Former Wisconsin politician Cathy Stepp “will bring a fresh perspective” to the EPA, agency chief Scott Pruitt said Tuesday. But the announcement drew blunt criticism from the group’s national employee union.

Since the inauguration of President Donald Trump, dozens of employees have left the EPA’s Region 5 office in Chicago. Current and former employees say the loss of staff is already putting a strain on operations. 

The EPA likely won’t be able to determine the source of a late October oil spill in the Chicago River because the agency was notified about the spill two days after it occurred, the EPA said Tuesday. 

Environmental advocates say a Southeast Side storage company violated city standards for air pollution earlier this year. But the company disagrees, asserting that the state’s more lenient law applies. 

Officials responding to last week’s oil spill in the South Branch of the Chicago River have recovered dead wildlife from the water, including 43 fish and four turtles. The source of the spill is still unknown, according to the EPA. 

After cutbacks at the EPA and skepticism within the Trump administration about climate change, the city of Chicago has made clear its intention to step up efforts to protect the environment.

The EPA says the source of an Oct. 26 oil spill remains unknown, but cleanup efforts continue this week along the 1.5-mile stretch of the south fork of the South Branch of the Chicago River.

A Southeast Side company tipped off regulators to its own violation of city air pollution standards, documents submitted to the city show. 

In an effort to fill a void created by federal and state agencies that have cut back environmental oversight, Chicago plans to expand its environmental enforcement division.

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin is among a handful of legislators behind a bill that would strengthen legal protections for communities disproportionately impacted by pollution and other environmental threats.

More than 2 million Americans, including nearly 68,000 in Illinois, get water from wells with high levels of toxic arsenic, according to a new study by the U.S. Geological Survey and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Since 2010, the EPA has cited an East Chicago steelmaking facility six times for violations of the Clean Air Act. Now, a group representing nearby residents intends to sue EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt over the renewal of the company’s operating permit.

Chicago public health officials have given the Southeast Side company an additional week to come up with an improved plan for reducing emissions of manganese dust.

A Chicago company has until Sept. 6 to submit a plan for reducing brain-damaging manganese dust that has been found nearby in a primarily low-income, minority neighborhood on the Southeast Side.

The bulk storage operator on Chicago’s Southeast Side has exceeded a federal threshold for emissions of toxic manganese dust, according to new air monitoring data published by the EPA.

The city will monitor soil and air pollution near residents’ homes and begin increased inspections of industrial sites.