Updated: 3:44 PM According to the federal government, Gulf Coast beaches are 99-percent clean, but one local wildlife expert says that's not nearly enough and he wants officials held accountable.

Posted: 4:15 PM It's now illegal in Japan for anyone to go back into the area within 12 miles around the damaged nuclear plant.

Updated: 6:24 PM A natural gas company has suspended a drilling technique involving chemical-laced water at its Pennsylvania wells until it determines the cause of a spill in the northern part of the state.

Updated: 6:08 PM The Chesapeake Bay Program says it will release new data on underwater grasses.

Updated: 5:34 PM Appalachian Power says it's starting several energy efficiency and rebate programs to help West Virginia customers.

Updated: 5:34 PM Republican senators say directing North Carolina's Democratic governor to join South Carolina and Virginia in a compact on energy production and offshore exploration would give the state a seat at the table to get its share of energy royalties.

Posted: 2:21 PM People in the Valley learned Tuesday night that their homes are likely leaking energy, to the point that it's like having a window open all the time.

Updated: 5:29 PM Operators have lost control of a natural gas well in rural northern Pennsylvania, leading to a spill of fluids used in the drilling process.

Posted: 4:04 PM The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will voluntary reexamine a permit for a Massey Energy mine in Logan County.

Posted: 12:35 PM AES Corp. will buy the regional power company DPL Inc. for about $3.5 billion in cash, the companies said Wednesday, accelerating a consolidation in the industry that is already well under way.

Posted: 12:29 PM A coalition of coalfield residents in Virginia and West Virginia is asking Alpha Natural Resources to halt mountaintop removal and other surface mining near their homes.

Posted: 11:24 AM Virginia's Capitol grounds are undergoing some upgrades to reduce the amount of stormwater that runs into the James River.

Updated: 2:25 PM On Tuesday night, the Environmental Protection Agency met with Valley farmers to discuss upcoming farm inspections at some local dairy farms.

Posted: 1:01 PM U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in a case that pits the Obama administration against environmentalists.

Posted: 12:04 PM On the surface, it's looking good for the recovery of the Gulf of Mexico a year after the BP oil spill.

Posted: 11:20 AM A dozen blight-resistant chestnut tree seedlings have been planted at a former surface mine site in Southwest Virginia.

Updated: 12:30 PM Rain is a good thing for Tennessee Valley Authority customers.

Updated: 5:58 PM The Tennessee Valley Authority board is phasing out 300 to 400 jobs at its oldest coal-fired plants and will pay a $10 million penalty in a clean air agreement with the Environmental Protection Agency, several states and environmental groups.

Updated: 4:10 PM An investigation is underway at a Virginia brewery after neighbors complained about fluids leaking into a creek.

Posted: 1:16 PM A federal judge has blocked Chesapeake Energy from removing contaminated soil from a waste pit in Wetzel County.

Updated: 12:47 PM A citizens group is asking for a halt to a water district's plans for an earthen dam and uphill pipeline near Charlottesville.

Posted: 11:57 AM Members of the Washington County Board of Supervisors say they need more information before they decide whether to allow natural gas drilling in the county.

Updated: 6:59 PM With gas prices soaring and Earth Day just around the corner, Kelley Blue Book is out with its Top Ten Green Cars for 2011.

Updated: 10:47 PM A Valley university is doing what it can spread the word about environmental sustainability.

Posted: 1:09 PM The top U.S. nuclear regulator says he will not change a recommendation that U.S. citizens stay at least 50 miles away from Japan's crippled nuclear power plant, even as he declared that the crisis in that country remains "static."