Federal Independent Agencies
Here's a look at documents from federal independent agencies
Featured Stories
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine: Search for Life Should Be Top Science Priority for First Human Landing on Mars, Says New Report
WASHINGTON, Dec. 10 (TNSrep) -- The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine issued the following news release:
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Search for Life Should Be Top Science Priority for First Human Landing on Mars, Says New Report
A new report (https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/28594/a-science-strategy-for-the-human-exploration-of-mars) from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine identifies the highest priority science objectives for the first human mission to Mars, and says searching for evidence of existing or past life on Mars should be the top priority. Improving
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WASHINGTON, Dec. 10 (TNSrep) -- The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine issued the following news release:
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Search for Life Should Be Top Science Priority for First Human Landing on Mars, Says New Report
A new report (https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/28594/a-science-strategy-for-the-human-exploration-of-mars) from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine identifies the highest priority science objectives for the first human mission to Mars, and says searching for evidence of existing or past life on Mars should be the top priority. Improvingour understanding of the effects of Mars' environment on humans, plants, and animals; water cycles; geologic records; and dust storms are also among the 11 science priorities named in the report.
The report presents four possible campaigns for human exploration of Mars, each encompassing a sequence of three missions linked to specific science objectives. For each campaign, the report describes which science objectives could be met, the likely roles of crew members, and the campaign's strengths and weaknesses for meeting scientific goals.
"The first human landing on Mars will be the most significant moment for human space exploration since we first set foot on the moon over 50 years ago," said Linda T. Elkins-Tanton, director of the University of California, Berkeley Space Sciences Laboratory; principal investigator, NASA Psyche mission; and co-chair of the committee that wrote the report. "Our report puts science at the center of what will be a remarkable achievement, and outlines the incredible knowledge we'll have the opportunity to glean about our place in the universe, the potential habitability of Mars, and so much more.
Science Objectives
In order of priority, the report names the following as the science objectives that a human mission to Mars should pursue:
1. Search for Life -- Determine if evidence can be found on Mars of existing or extinct life, the planet's habitability, or indigenous prebiotic chemistry.
2. Water and CO2 on Mars -- Characterize the planet's water and CO2 cycles to understand how they may have evolved.
3. Mars Geology -- Characterize and map the geologic record to reveal Mars' evolution.
4. Impact on Crew -- Determine the impact of the Martian environment on crew physiological, cognitive, and emotional health, and on team dynamics.
5. Dust Storms -- Determine what controls the onset and evolution of the major dust storms that make Mars' atmosphere so variable.
6. Explore Resources -- Characterize the Martian environment for in situ resource utilization and processing needs, with an early focus on water and propellants, ultimately to explore materials that support permanent habitation.
7. Effect of Mars on Genomes and Reproduction -- Determine whether the Martian environment affects reproduction or the functional genome across multiple generations in at least one plant species and one animal species.
8. Understanding Microbes -- Determine if microbial population dynamics and the distribution of microbial species in biological systems are stable on Mars, and are not detrimental to astronaut health and performance.
9. Martian Dust -- Characterize the effects of Martian dust on the human body and on hardware.
10. Plants and Animals in an Ecosystem -- Determine the impact of the Martian environment on plant and animal physiology and development across multiple generations, as part of an integrated ecosystem of plants, microbes, and animals.
11. Radiation Sampling -- Characterize radiation at key locations in the crew habitat and at astrobiological sampling sites, both to contextualize sample collection and improve our estimates of the risk to future missions.
Four Campaigns for Mars Science
The top-ranked campaign, which could achieve every science objective named in the report, would include a human landing lasting 30 sols (Mars days, which are slightly longer than an Earth day), an uncrewed cargo delivery, and a longer 300-sol mission. Each of these landings would occur at a single site in an exploration zone approximately 100 kilometers in diameter, and with specific features such as ancient lava flows and known dust storms. Field measurements would require a wide suite of science instruments to be brought to Mars, as well as drilling and meteorological equipment, with more detailed investigations being conducted in a Mars habitat laboratory and further study of samples brought back to Earth.
The second-ranked campaign seeks to optimize achieving the measurements that are the most needed in common across all the science objectives. This approach offers a campaign with looser needs for a specific landing site, as some measurements could be achieved at a range of possible landing sites.
The third-ranked campaign focuses on searching for life on Mars, the top-ranked science priority. This campaign would focus on selecting a site where deep drilling to liquid water would be possible -- followed by core collection and initial analysis of samples on Mars. The bulk of the samples would be returned to Earth for further study of habitability and past and present life on Mars.
The fourth uses three short missions at different locations on Mars to achieve a variety of the top science objectives, and would enable exploration of widely varying environments. The report suggests three possible types of sites that could be selected for this campaign: an area with igneous and impact melt geology; a site with sedimentary rocks to search for evidence of ancient life or prebiotic processes; and glaciers located within a dust-storm-forming region of Mars.
"By imagining different ways that priority science could be pursued during actual human missions, our report shows there are many different options for humans to explore Mars and achieve great scientific breakthroughs," said committee co-chair Dava Newman, Apollo Program Professor in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "Importantly, it also offers a synergistic review of science priorities enhanced by human exploration."
Recommendations for NASA
The report offers recommendations for NASA that would help the agency lay the groundwork for meeting scientific objectives. For example, to enable many of the scientific and exploration objectives for investigating regions on Mars that could possibly support life and to protect the scientific integrity of the results, NASA should continue to collaborate on the evolution of currently limiting planetary protection guidelines, the report says. NASA should also include a surface laboratory on Mars in its mission plans, return samples to Earth from every human mission to Mars, and start a recurring summit on teaming between humans, robotic exploration tools, and artificial intelligence to support Mars missions.
The study -- undertaken by the Committee for a Science Strategy for the Human Exploration of Mars -- was sponsored by NASA. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine are private, nonprofit institutions that provide independent, objective analysis and advice to the nation to solve complex problems and inform public policy decisions related to science, engineering, and medicine. They operate under an 1863 congressional charter to the National Academy of Sciences, signed by President Lincoln.
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Original text here: https://www.nationalacademies.org/news/search-for-life-should-be-top-science-priority-for-first-human-landing-on-mars-says-new-report
NASA Sensor Goes Hunting for Critical Minerals
PASADENA, California, Dec. 10 (TNSres) -- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory issued the following news:
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NASA Sensor Goes Hunting for Critical Minerals
Called AVIRIS-5, it's the latest in a long line of sensors pioneered by NASA JPL to survey Earth, the Moon, and other worlds.
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Cradled in the nose of a high-altitude research airplane, a new NASA sensor has taken to the skies to help geoscientists map rocks hosting lithium and other critical minerals on Earth's surface some 60,000 feet below. In collaboration with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the flights are part of the largest airborne
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PASADENA, California, Dec. 10 (TNSres) -- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory issued the following news:
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NASA Sensor Goes Hunting for Critical Minerals
Called AVIRIS-5, it's the latest in a long line of sensors pioneered by NASA JPL to survey Earth, the Moon, and other worlds.
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Cradled in the nose of a high-altitude research airplane, a new NASA sensor has taken to the skies to help geoscientists map rocks hosting lithium and other critical minerals on Earth's surface some 60,000 feet below. In collaboration with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the flights are part of the largest airbornecampaign of its kind in the country's history.
But that's just one of many tasks that are on the horizon for AVIRIS-5, short for Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer-5, which has a lot in common with sensors used to explore other planets.
About the size of a microwave oven, AVIRIS-5 detects the spectral "fingerprints" of minerals and other compounds in reflected sunlight. Like its cousins flying in space, the sensor takes advantage of the fact that all kinds of molecules, from rare earth elements to flower pigments, have unique chemical structures that absorb and reflect different wavelengths of light.
The technology was pioneered at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California in the late 1970s. Over the decades, imaging spectrometers have visited every major rocky body in the solar system from Mercury to Pluto. They've traced Martian crust in full spectral detail, revealed lakes on Titan, and tracked mineral-rich dust across the Sahara and other deserts. One is en route to Europa, an ocean moon of Jupiter, to search for the chemical ingredients needed to support life.
Another imaging spectrometer, NASA's Moon Mineralogy Mapper, was the first to discover water on the lunar surface in 2009. "That dataset continues to drive our investigations as we look for in situ resources on the Moon" as part of NASA's Artemis campaign, said Robert Green, a senior research scientist at NASA JPL who's contributed to multiple spectroscopy missions across the solar system.
Prisms, black silicon
While imaging spectrometers vary depending on their mission, they have certain hardware in common -- including mirrors, detector arrays, and electron-beam gratings -- designed to capture light shimmering off a surface and then separate it into its constituent colors, like a prism.
Many of the best-in-class imaging spectrometers flying today were made possible by components invented at NASA JPL's Microdevices Laboratory. Instrument-makers there combine breakthroughs in physics, chemistry, and material science with the classical properties of light discovered by physicist Isaac Newton in the 17th century. Newton's prism experiments revealed that visible light is composed of a rainbow of colors.
Today, NASA JPL engineers work with advanced materials such as black silicon -- one of the darkest substances ever manufactured -- to push performance. Under a powerful microscope, black silicon looks like a forest of spiky needles. Etched by lasers or chemicals, the nanoscale structures prevent stray light from interfering with the sample by trapping it in their spikes.
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Original text here: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/new-nasa-sensor-goes-hunting-for-critical-minerals/
IDB Expands Digital Solutions to Strengthen Transparency in Latin America and Caribbean
WASHINGTON, Dec. 10 -- The Inter-American Development Bank issued the following news release:
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IDB Expands Digital Solutions to Strengthen Transparency in Latin America and Caribbean
* Dominican Republic Launches InvestmentMap 2.0, the IDB's Regional Initiative for Budget Traceability
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The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) reaffirms its leadership in the regional agenda for transparency, integrity, and the fight against corruption with significant advances that strengthen public access to information and accountability in Latin America and the Caribbean. Under the umbrella of InvestmentMap,
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WASHINGTON, Dec. 10 -- The Inter-American Development Bank issued the following news release:
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IDB Expands Digital Solutions to Strengthen Transparency in Latin America and Caribbean
* Dominican Republic Launches InvestmentMap 2.0, the IDB's Regional Initiative for Budget Traceability
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The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) reaffirms its leadership in the regional agenda for transparency, integrity, and the fight against corruption with significant advances that strengthen public access to information and accountability in Latin America and the Caribbean. Under the umbrella of InvestmentMap,the regional initiative for active transparency and traceability of budgets, investments, and public procurement, the IDB supports national and subnational governments in building digital ecosystems that allow citizens to understand, monitor, and oversee the use of public resources in real time.
On the International Anti-Corruption Day, the platform reaches a new milestone: the launch of InvestmentMap 2.0 in the Dominican Republic, which includes innovative functionalities based on principles of interoperability, open-source code, and the implementation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) solutions to facilitate data access. This advancement positions the region as a global benchmark in leveraging new technologies to strengthen transparency and public integrity in public finance management.
The Ministry of Finance and Economy of the Dominican Republic, together with the IDB, unveiled MapaInversiones 2.0, a renewed platform that, for the first time, interoperably integrates budgetary, programming, financial execution, physical progress, and contractual process data. This effort reflects sustained work on institutional strengthening and public spending traceability, supported by the IDB, enabling an articulated view of the complete cycle of public resources.
The new version of InvestmentMap incorporates AI components to enhance citizen monitoring, along with improvements in data quality, governance, and accessibility. These advances align with internationally recognized frameworks, including the United Nations Convention against Corruption, UNESCO's Recommendation on the Ethics of AI, and OECD recommendations on public integrity, open government, public procurement, and responsible AI use.
Paula Acosta, Chief of the Institutional Capacity of the State Division, said: "The new version of InvestmentMap in the Dominican Republic not only facilitates access to information but also optimizes processes, improves databases, and strengthens traceability, offering citizens cutting-edge technological innovations to consult, monitor, and interact with the State in a simple way."
Developed by the IDB as a regional digital public good, the chatbot introduces a new standard for access to public information by allowing citizens to ask questions in natural language and receive answers based exclusively on official public investment data.
The tool incorporates an algorithmic transparency mechanism through a chatbot that reveals the reasoning behind each response, strengthening trust and enabling independent verification. In this first stage, the assistant works with information from the National Public Investment System (SNIP) and answers key questions about projects, approved amounts, physical progress, execution, and territorial distribution of public investment.
With this launch, the IDB consolidates the evolution of InvestmentMap toward a regional ecosystem of smart transparency, where interoperability, data quality, citizen participation, and responsible AI use become key tools.
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About the IDB
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), a member of the IDB Group, is devoted to improving lives across Latin America and the Caribbean. Founded in 1959, the Bank works with the region's public sector to design and enable impactful, innovative solutions for sustainable and inclusive development. Leveraging financing, technical expertise, and knowledge, it promotes grow and well-being in 26 countries. Visit our website: https://www.iadb.org/en
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Original text here: https://www.iadb.org/en/news/idb-expands-digital-solutions-strengthen-transparency-latin-america-and-caribbean
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics: Astronomers Find First Direct Evidence of "Monster Stars" From the Cosmic Dawn
CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts, Dec. 10 (TNSjou) -- The Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics issued the following news release:
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Astronomers find first direct evidence of "Monster Stars" from the cosmic dawn
Using the James Webb Space Telescope, an international team of researchers led the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian have discovered chemical fingerprints of gigantic primordial stars that were among the first to form after the Big Bang.
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For two decades, astronomers have puzzled over how supermassive black holes, which are some of the brightest objects in the universe,
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CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts, Dec. 10 (TNSjou) -- The Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics issued the following news release:
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Astronomers find first direct evidence of "Monster Stars" from the cosmic dawn
Using the James Webb Space Telescope, an international team of researchers led the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian have discovered chemical fingerprints of gigantic primordial stars that were among the first to form after the Big Bang.
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For two decades, astronomers have puzzled over how supermassive black holes, which are some of the brightest objects in the universe,could exist less than a billion years after the Big Bang. Normal stars simply couldn't create such massive black holes quickly enough.
Now, using NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), an international team of astronomers has found the first compelling evidence that solves this cosmic mystery: "monster stars" weighing between 1,000 and 10,000 times the mass of our Sun existed in the early universe. The breakthrough came from examining chemical signatures in a galaxy called GS 3073.
A new study led by scientists from the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian (CfA) and the University of Portsmouth in England has discovered an extreme imbalance of nitrogen to oxygen that cannot be explained by any known type of star.
In 2022, researchers published work in Nature predicting that supermassive stars naturally formed in rare, turbulent streams of cold gas in the early universe, explaining how quasars (extraordinarily bright black holes) could exist less than a billion years after the Big Bang.
"Our latest discovery helps solve a 20-year cosmic mystery," said Daniel Whalen from the University of Portsmouth's Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation. "With GS 3073, we have the first observational evidence that these monster stars existed.
These cosmic giants would have burned brilliantly for a brief time before collapsing into massive black holes, leaving behind the chemical signatures we can detect billions of years later. A bit like dinosaurs on Earth, they were enormous and primitive. And they had short lives, living for just a quarter of a million years, a cosmic blink of an eye."
The key to the discovery was measuring the ratio of nitrogen to oxygen in GS 3073. The galaxy contains a nitrogen-to-oxygen ratio of 0.46, far higher than can be explained by any known type of star or stellar explosion.
Devesh Nandal, a Swiss National Science Foundation postdoctoral fellow at the CfA's Institute for Theory and Computation said, "Chemical abundances act like a cosmic fingerprint, and the pattern in GS 3073 is unlike anything ordinary stars can produce. Its extreme nitrogen matches only one kind of source we know of: primordial stars thousands of times more massive than our Sun. This tells us the first generation of stars included truly supermassive objects that helped shape the early galaxies and may have seeded today's supermassive black holes."
The researchers modeled how stars between 1,000 and 10,000 solar masses evolve and what elements they produce. They found a specific mechanism that creates massive amounts of nitrogen:
* These enormous stars burn helium in their cores, producing carbon;
* The carbon leaks into a surrounding shell where hydrogen is burning;
* The carbon combines with hydrogen to create nitrogen through the carbon/nitrogen/oxygen (CNO) cycle;
* Convection currents distribute the nitrogen throughout the star; and,
* Eventually, this nitrogen-rich material is shed into space, enriching the surrounding gas.
The process continues for millions of years during the star's helium-burning phase, creating the nitrogen excess observed in GS 3073.
The models, published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters, also predict what happens when these monster stars die. They don't explode. Instead, they collapse directly into massive black holes weighing thousands of solar masses.
Interestingly, GS 3073 contains an actively feeding black hole at its center, potentially the very remnant of one of these supermassive first stars. If confirmed, this would solve two mysteries at once: where the nitrogen came from and how the black hole formed.
The study also found that this nitrogen signature only appears in a specific mass range. Stars smaller than 1,000 solar masses or larger than 10,000 solar masses don't produce the right chemical pattern for the signature, suggesting a "sweet spot" for this type of enrichment.
These findings open a new window into the universe's first few hundred million years, a period astronomers call the "cosmic Dark Ages" when the first stars ignited and began transforming the simple chemistry of the early universe into the rich variety of elements we see today.
The researchers predict that JWST will find more galaxies with similar nitrogen excesses as it continues surveying the early universe. Each new discovery will strengthen the case for these ultra-massive first stars.
Resource:
Nandal, D. et al, "1000-10,000 M Primordial Stars Created the Nitrogen Excess in GS 3073 at z = 5.55," The Astrophysical Journal Letters, doi: 10.3847/2041-8213/ae1a63
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About the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian
The Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian is a collaboration between Harvard and the Smithsonian designed to ask--and ultimately answer--humanity's greatest unresolved questions about the nature of the universe. The Center for Astrophysics is headquartered in Cambridge, MA, with research facilities across the U.S. and around the world.
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Original text here: https://www.cfa.harvard.edu/news/astronomers-find-first-direct-evidence-monster-stars-cosmic-dawn
FHLBank Chicago Invests $2.5 Million to Expand Housing Counseling Across Wisconsin
CHICAGO, Illinois, Dec. 10 -- The Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago, a district bank in the Federal Home Loan Bank System, issued the following news:
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FHLBank Chicago Invests $2.5 Million to Expand Housing Counseling Across Wisconsin
The Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago (FHLBank Chicago) has awarded $2.5 million to the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA) for 2025 through its Community First(R) Housing Counseling Resource Program. The increased funding compared to last year allows WHEDA to expand its network of U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)-certified
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CHICAGO, Illinois, Dec. 10 -- The Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago, a district bank in the Federal Home Loan Bank System, issued the following news:
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FHLBank Chicago Invests $2.5 Million to Expand Housing Counseling Across Wisconsin
The Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago (FHLBank Chicago) has awarded $2.5 million to the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA) for 2025 through its Community First(R) Housing Counseling Resource Program. The increased funding compared to last year allows WHEDA to expand its network of U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)-certifiedcounseling agencies, helping more Wisconsin families prepare for sustainable homeownership.
"Together with WHEDA, we're expanding pathways to successful and sustainable homeownership across Wisconsin," said Katie Naftzger, Senior Vice President and Community Investment Officer at FHLBank Chicago. "Housing counseling provides families with the knowledge and confidence to make informed decisions and create stability that lasts."
Launched in 2022, the Housing Counseling Resource Program expands access to financial education, credit preparation, and homebuyer support services for people working toward long-term housing stability. The program also empowers current homeowners in the maintenance of their homes through post-purchase education and, should they incur financial instability, foreclosure prevention counseling.
With WHEDA leading Wisconsin's efforts and the Illinois Housing Development Authority managing Illinois services, FHLBank Chicago has invested $13 million in strengthening housing counseling access across both states.
"Housing counseling gives people the knowledge they need to navigate the path to homeownership and make informed decisions. The Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago's investment ensures current homeowners and first-time buyers have the support to secure a stable home," said Elmer Moore Jr., Executive Director and CEO of WHEDA. "Homeownership provides working families with stability and strengthens community connections. This partnership is a game-changer, and we are so very grateful."
In 2023 and 2024, HUD-certified housing counseling agencies receiving funding through the Housing Counseling Resource Program have served more than 14,000 Wisconsin households, with over 1,600 achieving their goal of homeownership. This individualized support equips families with the knowledge and resources needed to make informed decisions and establish lasting financial stability.
One success story: Kathryn Hazleton, a first-time homebuyer, worked with La Casa de Esperanza, to become mortgage-ready with Waukesha State Bank and secure a $10,000 grant through FHLBank Chicago's Downpayment Plus(R) (DPP(R)) Program.
"La Casa de Esperanza's homebuyer program helped me understand what I needed to do to buy a home," said Hazleton. "The grant I secured through the DPP Program was extremely helpful, and I didn't need to spend all my savings on the down payment. I had been saving for years, and I finally did it. Now I can afford to update my home and make it my own. Being a homeowner makes me feel free, and it's relaxing to know I have my own place and my payments are controlled."
FHLBank Chicago remains committed to strengthening housing counseling resources and creating pathways to homeownership for families across Wisconsin and Illinois. Photo caption: First-time homebuyer Kathryn Hazleton celebrates achieving homeownership with housing counseling support from La Casa de Esperanza and $10,000 in down payment assistance through FHLBank Chicago's Downpayment Plus(R) Program.
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Original text here: https://www.fhlbc.com/news/details/2025/12/09/fhlbank-chicago-invests--2.5-million-to-expand-housing-counseling-across-wisconsin
EPA Enforces Clean Water Act to Protect Massachusetts Waters
WASHINGTON, Dec. 9 -- The Environmental Protection Agency issued the following news release:
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EPA Enforces Clean Water Act to Protect Massachusetts Waters
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BOSTON, MASS. (Dec. 9, 2025) - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has signed a consent agreement and final order (CAFO) with E.L. Harvey & Sons, Inc., Trojan Recycling, Inc., Nauset Disposal Holdings, Inc., and Arrowhead Environmental Partners LLC, resolving EPA's claims against the companies for Clean Water Act (CWA) stormwater violations. Between the companies, a total of seven Massachusetts' waste and recycling processing
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WASHINGTON, Dec. 9 -- The Environmental Protection Agency issued the following news release:
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EPA Enforces Clean Water Act to Protect Massachusetts Waters
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BOSTON, MASS. (Dec. 9, 2025) - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has signed a consent agreement and final order (CAFO) with E.L. Harvey & Sons, Inc., Trojan Recycling, Inc., Nauset Disposal Holdings, Inc., and Arrowhead Environmental Partners LLC, resolving EPA's claims against the companies for Clean Water Act (CWA) stormwater violations. Between the companies, a total of seven Massachusetts' waste and recycling processingand vehicle maintenance operations facilities were allegedly discharging industrial waste into waters of the United States without required CWA permits. These companies are indirect subsidiaries of Waste Connections U.S. Holdings, Inc.
"Under the Clean Water Act, the federal government, states, and tribes each have an essential role in protecting the quality of our nation's waters by reviewing applications and issuing permits addressing pollutants discharged into our waterbodies," said EPA New England Administrator Mark Sanborn. "Clean water is essential to our health, our environment, and our economy."
Affected waters in the CAFO include the Paskamansett River, Weweantic River, Salisbury Plain River, Hedges Pond, Seine Pond, and Bennetts Brook. In order for certain types of industrial facilities to safely discharge stormwater into these waters, they must obtain authorization under EPA's 2021 Multi-Sector General Permit for Stormwater Discharges Associated with Industrial Activity (MSGP).
E.L. Harvey & Sons, Inc., Trojan Recycling, Inc., Nauset Disposal Holdings, Inc., and Arrowhead Environmental Partners LLC have now applied for and received coverage under the MSGP for all seven facilities and agreed to a $170,000 penalty, which is documented in the signed CAFO.
Copies of the CAFO are available upon request.
Background:
CWA Section 301(a) prohibits the discharge of pollutants to navigable waters unless in compliance with, among other things, a CWA Section 402 National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System ("NPDES") permit. For stormwater discharges, facilities can apply for coverage under a general permit.
In states not authorized to administer the NPDES program, such as Massachusetts, EPA's MSGP applies. The MSGP requires facilities to submit a Notice of Intent to be covered under the general permit, prepare and implement a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan, conduct inspections, monitoring and sampling, and meet other requirements, all designed to prevent the discharge of stormwater containing pollutants to surface waters.
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Original text here: https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-enforces-clean-water-act-protect-massachusetts-waters
Foreign National Indicted and Extradited to the United States for Role in Two Russia-Linked Cyber Hacking Groups
WASHINGTON, Dec. 9 -- The Environmental Protection Agency issued the following news release:
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Foreign National Indicted and Extradited to the United States for Role in Two Russia-Linked Cyber Hacking Groups
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Conspiracy charges against defendant allege attacks against U.S. public water systems
WASHINGTON On December 9, 2025, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California and the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) announced that a Ukrainian national has been charged with participating in conjunction with two Russia-linked
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WASHINGTON, Dec. 9 -- The Environmental Protection Agency issued the following news release:
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Foreign National Indicted and Extradited to the United States for Role in Two Russia-Linked Cyber Hacking Groups
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Conspiracy charges against defendant allege attacks against U.S. public water systems
WASHINGTON On December 9, 2025, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California and the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) announced that a Ukrainian national has been charged with participating in conjunction with two Russia-linkedcriminal groups that conducted dozens of cyberattacks internationally, including against the United States.
The indictments against Victoria Eduardovna Dubranova, 33, also known as Vika, Tory, and SovaSonya, were unsealed today in the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles. Today, Dubranova was arraigned on a second indictment charging her for her actions supporting NoName057(16) ( NoName ). Dubranova pleaded not guilty in both cases, and is scheduled to begin trial in the NoName matter on Feb. 3, 2026, and on April 7, 2026, for the CARR matter.
Dubranova was extradited to the United States earlier this year on an indictment charging her for her actions supporting CyberArmyofRussia_Reborn (CARR), also known as Z-Pentest. CARR was founded, funded, and directed by the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (GRU). CARR has conducted dozens of destructive cyberattacks around the world, including attacks against critical infrastructure in the United States.
The CARR indictment charges Dubranova with one count of conspiracy to damage protected computers and tamper with public water systems, one count of damaging protected computers, one count of access device fraud, and one count of aggravated identity theft.
"The defendant's illegal actions to tamper with the nation's public water systems put communities and the nation's drinking water resources at risk," said EPA Acting Assistant Administrator for Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Craig Pritzlaff. "These criminal charges serve as an unequivocal warning to malicious cyber actors in the U.S. and abroad: EPA's Criminal Investigation Division and our law enforcement partners will not tolerate threats to our nation's water infrastructure and will pursue justice against those who endanger the American public. EPA is unwavering in its commitment to clean, safe water for all Americans."
"Today's actions demonstrate the Department's commitment to disrupting malicious Russian cyber activity whether conducted directly by state actors or their criminal proxies aimed at furthering Russia's geopolitical interests," said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg. "We remain steadfast in defending essential services, including food and water systems Americans rely on each day, and holding accountable those who seek to undermine them."
"Politically-motivated hacktivist groups, whether state-sponsored like CARR or state-sanctioned like NoName, pose a serious threat to our national security, particularly when foreign intelligence services use civilians to obfuscate their malicious cyber activity targeting American critical infrastructure as well as attacking proponents of NATO and U.S. interests abroad," said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli for the Central District of California. "The charges announced today demonstrate our commitment to eradicating global threats to cybersecurity and pursuing malicious cyber actors working on behalf of adversarial foreign interests."
"When pro-Russia hacktivist groups target our infrastructure, the FBI will use all available tools to expose their activity and hold them accountable," said FBI Cyber Division Assistant Director Brett Leatherman. "Today's announcement demonstrates the FBI's commitment to disrupt Russian state-sponsored cyber threats, including reckless criminal groups supported by the GRU. The FBI doesn't just track cyber adversaries - we work with global partners to bring them to justice."
According to the indictment, CARR claimed credit for hundreds of cyberattacks against victims worldwide in support of Russia's geopolitical interests. CARR primarily hacked industrial control facilities and conducted distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks. Some of CARR's victims included public drinking water systems across several U.S. states, resulting in damage to controls and the spilling of hundreds of thousands of gallons of drinking water. CARR also attacked a meat processing facility in Los Angeles in November 2024, spoiling thousands of pounds of meat and triggering an ammonia leak in the facility.
If convicted of these charges, Dubranova would face up to a statutory maximum sentence of 27 years in federal prison.
The law enforcement actions against CARR are part of Operation Red Circus, one of the FBI's ongoing efforts to disrupt Russian state-sponsored cyberthreats to United States critical infrastructure and interests abroad. Concurrent with today's announcement, the U.S. Department of State's Rewards for Justice (RFJ) program Exit EPA's website, administered by the Diplomatic Security Service, announced a reward of up to $2 million for information on individuals associated with CARR. On July 19, 2024, Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions Exit EPA's website targeting two CARR members for their roles in cyber operations against U.S. critical infrastructure.
The investigation into CARR was conducted by the Environmental Protection Agency's Criminal Investigation Division, the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office, and the Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security. The Justice Department's Office of International Affairs provided significant assistance.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
More information on today's indictment is available in the Department of Justice's press release Exit EPA's website.
Ensuring that all Americans have access to clean and safe water is part of the first pillar of Administrator Zeldin's Powering the Great American Comeback initiative. Cyberattacks represent a significant threat to this mission as evidenced by today's criminal charges, which underscore that the water sector remains a target for advanced threat actors sponsored by or supportive of adversarial nation-states. Regardless of the motivation and sophistication of the threats, EPA's message remains consistent: all drinking water and wastewater systems should ensure strong resilience to malicious cyber activity by, at a minimum, adopting basic cybersecurity measures that can be implemented with little or no cost.
As the Sector Risk Management Agency entrusted with leading Federal efforts to secure the water sector, EPA supports the efforts of our nation's drinking water and wastewater systems to protect themselves against cyberattacks, and works with private and public sector partners to mitigate risks using an extensive array of tools, training, funding support, and direct technical assistance. EPA works with utilities to conduct cybersecurity assessments to determine their vulnerabilities and develop risk mitigation plans to systematically address security gaps. The Agency also proactively identifies and helps utilities eliminate internet-exposed industrial control devices at their water systems. These efforts protect communities including homes, hospitals, schools, businesses, and military facilities from potential disruptions and threats to vital water services. Additional information on the range of EPA's cybersecurity assistance to the water sector is available on EPA's Cybersecurity for the Water Sector webpage.
Additional information on protecting the nation's water and wastewater sector from cybersecurity threats are available from EPA's websites:
* Enforcement Alert: Drinking Water Systems to Address Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities
* Drinking Water and Wastewater Resilience website
* Is Your Utility Cyber Aware? webpage
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Original text here: https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/foreign-national-indicted-and-extradited-united-states-role-two-russia-linked-cyber
