Rivers and streams

FILE - In this Aug. 6, 2015, file photo, Dan Bender of the La Plata County Sheriff's Office takes a water sample from the Animas River near Durango, Colo., after the accidental release of an estimated 3 million gallons of waste from the Gold King Mine. The Navajo Nation's Department of Justice announced on Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2021, has settled with two mining companies to resolve claims stemming from a 2015 spill that sent wastewater downstream from the inactive Gold King Mine in southwestern Colorado. (Jerry McBride/The Durango Herald via AP, File)

Navajo Nation, New Mexico reach settlements over mine spill

Jan. 13, 2021 8:13 PM EST

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The Navajo Nation’s Department of Justice announced Wednesday it has settled with mining companies to resolve claims stemming from a 2015 spill that resulted in rivers in three western states being fouled with a bright-yellow plume of arsenic, lead and other heavy metals....

Forest Service announces free dates in 2021

Jan. 13, 2021 4:51 AM EST

WINCHESTER, Ky. (AP) — The Daniel Boone National Forest has announced that it will waive fees on several dates in 2021. Fees will be waived at most recreation areas and day-use sites as well as some campgrounds, the Forest Service said in a statement. The dates include Jan. 18 in observance of Martin...

FILE – This 2010 file photo shows Exelon Corp.'s Oyster Creek Generating Station in Lacey Township, N.J. The company that's in the process of mothballing one of the nation's oldest nuclear power plants said on Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2021, that it is interested in building a new next-generation nuclear reactor at the same site in New Jersey. (Peter Ackerman/The Asbury Park Press via AP, File)

New nuclear plant could rise at site of former one in NJ

Jan. 5, 2021 3:42 PM EST

LACEY, N.J. (AP) — The company that's in the process of mothballing one of the nation's oldest nuclear power plants says it is interested in building a new next-generation nuclear reactor at the same site in New Jersey. Holtec International last month received $147.5 million — $116 million of which...

Kentucky man rescues injured bald eagle during bird count

Jan. 1, 2021 11:23 AM EST

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A Kentucky man participating in an annual bird-watching hike helped rescue an injured bald eagle on Wednesday, The Courier Journal reported. Eric Nally was participating in the Christmas Bird Count at the Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest, about a half hour south of Louisville,...

3 dead, 5 missing after ships collide on Chinese river

Dec. 14, 2020 12:23 AM EST

BEIJING (AP) — Rescuers in China were searching Monday for five sailors missing after a collision between two ships at the mouth of the Yangtze River that left at least three dead. State broadcaster CCTV showed dramatic footage of crews pulling 11 of the 16 sailors who had been on board the container...

FILE - In this June 5, 2019, file photo, Mississippi River flows over the breached Pin Oak levee flooding homes and buildings in Winfield, Mo., during historic flooding on the river. The group America's Watershed Initiative on Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2020, released a report card giving the watershed a C- grade. The watershed includes the Mississippi River and tributaries that include the Missouri, Ohio and Tennessee rivers. The report cites concerns about water quality and frequent and extreme flooding along the rivers. (David Carson/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP, File)

Water quality, flooding mean low grade for major watershed

Dec. 8, 2020 8:02 AM EST

O'FALLON, Mo. (AP) — A group developed to help improve management of the Mississippi River Watershed has issued it a disappointing report card, and says urgent action and billions of dollars are required to address flooding and water quality concerns in the nation's largest rivers. America’s...

Kentucky reopens former private prison closed after scandal

Dec. 5, 2020 12:20 PM EST

WHEELWRIGHT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear announced on Friday that the Department of Corrections has officially reopened a prison in Floyd County that closed in 2012 after sexual abuse allegations. The former Otter Creek Correctional Center was previously run by Tennessee-based private prison...