Latest Pollution Headlines

All the headlines from our Pollution Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Federal Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Alleging Environmental Discrimination in Louisiana Parish

Dec 4 2023 // NEW ORLEANS (AP) – A federal judge has thrown out a lawsuit that accused a south Louisiana parish of using land use policies to guide industries that pollute into communities with majority-Black populations. U.S....

Former Owner of Collapsed Michigan Dam Faces $120 Million Judgment for Environmental Damage

Nov 30 2023 // DETROIT (AP) – The former owner of a Michigan dam is on the hook for roughly $120 million sought by the state for environmental damage when the structure failed after days of rain in 2020, a judge said. But it`s not...

Kansas Refinery to Pay $23 Million for Clean Air Act Violations and Previous Pollution Problems

Nov 22 2023 // OFFEYVILLE, Kan. (AP) – A Kansas refinery has agreed to pay more than $23 million for violating the federal Clean Air Act and breaching a 2012 settlement for earlier pollution problems, the U.S. Justice Department and...

Federal Appeals Court Strikes Down Air Pollution Permit for Texas LNG Terminal

Nov 17 2023 // A federal appeals court on Monday struck down a major air pollution permit issued by Texas’s environmental regulator, arguing that the state allowed improperly high emissions limits for Port Arthur LNG, a gas...

Climate’s ‘Catch-22’: Cutting Pollution Will Accelerate Global Warming

Nov 3 2023 // Air pollution, a global scourge that kills millions of people a year, is shielding us from the full force of the sun. Getting rid of it will accelerate climate change. That’s the unpalatable conclusion reached by...

Louisiana Was Open to Cancer Alley Concessions. Then EPA Dropped its Investigation

Nov 2 2023 // For more than a year, the Environmental Protection Agency investigated whether Louisiana officials discriminated against Black residents by putting them at increased cancer risk. Federal officials said they had found...

7 Firms Settle With EPA Over Alleged Underground Storage Tank Violations

Oct 31 2023 // The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has taken action against several companies including gas station operators in New Jersey, New York and the U.S. Virgin Islands to address alleged violations of federal laws...

EPA Urges Ban on Chemical Cited in ‘Civil Action’ Movie About Massachusetts City

Oct 30 2023 // The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency last week proposed banning the cancer-causing chemical trichloroethylene, which can be found in consumer products including automobile brake cleaners, furniture care and arts and...

EPA Proposes Banning Cancer-Causing Chemical TCE Used in Automotive Care

Oct 26 2023 // The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Monday proposed banning the cancer-causing chemical trichloroethylene, which can be found in consumer products including automobile brake cleaners, furniture care and arts and...

New Jersey Town Sues to Overturn State’s ‘Woefully Inadquate’ Toxic Waste Deal

Oct 6 2023 // A Jersey Shore town where childhood cancer cases rose is trying to overturn a settlement between the state and the corporate successor to the company that dumped toxic waste into the water and ground for decades, turning...

Investigation Continues Into Deadly Illinois Crash of Truck Crash Carrying Toxic Chemical

Oct 3 2023 // Authorities resumed their investigation of a central Illinois truck crash that killed five people, injured five others and prompted an evacuation for hundreds of residents after a toxic chemical leak. The tanker truck,...

Markets/Coverages: Vantage Risk Offers U.S. Pollution, Professional Liability Insurance for Environmental Risks

Oct 2 2023 // Vantage Group Holdings Ltd., the Bermuda-based insurer and reinsurer, has extended its Contractors Pollution Liability (CPL) and professional liability offerings to environmental contractors and consultants, expanding the...

Kentucky Schools Adding More Electric Buses Thanks to EPA Grants

Sep 21 2023 // Blue Bird Corp., one of the largest and oldest makers of school buses, has fully embraced electric vehicles and will soon provide 13 electric buses to a Kentucky school district. Bowling Green Independent School District...

Environmental Groups Urge Regulators to Shut Down California Reactor Over Safety Concerns

Sep 19 2023 // Environmental groups called on federal regulators to immediately shut down one of two reactors at California’s last nuclear power plant until tests can be conducted on critical machinery they believe could fail and...

Wisconsin Lawmakers Settle Pollution Violations with Factory Farms

Sep 15 2023 // MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Wisconsin lawmakers agreed Wednesday to settle allegations that two factory farms violated their pollution permits for more than a quarter of a million dollars. The Legislature`s Joint Finance...

Burns & Wilcox Acquires Alabama-based Environmental Underwriting Solutions

Sep 13 2023 // Burns & Wilcox, the wholesale insurance brokerage, has agreed to acquire Alabama-based Environmental Underwriting Solutions, a wholesale broker specializing in complex environmental exposures, from Insurance Office of...

Shuttered EPA Civil Rights Investigation Could’ve Brought `Meaningful Reform` in Cancer Alley, Documents Show

Sep 7 2023 // NEW ORLEANS (AP) – As industrial plants have overtaken historic Black communities and burdened neighborhoods with toxic air pollution, environmental advocates and residents of Louisiana’s chemical corridor have...

OSHA Orders Vermont Firm to Rehire Environmental Whistleblower, Pay Damages

Aug 29 2023 // In early June 2022, an employee of a Vermont agricultural equipment company observed the company pumping wastewater from the facility’s service bays onto the ground bordering the Winooski River in Berlin and was...

Texas Files Lawsuit Against Shell, Alleging $1M in Environmental Damage from Petrochemical Plant Fire

Aug 16 2023 // AUSTIN, Texas (AP) __ Texas is suing Shell and is seeking more than $1 million, alleging a fire at the oil giant`s Houston-area petrochemical plant damaged the environment. The May 5 fire at the plant in the suburb of Deer...

Growing ‘Greenlash’ Fuels Fears for Europe’s Environmental Ambitions

Aug 11 2023 // A growing ‘greenlash’ against Europe’s environmental agenda has not so far derailed its decarbonization plans, but looming elections could put future climate and nature measures at risk. The European...