Latest Pollution Headlines
All the headlines from our Pollution Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Overselling the Costs, Benefits of Greenhouse Gas Regulations
Jul 1 2014 // The Environmental Protection Agency calls its carbon rules an economic winner that will deliver more than $10 in benefits for each dollar spent on compliance. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce says the economic costs of...
The Right Climate for Tree Huggers, Hippies and iPads
Jun 27 2014 // Editor’s Note: This is the first of an ongoing column covering the impact of climate change and emerging environmental regulations on the insurance and financial industries. It will appear every other week. The 1970s...
Lawsuit Blames West Virginia Airport for Role in Chemical Spill
Jun 26 2014 // A federal lawsuit blames a Charleston airport runway project for the January chemical spill that left 300,000 residents without clean water for days. The lawsuit says Yeager Airport’s completed runway extension never...
Missteps Ongoing at West Virginia’s Freedom Industries
Jun 24 2014 // For the West Virginia company that sullied 300,000 people’s drinking water to start the year, slip-ups like not reading emails and leaving the company chemical headquarters unattended have produced problems for...
Deadline for Charleston Chemical Spill Claims Set
Jun 20 2014 // A federal bankruptcy judge has set an Aug. 1 deadline for financial claims by West Virginia residents and businesses affected by a January chemical spill in Charleston that contaminated the local water supply. Proof of...
New Ohio Drilling Policy May Be Good for Oil & Gas, Insurance Industries
Jun 20 2014 // Ohio in mid-April 2014 enacted stricter regulations for oil and gas drilling near faults or areas of past seismic activity, a move that some, including insurers, may view as a step in the right direction. The Ohio...
Pennsylvania Sues Oil Companies for MTBE Pollution
Jun 19 2014 // Pennsylvania accused oil companies of polluting the state’s groundwater with a gasoline additive, joining states including New York, Vermont and New Hampshire that have brought similar lawsuits. Two complaints filed...
Missouri Court Tosses $240M Punitive Award from Smelter Lawsuit
Jun 19 2014 // A Missouri appeals court has thrown out $240 million in punitive damages awarded to 16 eastern Missouri residents who sued over health problems from the Herculaneum lead smelter. A jury awarded the damages against former...
If Fracking Is the Question, Insurers May Ask – What Is the Answer?
Jun 19 2014 // When it comes to the use of evolving technologies such as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, in oil and gas production one big question insurance companies are faced with is: to insure or not to insure? That is a key...
Climate Change Bottom-Line Talk Grows, S&P Director Says
Jun 18 2014 // Companies and governments worldwide are changing their behaviors and examining their risks in the face of climate change, a managing director for Standard & Poor’s said as he held up the insurance industry as a...
North Carolina Bill Would Force Duke to Close Coal Ash Sites Over 15 Years
Jun 18 2014 // A bill backed by key North Carolina lawmakers would require Duke Energy to close all of its coal ash dumps across the state within 15 years, with much of the toxic material going into lined landfills. The Associated Press...
Citizens Near North Carolina Coal Ash Sites Fear Health Effects
Jun 18 2014 // The sweet tea served in the tidy kitchen of Joanne Thomas’ antebellum home in Dukeville, North Carolina, comes with an ominous warning. “It’s made with bottled water,” says Thomas, a spry...
West Virginia Chemical Firm Facing New Environmental Charges
Jun 16 2014 // A Charleston company faces state violations after a storm water collection trench overflowed at the same site where chemicals spilled into West Virginia’s largest water supply in January. The Department of...
West Virginia Storage Tank Rules Make Some Fear Citizen Lawsuits
Jun 16 2014 // Industry groups are jittery that if state regulators require the wrong type of permit, companies could be subject to citizen lawsuits under a new environmental law that regulates storage tanks. State regulators disagree,...
University of Alabama Researchers Show Small Changes Can Make Big Difference During Tornadoes
Jun 16 2014 // Surviving a tornado in a wood-frame residential home is enhanced by an intact roof and standing walls, but light-weight garage doors can be the weak link to allowing high winds and pressure changes into a home that can...
Proposed Environmental Rules in N.J. Would Ease Some Coastal Development
Jun 12 2014 // In its first major rewrite of coastal protection rules since Superstorm Sandy, New Jersey is proposing changes that would make it easier for some new or expanded development along the Jersey shore and the state’s...
Judge Allows Coal Ash Suit Against Duke Energy in North Carolina
Jun 12 2014 // A federal judge says a lawsuit accusing Duke Energy coal ash pits of polluting a lake near Wilmington can move forward. The Southern Environmental Law Center filed a lawsuit last year on behalf of environmental groups,...
Virginia-Based Beacon Hill Associates Hires Assistant VP
Jun 9 2014 // Beacon Hill Associates Inc., a wholesale insurance broker and program administrator based in Charlottesville, Virginia, has hired Ursula Knowles as assistant vice president, information development. Knowles will be...
Vermont AG Sues 2 Dozen U.S. Refiners Over Pollution
Jun 6 2014 // BP Plc, Chevron Corp. and Exxon Mobil Corp. are among two dozen U.S. refiners sued by Vermont Attorney General William Sorrell and accused of polluting the state’s groundwater with a gasoline additive. Sorrell filed...
EU Notes Its Success in Climate Change Goals as UN Talks Start
Jun 4 2014 // The European Union touted its success in cutting greenhouse gases at U.N. talks on climate change on Wednesday, where a U.S. plan to cut power plant emissions has lifted hopes for a global deal in 2015. An adviser to the...
