Pollution

Plant Barry's buildings and smokestacks are visible in the distance. In front of them is a field with large power lines across it.

Changes at EPA mean uncertainty for dealing with Alabama coal ash

A pile of empty oyster shell halves.

Pearls of wisdom
From gardens to genomes, state and conservation groups continue trying new approaches to oyster restoration

A pile of plastic bottles, milk jugs and other plastic waste.

Engineering microplastic solutions
With NOAA grants, two Alabama research teams take aim at Gulf, global plastic pollution

Children and adults surround a raised garden bed, built out of cinder blocks, where they are digging and doing other preparation work.

‘Fight for it to be better’
Volunteer science ‘hub’ helps communities tackle environmental injustices

An excavator and a bulldozer move piles of dirt on a flat construction site, with hills and trees visible behind them.

Dig deep
New funding to turn former mines into ecological, development opportunities

A two-story red building sits in front of a broken asphalt road with a gravel parking lot next to it. The building appears to have been part of a row of shops at one point, which are no longer there. A few houses are visible behind it. Over the front door awning, a sign reads "Belle Mina."

‘Demise’ of a community
Belle Mina residents fear proposed quarry will cause irreversible damage

Two men in a small motorboat, one sitting and one standing, fish on a still lake with the forested shoreline visible behind them.

SHOR Act on the rocks
Fishing advisory bill stalls two years in a row

A man wades in a shallow creek with a sampling cup, gloves and a backpack.

New PFAS testing shows ‘forever’ chemicals throughout Coosa River basin

State to begin door-to-door survey on Lowndes sewage issues
First step in agreement with U.S. Justice Department

From the right side of the image, a road of black ash travels toward a pile of ash in the background, with tracks from large vehicle tires visible. Around the road and the pile is barren dirt.

EPA considers denying Alabama’s coal ash permit
program
ADEM program shows “a consistent pattern of deficiencies,” EPA says

An electric power plant with three red-and-white-striped smokestacks, sits on the bank of Mobile River, which is brown and cloudy.

The burning problem
Will new coal ash regulations make Alabama safer?

A pile of logs and other trash lying on bare dirt, with smoke rising off of it. Construction equipment to move dirt on top of the fire is visible in the background.

What to know about the Moody landfill fire
EPA cleanup underway, but air quality concerns continue

The shoreline of Little River. There is no wind or visible current, so the trees on the far shore are reflected nearly perfectly.

When ‘forever’ is everywhere
Samples show PFAS chemicals throughout state waterways

The foreground includes several low-lying industrial buildings. In the background, a row of different smokestacks emit smoke into the air. The entire photo has a pinkish-orange hue.

‘A sad way to live’
Industrial pollution leaves deep scars

Ripples from a drop of water.

Fighting ‘forever’
Health concerns over PFAS chemicals put in the spotlight

Abandoned railroad tracks, with rotted ties and weeds growing, lead to a pile of black waste from the neighboring coke plant.

Birmingham’s pollution ‘master class’
Industry, lack of accountability permanently poison neighborhoods

An overhead shot, in which a brown river flows through the left side of the image, crossed diagonally by a road bridge. At the top center is the drinking-water intake plant, a series of pumps and buildings. The rest of the frame is trees.

Easement unease
Protection of land around Cahaba River critical to Birmingham drinking water

Rural wastewater program loses USDA grant
Program to replace ‘straight-pipe’ systems on hold after losing $2 million in funding

‘Absolutely the wrong place’
A proposed Clay quarry could cause decades of consequences for neighbors, local waterways

The invisible problem
Microplastics are clogging our rivers — and have for decades

Sewage and soil
New wastewater projects seek to solve “alarming” Black Belt sewage conditions

A bioswale between a road and parking lot in Birmingham.

Red lines, green spaces
Historical inequities create modern “heat islands”

The power of the lens