Environmental Protection Agency News

Fracking Companies Silence Water Complaints With Sealed Settlements

Chris and Stephanie Hallowich were sure drilling for natural gas near their Pennsylvania home was to blame for the headaches, burning eyes and sore throats they suffered after the work began. The companies insisted hydraulic fracturing — the technique they …

Will Supreme Court Enter Climate Change Debate?

With a barrage of legal briefs, a coalition of business groups and Republican-leaning states are taking their fight against Obama administration climate change regulations to the U.S. Supreme Court. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other industry groups, along with …

EPA Blamed For Delays in Asbestos Study In Montana

Internal investigators are faulting the Environmental Protection Agency for years of delays in completing health studies needed to guide the cleanup of a Montana mining town where hundreds of people have died from asbestos exposure. The EPA’s Office of Inspector …

Xcel Settlement Offers $447,000 in Colorado

Xcel Energy Inc. is providing $447,000 for environmental projects in north Denver to resolve a lawsuit alleging clean air violations. The lawsuit by WildEarth Guardians alleged Xcel failed to monitor and limit emissions at its coal-fired Cherokee power plant in …

EPA Assessing Possible Cancer Cluster In Oregon

The Environmental Protection Agency held a meeting in Salem, Ore. to update the public on a preliminary assessment of four sites in west Salem connected to five cases of rare bone cancer. The four are West Salem High School, Walker Middle …

Scientists Back EPA on Montana Asbestos Risks

Federal officials anticipate finishing by late 2014 a risk study to guide the cleanup of an asbestos-contaminated Montana mining town, after a panel of scientists backed draft results that say even a minuscule amount of the substance can lead to …

Company Fined For Alaska Asbestos Release

An Alaska company has been fined $70,000 and placed on three years of probation for releasing asbestos into the air in Anchorage. Chief U.S. District Court Judge Ralph R. Beistline (BISTE’-line) last week also ordered Copper River Campus to hire …

$100K Deal Reached in Montana Over Lead-Contaminated Waste

The owner of a central Montana landfill has agreed to pay the U.S. government $100,000 to settle a civil action over 1,600 tons of earth containing unsafe levels of lead that sat untreated and unprotected for about four years. The …

EPA Pushes Tough Asbestos Standard for Mont. Town

A proposed standard for federal cleanup of asbestos contamination in a Montana town concludes that even a tiny amount of the material can lead to lung problems, a benchmark far more rigorous than any in the past and one that …

EPA Fines Idaho Gas Companies For Clean Air Violations

A pair of gas delivery companies operating in Idaho will pay thousands of dollars in penalties for violating federal clean air laws. The Environmental Protection Agency announced fines Wednesday for CityServiceValcon, LLC, and Thomas West Fuels, Lubricants & Chemicals, LLC. …