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Deadly Chemical Plant Releases Violate Multiple Regulations In a settlement with a multinational company that operates a chemical plant in Belle, West Virginia, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) alleged that between 2006 and 2010, eight releases of hazardous substances occurred, one of which resulted in the death of […]
Consumers Energy Will Update Equipment and Fund Projects Consumers Energy, a subsidiary of CMS Energy Corporation, provides electricity and natural gas to 6.5 million residents in all 68 counties of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula. Under EPA’s Power Plant Initiative, in 2007, the company was issued a notice of violation for opacity violations at five of its […]
The Second Integrated Urban Air Report to Congress—What’s Next? With publication of the Second Integrated Urban Air Report to Congress, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has fulfilled its three primary obligations under the 1990 Clean Air Act (CAA) Amendments. These are: Report twice on accomplishments realized relative to reducing harmful air toxics; Regulate 90 […]
Major Findings from the Second Integrated Urban Air Report to Congress Under the Clean Air Act (CAA) Amendments of 1990, the EPA was tasked with taking action to reduce toxic air emissions and associated human health risks. In 1999, the EPA developed the Integrated Urban Air Toxics Strategy for reducing air toxics risks from all […]
Settlement Preserves Rare Wetlands In mid-August 2014, the EPA and the Department of Justice (DOJ) reached a settlement with the owners of a California ranch for violations of the CWA involving the destruction of more than 80 acres of rare wetlands in Tehama County. According to the EPA, the wetlands, known as “vernal pool” wetlands […]
$2.8 Million Penalty for UST Violations in Fraud Settlement In 2004, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) cited a Dover, Delaware-based petroleum company for underground storage tank violations (USTs) at five of its gas stations in Maryland. In 2006, the complaint was settled, requiring the company to complete compliance measures for its USTs and imposing a […]
An Urban Stormwater Success Story in the Making It’s been said that the squeaky wheel gets the grease, but sometimes that grease can also get the wheel turning faster, as was the case in Omaha, Nebraska. Like many urban areas, the city had experienced adverse impacts from stormwater runoff, including one event when stormwater caused […]
EPA’s Strategy for Saving Our Urban Waters EPA’s Urban Waters program was created in alignment with the America’s Great Outdoors (AGO) Initiative launched by President Obama to reconnect people with conservation and outdoor recreation. While the Urban Waters program is not a regulatory program per se, it embraces a range of activities that may include […]
UST Enforcement Finds Leak Detection Lacking In June and July 2014, the EPA announced enforcement settlements that illustrate the need for all UST owners and operators, from the largest to the smallest, to comply with regulatory requirements. In early June, for example, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) in Virginia certified it was in compliance with […]
Wood-Burning Heaters—Safety and Efficiency Tips 1) Replace wood burning appliances manufactured before 1990 and only use EPA-Certified or EPA-Qualified appliances. According to the EPA, there are 12 million residential wood stoves in use in the United States and 9 million of those are older, not certified by the EPA and may be as much as […]