the developer advance even as similar local pushback stifles Ohio’s solar buildout.

Aerial view of a site with fracking equipment surrounded by forest
Gas fracking in West Virginia. Waste from fracking can contain heavy metals, radioactive chemicals, and other chemical compounds. (iStock Editorial/Getty Images Plus)

By Kathiann M. Kowalski, Canary Media

Ohio is a notoriously difficult state for building renewable energy. Many counties ban wind and solar outright, but even in those that don’t, state regulators often rely on local opposition to deny permits for developers.

Fossil fuel companies, on the other hand, do not face these hurdles. This discrepancy is underscored by the fact that plans to build two fracking-waste wells in Ohio’s rural Washington County are poised to move ahead despite objections from residents, environmental groups, and nearby town governments. DeepRock Disposal Solutions aims to use these deep holes in the earth to push toxic liquid waste from fracking oil and gas into porous rock layers far underground.

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Last week, a Franklin County Court of Appeals magistrate — a court officer who handles preliminary matters as well as detailed issues in complex cases — recommended the dismissal of a lawsuit filed by Buckeye Environmental Network in opposition to the wells. The group argues that the state illegally relied on outdated rules when permitting the project, which risks contaminating local groundwater supplies.

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Md bill trades cost-saving energy efficiency for short-term relief

Advocates say Maryland lawmakers passed energy proposals, including one on nuclear subsidies, without adequate analysis or public debate during the 2026 session.

By Aman Azar, Canary Media

Maryland lawmakers’ new solution for rising utility bills reduces a surcharge funding an effective energy-efficiency program, offers rebates by raiding the state’s clean energy fund, and includes subsidies for nuclear power that advocates say may prove costly over time.

Passed in the final minutes of this year’s session, the Utility RELIEF Act also puts a one-year moratorium on forecasted ratemaking, in which utilities charge customers based on projected infrastructure investments rather than actual spending.

The federal government loomed large over the session. The Trump administration is rolling back regulatory protections from industrial pollution and attacking clean energy projects such as offshore wind, which states like Maryland were banking on to meet emission-reduction goals. Gov. Wes Moore was under pressure to both patch a gaping budgetary hole fueled in part by huge federal layoffs and to assist ratepayers, who are reeling from high energy prices driven by data center growth.

Moore has until May 13 to sign or veto the bill. But early in the session, the governor, along with Democratic leaders in the House and Senate, presented the energy legislation as the best way forward. They say it will lead to more energy generation in the state, increase utility oversight, and save Maryland families at least $150 per year on their energy bills.

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