Latest Pollution Headlines
All the headlines from our Pollution Topic Page, ordered by recency.
How Regulators Caught Volkswagen’s Diesel Deception
Sep 25 2015 // The confession of cheating that’s embroiled Volkswagen AG in one of the biggest scandals in auto industry history came on a cool California morning, on the sidelines of an academic conference focused on green...
Bayer CropScience Settles West Virginia Explosion Suit for $5.6M
Sep 23 2015 // Bayer CropScience LP has reached a $5.6 million settlement over an explosion at its Institute, West Virginia, facility that killed two people in 2008, U.S. authorities said on Monday. The company will spend $4.23 million...
Trying to Put a Price Tag on Volkswagen’s Emission-Fraud Scandal
Sep 22 2015 // An $18 billion liability figure attached itself last Friday to Volkswagen’s diesel disaster. This morning comes news that the German car maker has set aside $7.3 billion (€6.5 billion) to cover a scandal spreading...
Oil Company Fined $223K for Fracking Well Fire in Ohio
Sep 17 2015 // A fire at a natural gas fracking well that forced evacuations and killed thousands of fish in eastern Ohio last summer will result in fines of about $223,000 against an international oil and gas company. Environmental...
‘Ridesharing’ a Climate Change Solution around the Corner
Sep 17 2015 // The solution to reducing carbon emissions may be just around the corner. Car sharing can reduce gas consumption and could ultimately help in the battle to curb climate change, according to a Natural Resources Defense...
North Carolina Judge OKs Duke Energy’s Coal-Ash Clean-up Plan
Sep 16 2015 // A judge on Monday rejected a bid by North Carolina’s environment agency to block Duke Energy from removing toxic coal ash from more plants than required under a new state law. Duke Energy has asked to add three power...
No-Penalty Policy a Standard for Oil Wastewater Spills, Critics Say
Sep 10 2015 // In April 2013, a malfunctioning oil well in the countryside north of Oklahoma City caused storage tanks to overflow, sending 42,000 gallons of briny wastewater hurtling over a dike, across a wheat field and into a farm...
West Virginia Residents Sue CSX Over Train Derailment
Sep 4 2015 // A lawsuit has been filed against CSX Corp. on behalf of southern West Virginia residents living near the site of a fiery oil train derailment. Charleston attorney P. Rodney Jackson said that the lawsuit was filed for more...
Kansas Firm Sentenced for Mishandling Chemicals
Aug 28 2015 // An El Dorado, Kan., company has been ordered to pay $97,612 in restitution and a $10,000 fine for mishandling waste chemicals, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said. The company also must pay a $400 special assessment and serve...
Sierra Club Dragging State Farm into Climate Change Battle
Aug 27 2015 // A State Farm executive is coming under fire from activists for his position on the board of what some consider to be a “climate denier” group. Sierra Club, a progressive investor group and other activist...
Judge Approves Exxon’s $225M New Jersey Pollution Settlement
Aug 26 2015 // Exxon Mobil Corp’s $225 million settlement with the administration of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie of a longstanding environmental pollution case won approval on Tuesday from a state judge, over the objections...
Texas Oil Field Chemical Supplier Rocked by Explosions
Aug 17 2015 // A series of explosions rocked an oil field chemical supply company north of Houston on Aug. 14, setting off a fire that sent a broad, dense column of thick, black smoke towering into the otherwise blue skies. DrillChem...
Declarations
Aug 17 2015 // Harpers Ferry Fire “I am totally grief-stricken for our community and for the shop and property owners affected by this terrible tragedy. I am, however, thankful that no one was injured.” —Harpers Ferry, W....
Washington City Sues Monsanto Over River Contamination
Aug 17 2015 // The city of Spokane is suing the international agrochemical giant Monsanto, which it blames for pollution in the Spokane River in Washington. The lawsuit, filed earlier this month in U.S. District Court in Spokane, alleges...
Ohio Land Owners Settle Whirlpool Pollution Lawsuit
Aug 10 2015 // A lawsuit against Whirlpool Corp. has been settled over contaminated land in northern Ohio near where dozens of children were sickened with cancer. The land owners settled their suit earlier this summer — months after...
Environmental Groups Concerned Over Renewed Oil Hunt in Florida
Aug 7 2015 // Renewed hunts for oil in sensitive Florida ecosystems have environmental groups raising questions about the state’s regulation of the oil and gas industry. A Miami company, Kanter Real Estate LLC, has submitted a...
Washington City Sues Monsanto Over River Contamination
Aug 5 2015 // The city of Spokane is suing the international agrochemical giant Monsanto, which it blames for pollution in the Spokane River in Washington. The lawsuit, filed last week in U.S. District Court in Spokane, alleges that the...
Coal Plant Owners in Las Vegas Area to Settle Lawsuit for $4.3M
Aug 3 2015 // Owners of a soon-to-close coal-fired power plant outside Las Vegas, Nev. have agreed to pay $4.3 million to settle a lawsuit and clean up contamination that neighboring Native Americans blame for health problems and water...
Freberg Environmental Names Miller Senior Vice President in Colorado
Jul 31 2015 // Freberg Environmental Insurance has named Renee Miller to lead its environmental consultants and contracting program. Miller will be based in Denver, Colo. and lead Freberg’s environmental program providing general...
Is Climate Change Now Its Own Industry?
Jul 30 2015 // Interest in climate change is becoming an increasingly powerful economic driver, so much so that some see it as an industry in itself whose growth is driven in large part by policymaking. The $1.5 trillion global...
