Practical EHS Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
A U.S. district court judge in West Virginia has ordered the EPA to meet the requirement in Section 321(a) of the Clean Air Act (CAA), which states that the Agency “shall conduct continuing evaluations of potential shifts in employment” and “threatened plant closures and reductions in employment” resulting from “administration or enforcement” of the Act. […]
The attorneys general (AGs) of West Virginia and Texas do not believe the EPA should provide assistance to the states with implementing the Clean Power Plan (CPP) while the U.S. Supreme Court’s stay of that rule is in effect. In a letter to Janet McCabe, EPA’s acting assistant administrator of Air and Radiation, West Virginia […]
In a blow to the agricultural and land development sectors, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a case challenging EPA’s 2010 total maximum daily load (TMDL) program for the Chesapeake Bay. The case was launched in 2011 when the American Farm Bureau, the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, the National Association of Home Builders, and others […]
A company’s safety and environmental compliance and performance are critical to its long-term survival. One single catastrophic incident, such as the release of methylisocyanate gas from a Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, India in 1984 can take down even a global corporation. And, the same can happen to smaller companies and can result from smaller-scale […]
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been under pressure to update and better manage its Clean Air Act Risk Management Program and is moving ever closer to a proposed rule that will modify the program. The Agency continues to scrutinize facilities that are required to have risk management plans. Today we will review a […]
On June 30, 2007, workers at a Little General gas station and convenience store in Ghent, West Virginia, were transferring propane from an existing propane tank (that did not meet safety codes) to a new propane tank (that did meet safety codes). During the transfer, the old tank began to leak flammable propane vapor. The […]
Fracking Company Settlement In late December 2014, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Justice announced a settlement with a subsidiary of the nation’s largest holder of natural gas reserves for violations of the Clean Water Act (CWA). According to the EPA, the company allegedly violated sections 301(a) and 404 of the CWA […]
EPA Levies Second Largest Civil Penalty for Alleged CWA Violations In a joint enforcement action announced in September 2014, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Department of Justice (DOJ), and the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) settled with a West Virginia-based oil and natural gas company for multiple violations of the CWA. […]
Hydraulic Fracturing and Hydrocarbon Recovery—A Profitable Option As millions of natural gas wells are developed using hydraulic fracturing methods, the resulting wastes in the form of flowback and produced waters contain a variety of man-made and naturally occurring components that must be managed safely. According to a recent white paper, one of these components, hydrocarbons, […]
In today’s Advisor, we focus on standards and other considerations that can help manage combustible dust hazards.