Environment

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** FILE ** R. Gil Kerlikowske, commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. (Associated Press)

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In a May 23, 2014 photo provided by Linda Grenzer, a loon nests on on Muskellunge Lake in Tomahawk, Wis. Swarms of biting flies are attacking loons in northern Wisconsin this season like never before, causing the birds to abandon their nests in record numbers, according to researchers. The explosion of the black fly population just as the loons began incubating their eggs has caused more than 80 percent of the loons to abandon their nests in Vilas County and more than 70 percent of nests in Oneida County, according to the wildlife scientists who track the tuxedoed birds with the mournful cries. (AP Photo/Linda Grenzer)

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National Edition News cover for June 14, 2014 - Bans on fracking could result in suits for royalties: A worker helps monitor water pumping pressure and temperature, at the site of a natural gas hydraulic fracturing and extraction operation in western Colorado. Tisha Schuller, president of the Oil and Gas Association in Colorado, said, "Boulder and Lafayette were nothing more than symbolic votes. Lafayette's last new well permit was in the early 1990s and Boulder's last oil and gas well was plugged in 1999." (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

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Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, a Democrat, is working furiously to negotiate a compromise. Last week, he proposed a "local control" bill that would give cities and counties greater authority over setbacks, inspections and noise reduction rules. (associated press)

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ADVANCE FOR SUNDAY, JUNE 15 AND THEREAFTER - This March 25, 2014 file photo shows a worker adjusting hoses during a hydraulic fracturing operation at a oil and gas well, near Mead, Colo. Four in 10 new oil and gas wells near national forests and fragile watersheds or otherwise identified as higher pollution risks escape federal inspection, unchecked by an agency struggling to keep pace with America's drilling boom, according to an Associated Press review that shows wide state-by-state disparities in safety checks. Roughly half or more of wells on federal and Indian lands weren’t checked in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming, despite potential harm that has led to efforts in some communities to ban new drilling. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley, File)

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South Carolina Republican Sen. Tim Scott speaks with reporters in North Charleston, S.C., on Tuesday, June 10, 2014, after winning the GOP primary with over 90 percent of the vote. (AP Photo/Bruce Smith)

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EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy delivers a keynote speech during the annual Western Governors' Association Meeting, at the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs, Tuesday, June 10, 2014. The head of the Environmental Protection Agency promoted currently proposed clean power plant rules to Western governors Tuesday, framing the plan as a way to deal with destructive wildfires and floods that have ravaged the region in recent years. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)