Dispersants may break up an oil slick, sparing some birds and wildlife at the surface, but may increase the oil contamination for species that live lower in the water column. The toxicity of dispersants themselves is also a concern for cleanup workers and other wildlife. A group of Alaskans filed a lawsuit in 2020 to force the EPA to rewrite the rules to take into account research on the long-term effects of dispersants in Prince William Sound and elsewhere.

A rule unveiled by the Environmental Protection Agency could force power plants to capture smokestack emissions using a technology that has long been promised but is not in widespread use in the U.S.

The state’s environmental commissioner is pushing back on EPA’s position that the state should address power-plant emissions.

A major source of pollution comes from wood-burning stoves. Other sources are vehicle exhaust systems, power plant emissions and heating oil. The air pollution can permanently harm respiratory function and cause other health problems.