Atlanta. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 4 announced the release of the Sustainable Design and Green Building Toolkit for Local Governments (Toolkit). The Toolkit was developed collaboratively by the Agency's Regional Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Division and Water Protection Division and Pollution Prevention Office, with support from the EPA Green Building and Smart Growth Programs, the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response's Innovations Workgroup, and many external partners.

Texas. ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) will release its second-quarter earnings on Wednesday, July 28 at 8:30 a.m. Eastern. The news release will be issued through Business Wire. In addition, a conference call with members of company management will be held at 11 a.m. Eastern on July 28.

Salt Lake. State regulators have cited Chevron Corp. for a pipeline leak that spilled crude oil into a Salt Lake City creek. The leak last month sent an estimated 33,000 gallons of oil into Red Butte Creek. Much of the oil pooled into a pond at the city's Liberty Park, and regulators say oil traveled downstream into the Jordan River.

Louisiana. Louisiana State University Endowed Chair of Banking and nationally-renowned economist Dr. Joseph R. Mason estimated that the first six months of the Obama administration's moratorium on oil and natural gas exploration in the Gulf of Mexico will trigger a loss of more than 8,000 jobs, nearly $500 million in wages, and over $2.1 billion in economic activity in the Gulf region alone.