Latest Pollution Headlines
All the headlines from our Pollution Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Louisiana Governor Sets Goal: Net Zero Greenhouse Gases by 2050
Aug 21 2020 // Louisiana’s governor has signed an executive order setting a state goal for net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, drawing swift praise from environmental groups. At least 23 other states and the District of...
$600M Flint Water Deal a Step Toward Making Amends, Michigan Governor Says
Aug 21 2020 // A proposed $600 million deal between the state of Michigan and residents of the impoverished, majority-Black city of Flint who were harmed by lead-tainted water is a step toward making amends for a disaster that upended...
Ironshore Environmental Taps Argo’s Killimett to Lead Wholesale Underwriting Team
Aug 19 2020 // Ironshore Environmental has named Kelly Killimett to lead its newly established wholesale team. Killimett will be responsible for developing and executing an integrated underwriting and sales strategy dedicated to serving...
Deal Proposed with Chemours, N.C. Regulators, Environmentalists Over Water Pollution
Aug 18 2020 // Regulators and environmental groups in North Carolina says they’ve reached a tentative agreement regarding a lawsuit with the Chemours Co. over so-called “forever chemicals” flowing into the Cape Fear...
Metal Shredder to Pay $875K to Settle Rhode Island Air Pollution Claims
Aug 14 2020 // A company that shreds scrap metal has agreed to pay the largest fine ever imposed under Rhode Island’s air pollution rules. Under a legal settlement announced Wednesday, Sims Metal Management will pay $875,000 and...
Mercedes-Benz Maker Daimler to Pay Nearly $3 Billion to Settle U.S. Diesel Claims
Aug 14 2020 // Daimler said on Thursday it has reached agreements costing nearly $3 billion to settle civil investigations by U.S. regulators and lawsuits from vehicle owners stemming from a long-running probe into software to cheat...
Mauritius Seeks Compensation from Owners of Cargo Vessel After Massive Oil Spill
Aug 12 2020 // Mauritius is seeking compensation from the owners of the cargo carrier that run aground and spilled oil off its coast, causing the island nation’s worst ever ecological disaster. More than half of about 1,000 tons of...
Ralph Lauren Suit Alleges Fraud by Insurer Refusing to Cover Coronavirus Losses
Aug 11 2020 // Fashion firm Ralph Lauren Corp. is suing its insurer to recoup what it says has been a huge drop of two-thirds of its revenues in the first quarter alone due to the pandemic. Ralph Lauren Corp. (RLC) maintains that Factory...
Georgia Residents Near Power Plant Sue Over Coal Ash Pollution
Aug 7 2020 // Residents near a middle Georgia power plant are suing Georgia Power Co., alleging the plant is poisoning their well water. The suit filed Wednesday in Fulton County Superior Court alleges the electric utility has illegally...
‘Dead Zone’ in Gulf Much Smaller This Year Following Tropical Storms
Aug 5 2020 // Tropical weather stirred up the Gulf of Mexico, reducing this year’s dead zone off Louisiana’s coast to the third-smallest ever measured, the scientist who has measured it since 1985 said Tuesday. Marine...
VW Asks Court to Reconsider ‘Staggering’ Damages for Counties Over Diesel Emissions
Aug 3 2020 // Volkswagen AG’s wholly owned U.S. subsidiary on Thursday asked the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to reconsider a ruling that said two counties could seek financial penalties over excess diesel emissions that...
Alabama Environmental Regulator, 3M Reach Agreement on Contamination Cleanup
Jul 31 2020 // The Alabama Department of Environmental Management announced Friday that it has reached an agreement with chemical giant 3M regarding cleanup of “forever chemicals” at its plant in Decatur and at multiple sites...
Climate Risk Analytics Firm Gets Capital Injections from Liberty and MS&AD
Jul 30 2020 // Jupiter, a Silicon Valley startup provider of predictive data and analytics for climate risk, announced it has raised additional capital from insurers Liberty Mutual and MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings, and SYSTEMIQ, a...
Plastic Pollution in Oceans Expected to Triple by 2040
Jul 24 2020 // The annual flow of plastics into our oceans is on a trajectory to triple over the next 20 years, which could add up to 110 pounds of plastic trash for every meter of coastline worldwide, a new report finds. That path is...
Kohal Named President of Brokerage Division at Wisconsin’s ARMR Network
Jul 23 2020 // Middleton, Wisconsin-based American Risk Management Resources Network LLC’s brokerage division has appointed Kari Dybdahl Kohal as the organization’s next president. Kohal brings to the position a wealth of...
California Court Upholds Monsanto Cancer Verdict, Slashes Damages to $21.5M
Jul 22 2020 // A California appeals court has upheld a groundbreaking verdict that Monsanto’s widely used weed killer caused cancer in a school groundskeeper but the panel also slashed the damage award from $78.5 million to $21.5...
Mintz Adds Five to Insurance and Reinsurance Practice in Washington D.C., New York
Jul 20 2020 // Law firm Mintz has added a group of five practitioners to its Insurance and Reinsurance Practice. Deirdre G. Johnson, Paul W. Kalish, Suman Chakraborty and Ellen MacDonald Farrell joined as members, and Elaine Panagakos...
West Virginia Sued Over Non-Compliance of Coal Reclamation Fund
Jul 17 2020 // Environmental groups have sued the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection over what they say is the agency’s failure to adhere to federal reporting requirements for a coal mine reclamation fund. The...
Zurich NA Sustainability Head: Pandemic is a Roadmap for Climate Change Battle
Jul 16 2020 // Ben Harper picked an interesting time to start his new job as head of corporate sustainability for Zurich North America. Harper stepped into the role in January. Harper had been with Zurich for nearly 20 years, previously...
Anglo-Australian Miner BHP Faces $6.3B Lawsuit in UK over 2015 Brazil Dam Disaster
Jul 15 2020 // More than 200,000 Brazilian people and groups will next week kick off a 5 billion-pound ($6.3 billion) lawsuit against Anglo-Australian miner BHP in Britain over a 2015 dam failure that led to Brazil’s worst...
