Latest Pollution Headlines
All the headlines from our Pollution Topic Page, ordered by recency.
EU Lawmakers Approve Tougher Penalties for Environmental Crimes
Feb 27 2024 // The European Parliament on Tuesday approved tougher penalties for environmental crimes such as illegal timber trade, with offenses punishable by up to 10 years in prison and company directors prosecuted for corporate...
Houthi Attack on Ship Led to ‘Environmental Disaster,’ US Says
Feb 26 2024 // The missile attack by Houthi militants on a ship carrying a cargo of fertilizer has led to an “environmental disaster” in the Red Sea, US Central Command said Friday evening. Hours later, Central Command...
Oil And Gas Producer Paying Millions to New Mexico Over Pollution Concerns
Feb 21 2024 // A company has reached a multimillion-dollar settlement with the federal government and the state of New Mexico to address air pollution concerns in the largest oil and gas producing region in the United States. The...
Ten Texas Counties Have Soot Levels Above EPA Standards
Feb 12 2024 // The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday finalized a long-anticipated rule aimed at reducing the level of air pollution known as particulate matter — microscopic particles that can penetrate deep into the...
Ken Griffin Wants to Stop ‘Toxic Waste’ Casinos in South Florida
Feb 2 2024 // (Bloomberg) — Ken Griffin wants to exert more influence in Florida politics. One of his top priorities: stopping new casinos in his backyard. The state’s second-richest person is opposing a bill that would...
U.S. Steel Agrees to Spend Millions to Settle Suit Over Pollution Violations After 2018 Fire
Feb 1 2024 // U.S. Steel has agreed to settle a lawsuit that accused the Pittsburgh-based company of violating federal clean air laws by operating plants without its desulfurization controls for more than three months, emitting clouds...
Environmental Officials Working to Clean Up Fuel After Fiery Tanker Truck Crash in Ohio
Jan 30 2024 // MACEDONIA, Ohio (AP) — Environmental officials in Ohio were back on the scene Sunday of a fiery tanker truck crash, working to contain thousands of gallons (liters) of diesel fuel that spilled during the accident. The...
EPA Blocks Access to Louisiana Apartment Complex Due to Cancer-Causing Chemicals
Jan 29 2024 // BENTON, La. (AP) — After cancer-causing chemicals were found in the soil at a north Louisiana apartment complex, the Environmental Protection Agency has blocked access to part of the property and will move to abate the...
EPA Assessment Reveals Persistent Nutrient Pollution in US Rivers and Streams
Jan 22 2024 // The nation’s rivers and streams remain stubbornly polluted with nutrients that contaminate drinking water and fuel a gigantic dead zone for aquatic life in the Gulf of Mexico, according to a recently released...
Looming Waste-Landslide Disaster Prompts Review of Environmental Laws in Denmark
Jan 22 2024 // A landslide of contaminated soil that threatens to pollute a water stream in Denmark has prompted the nation’s government to consider tightening environmental and corporate laws. Danish authorities have enlisted 100...
US Supreme Court to Hear Challenge to EPA’s ‘Good Neighbor’ Air Pollution Plan
Jan 5 2024 // The U.S. Supreme Court on late last month said it would hear a bid to block the Environmental Protection Agency from enforcing a federal regulation aimed at reducing ozone emissions that may worsen air pollution in...
Truck Engine Maker Cummins to Pay Record $1.675 Billion US Environmental Fine
Dec 28 2023 // Truck engine maker Cummins Inc. has agreed in principle to pay a $1.675 billion fine for installing devices on hundreds of thousands of engines to allow them to emit excess pollution, the largest-ever civil penalty for a...
UK to Probe Unilever’s Environmental Claims as Part of Greenwashing Crackdown
Dec 12 2023 // Britain’s competition watchdog said on Tuesday it would scrutinize environmental claims made by UK consumer goods giant Unilever about certain household essential items, amid a wider crackdown on greenwashing. The...
EPA Finalizes Regulation Requiring Oil and Gas Operators in Texas to Reduce Methane Emissions
Dec 5 2023 // The Environmental Protection Agency on Saturday finalized a long-anticipated climate regulation that will require oil and gas operators to dramatically reduce how much methane, a potent greenhouse gas, is escaping from...
Federal Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Alleging Environmental Discrimination in Louisiana Parish
Dec 4 2023 // NEW ORLEANS (AP) – A federal judge has thrown out a lawsuit that accused a south Louisiana parish of using land use policies to guide industries that pollute into communities with majority-Black populations. U.S....
Former Owner of Collapsed Michigan Dam Faces $120 Million Judgment for Environmental Damage
Nov 30 2023 // DETROIT (AP) – The former owner of a Michigan dam is on the hook for roughly $120 million sought by the state for environmental damage when the structure failed after days of rain in 2020, a judge said. But it`s not...
Kansas Refinery to Pay $23 Million for Clean Air Act Violations and Previous Pollution Problems
Nov 22 2023 // OFFEYVILLE, Kan. (AP) – A Kansas refinery has agreed to pay more than $23 million for violating the federal Clean Air Act and breaching a 2012 settlement for earlier pollution problems, the U.S. Justice Department and...
Federal Appeals Court Strikes Down Air Pollution Permit for Texas LNG Terminal
Nov 17 2023 // A federal appeals court on Monday struck down a major air pollution permit issued by Texas’s environmental regulator, arguing that the state allowed improperly high emissions limits for Port Arthur LNG, a gas...
Climate’s ‘Catch-22’: Cutting Pollution Will Accelerate Global Warming
Nov 3 2023 // Air pollution, a global scourge that kills millions of people a year, is shielding us from the full force of the sun. Getting rid of it will accelerate climate change. That’s the unpalatable conclusion reached by...
Louisiana Was Open to Cancer Alley Concessions. Then EPA Dropped its Investigation
Nov 2 2023 // For more than a year, the Environmental Protection Agency investigated whether Louisiana officials discriminated against Black residents by putting them at increased cancer risk. Federal officials said they had found...
