Latest Pollution Headlines
All the headlines from our Pollution Topic Page, ordered by recency.
House GOP Wants Democratic AGs’ Records on Climate Change Suit Against Exxon
Jul 15 2016 // Escalating a political fight over global warming, a Republican House chairman issued subpoenas this week to two Democratic state attorneys general, seeking records about their investigation into whether Exxon Mobil misled...
Federal Scientists Issue Final Update of West Virginia Chemical Spill Study
Jul 15 2016 // Federal government scientists have released a final update of their study of the January 2014 chemical spill that temporarily fouled the drinking water supplies of 300,000 Charleston-area residents, reporting no...
Methane in Northern Colorado Water Not Always from Oil Wells: Study
Jul 13 2016 // The oil and gas industry may not be to blame if northeastern Colorado tap water is so full of methane it can be set on fire, researchers say. Fewer than 5 percent of the region’s water wells that were checked for...
California Governor Wants to Expand Efforts on Climate Change
Jul 13 2016 // California Gov. Jerry Brown has launched a campaign to extend some of the most ambitious climate-change programs in the country and ensure his environmental legacy when he leaves office in two years. The centerpiece of the...
Alpha Natural Resources Reaches Deal with U.S. to Exit Bankruptcy, Clean-Up Mines
Jul 8 2016 // The U.S. government agreed to a mine clean-up deal that allows coal producer Alpha Natural Resources to exit bankruptcy, despite concerns that Alpha will be unable to fund $400 million in commitments, a government lawyer...
BHP to Fight $6B Civil Claim over Brazil Mining Disaster
Jul 1 2016 // BHP Billiton on Friday said it would appeal against the decision by a Brazilian court to reinstate a $6 billion public civil claim over last year’s Samarco iron ore mine disaster. BHP and 50-50 joint-venture partner...
Brexit, Climate Change and Clean Air
Jun 30 2016 // What does the Brexit portend for all those collaborative efforts undertaken by the European Union to battle climate change? It’s a question a number of people were pondering – in Europe and in the U.S. – after...
Citing Health Risks, Oakland City Council Bans Coal Shipments
Jun 29 2016 // The Oakland City Council in California voted unanimously to kill a plan to use a proposed marine terminal to transport Utah coal to Asia, calling such shipments public health and safety hazards. Backers argued the project...
Senate Zika Funding Fails as Democrats Balk at Strings Attached
Jun 29 2016 // Senate Democrats on Tuesday blocked Republicans’ plan to partially fund President Barack Obama’s request for funding to tackle the Zika virus and attach it to other items Democrats dismissed as partisan,...
Update: Volkswagen’s U.S. Diesel Settlement Tab to Top $15 Billion
Jun 27 2016 // German automaker Volkswagen AG will pay more than $15.3 billion to settle charges that it cheated on U.S. diesel emissions tests, an agreement that will fund buybacks for consumers and provide up to $4.7 billion that could...
USG’s Program Division Makes Staff Changes to Jacksonville, Florida Office
Jun 27 2016 // Allied American Underwriters, a division of USG Insurance Services, Inc., has hired Valarie MacDonald as producer/broker, and Denise Brown as production assistant. In addition to these new hires, AAU has promoted Dasha...
ERMI Launches Pollution Protection Product for M&A Transactions
Jun 24 2016 // Environmental Risk Managers, Inc. (ERMI) has announced a new product to address exposures related to business & property transactions. The Mergers, Acquisitions, and Pollution Protection (MAPP) product combines...
Environmentalists Warn of Spill Risk from Increasing Oil Shipments on Hudson River
Jun 21 2016 // The Hudson River may still become a major corridor for the shipment of thick, tar sands oil from Canada despite moves last year by New York officials that many thought stopped those efforts. At issue is a key air permit...
States Faced with Massive Well Cleanup from Oil Bust
Jun 20 2016 // The worst oil bust since the 1980s is putting Texas and other oil producing states on the hook for thousands of newly abandoned drilling sites at a time when they have little money to plug wells and seal off environmental...
Specialized Environmental Coverage Tools a Must for Today’s Farm Operations
Jun 20 2016 // Recent court and regulatory actions across the country with regard to environmental pollution exclusions in insurance policies have shown the need among farm owners and other agricultural risks for true environmental...
Contractor’s Professional Mitigation of Damages Coverage
Jun 20 2016 // As contractors’ professional liability insurance products continue to develop and evolve in the marketplace, many contractors aren’t aware of a new “first-party” coverage that has become available...
Colorado Scientists Detail Results of Fracking Air Pollution Study
Jun 16 2016 // A study of air pollution from western Colorado fracking wells found the highest rate of emissions came just after fracking was completed. The research released this week didn’t measure the effects on human health,...
North Alabama Water Diluted to Lower Contamination Levels
Jun 16 2016 // A water system that had to tell its 10,000 customers not to drink from their taps has brought chemical contamination down to federally acceptable levels by diluting it with water from another north Alabama utility,...
XL Catlin Launches Wholesale Contractors’ Pollution, Professional Coverage
Jun 15 2016 // XL Catlin’s North America Environmental insurance business has introduced a new wholesale pollution and professional insurance policy designed to help U.S. trade contractors address their contractual obligations to...
Houston Ship Channel Pilot Blamed for 2015 Collision, Chemical Spill
Jun 10 2016 // Federal safety experts say errors by a Houston Ship Channel pilot likely caused the 2015 collision between two 600-foot vessels that led to a chemical spill. The Houston Chronicle reported that the National Transportation...
