Advocates are calling for catch limits and a buffer zone to protect menhaden in the Gulf of Mexico. Menhaden, known in Louisiana as pogies, are small bait fish that number in the billions in the Gulf and the Atlantic Ocean. Pogies are considered an essential food source for larger marine species including sportfish such as sea bass and redfish along with predators such as whales and dolphins. But with the industrial-scale commercial harvest of pogies, advocates are sounding the alarm over the threat to the Louisiana fishery ecosystem as well as the sportfishing industry.

Chris Macaluso, director of marine fisheries for the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership said harvest limits are needed to preserve the fishery.

"The science is becoming a lot clearer in the last few years -- just what a critical part the pogies play in the food chain in feeding larger predator fish, and that a reduction in the current catch limit is going to be needed in order to have healthy stocks of other fish species," he explained.

A bill requiring regular reporting on harvested menhaden and establishing annual catch limits in state waters passed the Louisiana House last year but stalled in the Senate. The legislation would have established limits in zones based on distance from the shore. Industry opponents of the legislation point to the 2021 Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission Stock Assessment Report, which states the Gulf menhaden population is not overfished and there is little risk of it.

The process by which menhaden are harvested includes spotter planes that find the large schools and deploy fishing boats. The boats catch menhaden via purse seining, where large nets are used to capture hundreds of thousands of fish at once. Purse seining conducted in shallower water is known to impact seabed sediments, which advocates say contributes to erosion and disturbs the nursery and spawning habitats for a number of species. Another issue is by-catch, the unintended capture of other fish in nets. Macaluso said these issues are made worse by fishing in the shallows.

"When you look at the number of, say, redfish, or speckled trout, or other fish that are being caught in these nets, which could be 30, 40, 50 million pounds annually of other fish in the Gulf," he explained. "A lot of that is exacerbated by them fishing in shallower water."

The commercial harvest of menhaden is large at more than a billion pounds per year in the U-S. Most of the fish are utilized by the 'reduction fishery' industry, which processes the menhaden into livestock feed, fish meal, fish oil, fertilizer and other products. NOAA data for 2021 indicates 589-million pounds of menhaden were harvested off the coast of Louisiana. Captain Eric Newman, owner and operator of Journey South Outfitters in Venice, said he wants to see regulations to help protect the long-term health of the Louisiana fishery.

"We need some sustainable quotas. We need buffer zones to protect our fish, especially the breeder redfish," he continued. "We have the best red fishery in the world, hands down, and those menhaden nets threaten those breeder redfish every day."

West Virginia communities will see increased air pollution with little oversight under a new Trump administration proposal offering presidential exemptions from the Clean Air Act's requirements for hazardous air pollutants.

Sarah Vogel, senior vice president of healthy communities for the Environmental Defense Fund, said the move could affect more than 200 facilities, including 10 in the Mountain State, emitting toxic chemicals such as ethylene oxide and benzene.

"These are well-defined, highly hazardous chemicals, many cancer-causing compounds coming from a number of different industries, including the chemical and petrochemical industry," Vogel outlined.

A new analysis from the Environmental Defense Fund found more than 500 facilities across the U.S. eligible for pollution exemptions. Most are petrochemical manufacturing plants and coal-fired power plants. The Environmental Protection Agency has not made the requests for exemptions publicly available.

Vogel emphasized children and families who have no choice but to breathe the toxic air where they live will suffer the most.

"We're seeing this administration signal to companies that they can just continue to pollute in the name of either a so-called energy emergency or a national security issue," Vogel added.

Nearly 10,000 West Virginia children per year will suffer asthma attacks because of ozone from the oil and gas industry, and in 28 counties residents face higher cancer risks, according to the Clean Air Task Force.

The decades-long decline of Pennsylvania's coal industry could shift in another direction after a series of executive orders by President Donald Trump - although current market trends indicate it's unlikely.

Coal-fired power plants made up just over 16% of U.S. electricity in 2023. That's half what it was a decade ago.

Tom Schuster, director of the Sierra Club of Pennsylvania, said the coal industry is in irreversible decline that executive orders most likely can't change.

He said it's been outpaced by renewable energy, which has now surpassed coal in electricity generation over a 12 month period.

"Unfortunately," said Schuster, "what this order could do is expose people to higher electricity costs by keeping unprofitable plants online longer, and also jeopardize people's health by exempting them from environmental regulations."

The orders direct agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency to ease restrictions on coal, which the president suggests could help meet rising energy demands of manufacturing and AI data centers.

Schuster said these actions are part of broader deregulation, and that Pennsylvanians know the risks of unchecked coal use.

He said in today's market, relying on coal to meet power demands is no longer viable.

One executive order claims mining and burning coal will bring back good-paying jobs, but Schuster said that's unlikely.

He pointed out that coal generated about half of Pennsylvania's electricity 15 years ago, but now makes up only 10% - and he said reopening retired plants isn't economical.

"There's only two conventional coal-fired power plants left in Pennsylvania," said Schuster. "There's a handful of smaller specialty plants that burn coal refuse, but it's a relatively small part of our energy generation today, so I don't think the economic impact in terms of coal-fired generation is going to be that much."

An executive order also aims to boost coal exports. Pennsylvania exports a fair amount of its coal, mainly to China - but the trade war and retaliatory tariffs could stymie that effort.

Environmental groups across Michigan are pushing back after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers confirmed it will fast-track Enbridge's Line 5 tunnel project without conducting a full environmental review.

Line 5 is a 645-mile pipeline transporting crude oil and natural gas liquids beneath the Straits of Mackinac. Speeding up the project is a response to President Donald Trump's declaration of a "national energy emergency."

Ashley Rudzinksy with the nonprofit Groundwork Center for Resilient Communities said with the federal process fast-tracked, the burden falls more heavily on the state's environmental agency to exercise due diligence. She added state laws require thorough permit reviews and meaningful opportunity for public input.

These laws include the Michigan Public Trust Law and the Submerged Land Act.

Rudzinski says there also are concerns about potential oil spills and threats to treaty rights.

"We have also seen many of our partners in this work, and allies - the six Tribal nations here in Michigan - pull out of continued negotiations with the Army Corps," Rudzinski pointed out. "In my estimation, that is because this process has become a sham."

Enbridge responded in a statement saying in part, "Line 5 is critical energy infrastructure" and it is safe. It went on to say Michigan approved environmental permits and tunnel placement but after nearly five years, the project still awaits a U.S. Army Corps decision on its environmental impact.

Critics of the Line 5 tunnel are urging Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy to deny the necessary permits.

Rudzinski warned the project may also become a burden on taxpayers.

"Enbridge has petitioned the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to be able to pass the tunnel construction cost onto their shippers, who ultimately can pass that on to consumers," Rudzinski noted. "That means everyday folks will have to pay more for these products."

Enbridge has consistently stated it will bear the full financial responsibility for the construction, operation and maintenance of the Line 5 tunnel, and taxpayers will not be required to fund any part of the project.


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