Mark Olalde
I cover the environment, natural resources and public health around the Southwest.
Have a Tip for a Story?
Do you work with public lands, such as for a federal, state or tribal land management agency? I especially want to hear from you.
I report on issues related to public lands, water, mining, oil and gas, and agriculture across the Four Corners region and beyond. I am especially interested in how the energy transition is transforming the West.
Before joining ProPublica, I wrote for The Desert Sun, the Center for Public Integrity and The Arizona Republic. My investigations have taken me around the world and have been published by the Los Angeles Times, “PBS NewsHour,” USA Today, the Las Vegas Review-Journal, High Country News and numerous other outlets.
My team’s reporting on Colorado River policy earned us recognition from the Scripps Howard Fund, the Society of Environmental Journalists and the Indigenous Journalists Association. My coverage of hidden cleanup liabilities in California’s oil fields won the 2020 Stokes Award and helped spur passage of a state law meant to protect taxpayers from shouldering the cost of plugging old wells. And my work on South Africa’s abandoned mines prompted a parliamentary investigation in 2018.
The Cold War Legacy Lurking in U.S. Groundwater
For the first time, ProPublica has cataloged cleanup efforts at the 50-plus sites where uranium was processed to fuel the nation’s nuclear arsenal. Even after regulators say cleanup is complete, polluted water and sickness are often left behind.
Big Oil Companies Are Selling Their Wells. Some Worry Taxpayers Will Pay to Clean Them Up.
Shell and ExxonMobil are selling their California wells despite oil selling at high prices. Experts say one reason is looming liability for environmental cleanup.
Help Us Report on Uranium Mining, Milling and Enrichment
Across the country, companies have been handing off uranium mills and disposal sites to the federal government. ProPublica wants to understand the process from all sides.
Utah Officials Called It the “Year of Water.” Special Interests Still Resist Conservation.
The nation’s fastest-growing and second-driest state had a banner year for water conservation as it plays catch-up to the rest of the West.
The Southwest’s Drought and Fires Are a Window to Our Climate Change Future
In a Q&A with ProPublica, experts describe how a new climate reality threatens the Southwest, the fastest-growing region in the U.S.
Why the Second-Driest State Rejects Water Conservation
Utah has some of the highest per-capita water use and is the fastest-growing state. Yet a powerful group that steers Utah’s water policy keeps pushing for costly infrastructure over meaningful conservation efforts.