FWS proposed new regulations to support conservation in the National Wildlife Refuge System by providing refuge managers with a consistent approach for evaluating and implementing management actions to ensure biological integrity, diversity, and environmental health, in accordance with the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997. 

FWS initiated five-year status reviews under the ESA of 22 animal and plant species. 

FWS announced 90-day findings on petitions to list Betta hendra, Betta rutilans, Hickory Nut Gorge green salamander, pygmy rabbit, Railroad Valley toad, Southern Plains bumble bee, Southwest spring firefly, white-margined penstemon, and yellow-spotted woodland salamander, finding that listing may be warranted under the ESA. 

EPA entered into a proposed settlement agreement under RCRA and CERCLA with St. Croix Petrochemical Corporation (SCPC), under which SCPC would transfer its remaining assets of approximately $1.7 million to help fund remediation of contamination caused by SCPC’s former Hovensa refinery in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands.