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With the DOE and NASA doubling down, it’s starting to feel more like science fact... or at least, a very expensive experiment.

In the wake of one of the largest wildfire cleanups in U.S. history, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is returning to Los Angeles - not for more cleanup, but to dig a little deeper.

EPA said its WIFIA program has announced $22 billion in financing to support more than 140 projects across the country, with those projects associated with more than 160,000 jobs.

EPA Region 4 is preparing to take a close look at cleanup work underway at dozens of Superfund sites across the Southeast next year.

The Arkansas Valley Conduit financing bill fell short of the two-thirds override threshold—despite unanimous Colorado support and a price tag CBO pegged at under $500,000.

The agency says funds can be used to establish or improve collection systems, invest in infrastructure and technology, support markets for recycled commodities, and increase the diversion and quality of materials collected in municipal solid waste systems.

The agency says the loans are intended to speed up infrastructure upgrades while repayments return money to the U.S. Treasury.

Critics often focus on the tradeoffs that come with emergency extensions for coal plants.

Critics of enforcement settlements like this often focus on two things: whether the penalty is large enough to deter future violations, and whether compliance claims are verified over time. 

Critics of efforts described as “streamlining” often argue that the biggest risk is not the creation of a resource page itself, but how it gets used.