Environment & Science

EPA officials last week announced the first-ever national drinking water standard regulating per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, which are widespread, long-lasting in the environment and have been linked to long-term health issues.

A female mallard duck has stolen the spotlight at the Promenade Saucon Valley after nesting in a planter. Her month-long residence will postpone landscaping plans, but her newfound popularity is making up for it.

First introduced by state Sen. Lisa Boscola in 2015, the bill would increase penalties and direct any money collected toward bald and golden eagle conservation efforts in Pennsylvania.

Brandon Krock has 440,000 seeds to plant at Fox Summit Farm, a pick-your-own sunflower farm that will return this summer in the Lehigh Valley. He's planning fireworks, food trucks, a 5k and more.

Philadelphia Eagles Safety Reed Blankenship will visit the park as part of its Iron Menace Ride for a Cause event this Friday, which benefits the Eagles Autism Foundation.

WLVR's Brad Klein and Marty McGuire, known as Bethlehem's 'Backyard Astronomy Guy' spoke over the phone about the April 8 total solar eclipse. The path of totality veered toward the Northeast, where McGuire saw it from New York.

A severe weather threat is on tap for Sunday, forecasters warn, with a tornado threat for central Pennsylvania and damaging winds possible in the Lehigh Valley.

From April 20 through April 28, residents are invited to join or host a cleanup along a section of the D&L Trail as part of a trash collection competition. Winners will be announced May 3.

More than 2,000 acres on 28 farms in 15 counties across the commonwealth were preserved. Here are the Lehigh Valley farms now safe from development.

More than six months after its launch, 33 air quality monitors have been installed throughout the Lehigh Valley as part of Lehigh Valley Breathes, a regionwide effort to monitor air quality amid emissions from trucking and warehousing.

A stalled front will take a parting shot at the Lehigh Valley on Monday, bringing additional showers, thunderstorms and possible downpours, forecasters say.

Sunday could be mostly a washout, with showers and the potential for heavy rainfall in the forecast throughout the day. Things are looking up, though, for later in the week.

The 17-year-old Allentown Central Catholic senior has been monitoring the creek's surface lead concentrations, and plans to continue researching.

Take a look at stories that ran throughout the week of which we are most proud, had a profound impact on readers or that you might want to look at again.

Easton City residents can recycle their old, outdated electronics and appliances at 500 Bushkill Drive this Saturday. Most items can be recycled for free, while some others require a small fee.

It could take two weeks to fix operational issues at Kline’s Island Wastewater Treatment Plant on Union Street. Officials described the sewer odor as an ‘"earthy" or "rotten egg" smell, but said it is not harmful to human health.

This first round of designations included 483 tracts across the country, with only one in the Lehigh Valley. Officials said additional designations are slated for the next 12 to 18 months.

The eighth Martin's Guitar Wood Summit was held Thursday at Martin & Co. in Nazareth. The main topic centered on sustainability of forests that provide wood used for guitar construction.

Utilities reported thousands of customers without power early Friday in the Lehigh Valley after severe weather swept through the region Thursday night, and forecasters say another round of storms is on the way.

The storms on Thursday took out power across PPL's entire service area, spanning central and eastern Pennsylvania.

As the Lehigh Valley and beyond face extreme weather, officials shared weatherization techniques and options to make homes more energy efficient through federal funding.

A colony with tens of thousands of honeybees was removed Wednesday from beneath the roof of the government building. The honeybee population is shrinking. James Zdepski is looking to change that.