The top Democrat on the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee is seeking a wide-ranging investigation into whether the Trump administration is infringing on scientific integrity policies at U.S. EPA and other agencies.

With U.S. EPA nearing a key compliance deadline for its 2015 ground-level ozone standard, the agency has sent a related regulation to the White House Office of Management and Budget for review, according to the Reginfo.gov site.

President Trump's U.S. EPA transition team was often frustrated in its quest for documents on climate change. More than 1,000 pages of emails and other records obtained by E&E News show bids for documents on controversies like "Climategate" and the "social cost of carbon." At least five such requests were denied or "disapproved" by then-EPA chief of staff Matt Fritz.

Environmental groups are firing back at U.S. EPA's eleventh-hour push to indefinitely freeze litigation over the agency's 2015 coal ash regulations, saying in a new court filing that any such open-ended delay would leave public health at risk.

Following a legally required review, U.S. EPA is proposing to leave key emissions standards for portland cement manufacturers unchanged, albeit with technical amendments that the agency describes as "potentially positive" for the industry through improved monitoring, compliance and implementation.