Latest Pollution Headlines
All the headlines from our Pollution Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Calls for Tougher Chemical Regulation Follow West Virginia Spill
Jan 14 2014 // A chemical spill that left 300,000 people in West Virginia unable to drink their water is reviving calls for more stringent regulation of thousands of chemical storage sites in the U.S., especially those near water...
Chemical Firm, Local Water Company Sued Over West Virginia Spill
Jan 14 2014 // 13 Jan 2014 20:12 A West Virginia chemical maker was sued along with a local water company over a spill into the Elk River in the state capital, Charleston, that left businesses and residents without tap water for...
West Virginia Chemical Cleanup Continues; Probe of Leak Underway
Jan 13 2014 // West Virginia’s Governor sees the “light at the end of the tunnel” in the chemical leak that has compromised water service for about 300,000 in the state. Residents face a fifth day without drinking water...
California Offshore Fracking Reports Sought By EPA
Jan 10 2014 // Federal environmental regulators will start requiring oil and gas operations off the Southern California coast to report chemicals discharged into the ocean from fracking. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on...
Obama Administration Considers Rules on Use of Explosive Chemicals
Jan 7 2014 // Farmers and oil drillers may be required to report their use of explosive chemicals under measures the Obama administration is considering to avoid disasters such as a Texas blast that killed 14 people last year. Policy...
Environmental Group Says $7.8 Billion Wasted by Crop Insurance Program
Jan 6 2014 // A report commissioned by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) says that the federal crop insurance program over-compensated Corn Belt farmers by $7.8 billion during the 2012 drought. Insurance payouts that year totaled...
North Dakota Train Fire Restarts Oil Transport Safety Debate
Jan 2 2014 // The derailment and fire that led to the evacuation of a North Dakota town has renewed the debate over whether it’s safer to ship oil by rail or pipeline as the U.S. completes a review of the Keystone XL...
Appeals Court Upholds Convictions in Tennessee Asbestos Case
Dec 31 2013 // A federal appeals court last week upheld the convictions of two men found guilty of violating federal environmental laws during the demolition of a Chattanooga, Tenn., textile mill that contained large amounts of...
Montana Judge Rejects Residents’ Lawsuit Against ARCO
Dec 27 2013 // A lawsuit against Atlantic Richfield Co. by nearly 100 residents of Opportunity seeking to have the company clean hazardous materials from their property has been rejected. District Judge Brad Newman ruled on Monday that...
Louisville Residents Sue Utility Over Coal Plant Ash
Dec 23 2013 // A group of Louisville residents who say coal ash from a nearby power plant drifts into their lungs and homes have sued the utility company. The neighbors are seeking class-action status against LG&E and its Allentown,...
Vermont Already Preparing for the Next Big Storm
Dec 18 2013 // Vermont and federal officials Monday highlighted the state’s ongoing efforts to prepare for what is expected to be increasingly severe weather, most likely floods, in the coming years as the effects of a warming...
Federal Auto Safety Regulator Strickland to Exit
Dec 13 2013 // The top U.S. auto-safety regulator will step down, as his agency investigates fires in Tesla Motors Inc. electric cars and is behind schedule on implementing a rule requiring backup cameras in new cars. U.S. National...
Anadarko, Kerr-McGee Liable for Pollution Costs of Spun-Off Paint Unit Tronox
Dec 12 2013 // Anadarko Petroleum Corp. and its Kerr-McGee unit acted with “intent to hinder” when they spun off Tronox, the paint materials company that later went bankrupt, and should pay billions of dollars in...
Anadarko, BP Seek Reversal of Oil Spill Clean Water Act Ruling
Dec 5 2013 // Anadarko Petroleum Corp. and BP Plc asked an appeals court to throw out a judge’s finding that both companies were liable under the U.S. Clean Water Act for the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. U.S. District Judge Carl...
Flood of Regulations Coming from Obama Administration
Dec 5 2013 // Over the next 12 months, the Obama administration is due to issue regulations governing everything from e-cigarettes to smoke-stack emissions in what experts predict will be a second-term rush to put rules in place before...
Left and Right Are Both Wrong About Regulation: Viewpoint
Dec 5 2013 // In 1981, President Ronald Reagan instructed federal agencies that they could issue regulations only after demonstrating that their benefits justified their costs. With modest changes, Reagan’s successors, both...
10 Things to Know About Pollution Liability
Dec 2 2013 // In 2013, pollution liability news included: a $500 million cleanup plan for N.Y.’s Gowanus Canal; a $47 million cleanup plan for the Ringwood, N.J., Superfund site; a $113 million suit alleging toxicity at the...
Insurers’ Asbestos, Environmental Losses Rose 12% in 2012
Nov 18 2013 // While generally not a material drag on the U.S. property/casualty industry’s earnings, industry losses from asbestos and environmental (A&E) claims resumed an upward climb in 2012, according to a new A.M. Best...
Nevada Mine Pollution Deal Brings Residents $19.5M
Nov 18 2013 // Rural neighbors of an abandoned World War II-era copper mine that has leaked toxic chemicals in northern Nevada for decades have won up to a $19.5 million settlement from companies they accused of covering up the...
Nevada Mine Pollution Deal Brings Residents $19.5M
Nov 8 2013 // Rural neighbors of an abandoned World War II-era copper mine that has leaked toxic chemicals in northern Nevada for decades have won up to a $19.5 million settlement from companies they accused of covering up the...
