Latest Pollution Headlines
All the headlines from our Pollution Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Mine Owner to Pay $1.5B Penalty to Kentucky for Environmental Violations
Aug 21 2014 // West Virginia billionaire Jim Justice has reached a $1.5 million settlement with Kentucky officials over dozens of violations at several of his coal mines in eastern Kentucky. The agreement between Justice and the...
West Virginia Chemical Spill Claims Mount
Aug 18 2014 // Charleston, West Virginia-based Freedom Industries can expect about 5,000 groups to ask for money in bankruptcy claims over the January chemical spill that seeped into West Virginia’s biggest water supply. The...
West Virginia Chemical Spill Spawns Health Effects Studies
Aug 13 2014 // Federal health officials are outlining new studies on the chemicals that spilled into West Virginia’s largest drinking water supply. The National Toxicology Program said in a memo that potential pregnancy and liver...
Vermont Family in Bed Bug Case Sues Homeowners Insurer
Aug 12 2014 // A Vermont couple who reached a $450,000 settlement with the state after saying their home was made uninhabitable when it was sprayed for bed bugs with a banned pesticide is now suing their insurance company. Neil and...
Chemical Spill Claims Against West Virginia Company Top $160M
Aug 12 2014 // When coal-cleaning chemicals seeped into West Virginia’s biggest water supply in January, the city of Cincinnati had a decision to make 200 miles downstream. As the city feared, a sheet of contaminants cruised down...
Tennessee Valley Authority to Pay $28M to Coal Ash Victims
Aug 5 2014 // The nation’s largest public utility has agreed to pay $27.8 million to settle claims from Tennessee property owners who suffered damages from a huge spill of toxin-laden coal ash sludge. The 2008 spill happened when...
Climate Change Considered by Idaho Leaders
Aug 4 2014 // Despite the uncertainty over the scale and the speed of climate change, Idaho leaders are working on how to adapt and how to reduce its impacts. Boise law firm Holland & Hart held a workshop for its Idaho clients and...
Hartford’s McGee Discusses Company’s Turnaround, Transformation
Aug 1 2014 // The Hartford Financial Services Group’s Liam McGee, who stepped down as president and CEO on July 1 but will remain executive chairman until next year’s shareholder meeting, spoke about the company’s...
Today Is Court Deadline for West Virginia Chemical Spill Claims
Aug 1 2014 // Time is running out for residents and businesses affected by a January chemical spill in Charleston to file claims in federal bankruptcy court. Claims must be filed with U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Charleston by today, Aug.1...
Troubled California Refinery Slated for Overhaul
Jul 31 2014 // Leaders of a San Francisco Bay Area city approved a $1 billion upgrade of Chevron’s troubled 1960s-era oil refinery, the largest in Northern California, after the company agreed to safety and piping upgrades and...
Hartford’s Q2 Core Earnings Decline 38% to $144M; Net Loss Widens
Jul 31 2014 // The Hartford Financial Services Group said Wednesday its 2014 second quarter net loss widened to $467 million, compared to a net loss of $190 million during last year’s second quarter. The results were hit by $617...
Obama Climate Rules Unpopular in GOP South
Jul 31 2014 // In the Republican-heavy Southeast, critics said this week that a plan by President Barack Obama’s administration to cut pollution would raise electricity prices, result in job losses and may not significantly curtail...
Freedom Industries Pays $11,000 Fine in West Virginia Chemical Spill
Jul 30 2014 // The company that spilled chemicals into West Virginia’s largest water supply has paid an $11,000 fine for a pair of violations. The Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined Freedom...
Climate Change Debate in Denver Pits Coal Miners vs. Skiers
Jul 30 2014 // Coal miners took on skiers, and environmentalists dueled with business groups as the public debated sweeping rules from the Obama administration to combat global warming in a nationwide series of hearings yesterday. At the...
Inaction on Climate Change Costs Economy: White House
Jul 30 2014 // As the Obama administration defends its efforts to curb carbon emissions this week, it’s taking a new tack: arguing that it is smart economic planning. A new White House report says the cost of fighting climate...
Cause of Blaze at North Dakota Oil Supply Company Unknown
Jul 23 2014 // More than half a day after an industrial fire broke out in the North Dakota oil patch town of Williston, N.D., authorities still were unable to say what caused the massive blaze. The fire, which started around midnight...
Pennsylvania Auditor Cites Flaws in Gas Drilling Regulation
Jul 23 2014 // Strained by the rapid expansion of natural gas drilling in Pennsylvania and limited resources, environmental regulators have failed to adequately monitor well safety or to provide clear and timely information to citizens,...
Freedom Industries, West Virginia Businesses Seek $2.9M Insurance Payout for Chemical Spill
Jul 21 2014 // At least $2.9 million could fuel studies in a proposed settlement between West Virginia businesses and residents and the company that contaminated their water supply. The deal between lawyers for Freedom Industries and...
Settlement in New Mexico Stemmed from Air Pollution Allegations
Jul 21 2014 // The owner of a natural gas plant in southeastern New Mexico has agreed to pay the state nearly $70,000 to settle a case involving allegations of air quality violations. The New Mexico Environment Department announced the...
Florida Gov. Scott Agrees to Meet with Climate Scientists
Jul 18 2014 // Florida Gov. Rick Scott said his administration would be “happy to meet” with 10 scientists from Florida universities who want to talk about climate change, a subject he has been reluctant to address. A letter...
