EPA administrator has been under fire for first-class travel and luxury hotel stays.  As questions about the official travel habits of EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt mount, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is demanding documents and other information on his first-class flights, as it looks into whether federal laws were broken.Pruitt has for several months been under fire for incurring high travel costs at taxpayer expense. [node:read-more:link]

 Norwegian company plans to build one of the world’s largest land-based salmon farms in Belfast, a project that would create 60 jobs within two years and up to 140 once it is completed, according to the company’s chief executive officer. Nordic Aquafarms, an international developer of land-based aquaculture, has signed agreements to purchase 40 acres on the outskirts of the city and plans an initial investment of $150 million in the project. [node:read-more:link]

A new study brings to light the importance of investing in foreign ag export promotion programs. The analysis conducted by Informa Economics shows key competitors like the European Union, Australia, and Brazil have taken significant steps to ramp up spending while the U.S. puts fewer dollars into export promotion efforts. The study revealed several competing countries outspend the United States in ag export promotion 4 to 1. [node:read-more:link]

You remember the old ad campaign “Pork. The Other White Meat,” right?A lot of people do. For the pork industry, that’s a problem.The best-tasting pork chops, it turns out, aren’t the really pale, lean ones. [node:read-more:link]

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy signed a bill joining a coalition of states committed to cutting emissions of carbon dioxide to fulfill the United States' pledge under the Paris international climate change agreement. Murphy’s action requires New Jersey to join the U.S. Climate Alliance, a coalition of 15 other states and Puerto Rico vowing to uphold the Paris Agreement. Both chambers of the state legislature passed a bill to put New Jersey in the alliance. [node:read-more:link]

Texas’ environmental agency targets small business owners for minor recordkeeping violations, while letting the corporate polluters off easy. Unlike many other gas station owners, Farahnakian fought back. He hired a local attorney to contest the fines, and the case landed before a judge at the State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH), an agency that holds trial-like proceedings for legal disputes. After eight months of wrangling, during which Farahnakian provided documentation that he’d cleaned up the tanks, TCEQ agreed to settle for $27,000. Farahnakian took the deal. [node:read-more:link]

Federal officials must go back and review documents related to the disputed Keystone XL oil pipeline, under a Wednesday court ruling that came after environmentalists accused President Donald Trump's administration of withholding details on the project's approval.U.S. District Judge Brian Morris said the government must provide any relevant documents by March 21 or explain why they should be withheld.The ruling came in a lawsuit pending in federal court in Montana from environmentalists seeking to stop the 1,179-mile (1,897-kilometer) pipeline. [node:read-more:link]

The Senate Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment Committee endorsed legislation that would put into law the "bright line of authority" Utah has over oil and gas production, as opposed to state and local government. SB191, sponsored by Sen. [node:read-more:link]

A Washington-area watchdog group wants to know what’s behind an Ohio lawmaker’s opposition to wind energy projects. Rep. Bill Seitz (R-Cincinnati), one of the state’s most outspoken opponents of commercial wind farms and enforceable clean energy standards. The group has chronicled the lawmaker’s actions and statements in a series of blog posts, and it’s filed a public records request to obtain his office’s communications on coal, wind and other energy issues. [node:read-more:link]

Last year, just over 250,000 Americans were working in solar. While this figure is impressive, it represents a 3.8 percent drop since 2016. Looking at the bigger picture, however, there are reasons to be optimistic. Over the past seven years, the solar workforce has grown by 168 percent, rising from around 93,000 roles in 2010 to 250,271 in 2017. [node:read-more:link]