In the News

About 300 million children live in areas with “toxic” levels of air pollution, according to new research from the United Nations Children’s Fund.

The settlement over cheating on vehicle-emissions tests is the largest auto-scandal settlement in the nation’s history.

Emission reductions are required to start Jan. 1.

Large industrial emitters must reduce carbon emissions over time.

Company’s goal is to develop cleaner fuels.

Washington’s new rule aims to limit greenhouse gas emissions to address climate change.

“The Department of Justice and the EPA have been working for years to get this settlement,” Mark Asmundson, executive director of the Northwest Clean Air Agency, said at a news conference to announce the settlement. “Oftentimes, people say our government isn’t doing anything right; this is a perfect example of government working for the people.”

Most of the changes required for refinery operations in the latest settlement will apply to the Tesoro Anacortes Refinery, said Mark Asmundson, executive director of the Northwest Clean Air Agency, which regulates air quality in Whatcom, Skagit and Island counties.

A Lynden-area family has been fined $3,554 for demolishing a barn on the 1300 block of Abbott Road and then burning the debris without a permit, the Northwest Clean Air Agency said.

Union Pacific Railroad said it will replace a type of bolt on its track that led to a fiery oil train derailment in Mosier on June 3.