Latest Pollution Headlines
All the headlines from our Pollution Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Barring Last Minute Deal, Gulf Oil Spill Trial to Get Underway Monday
Feb 21 2013 // Nearly three years after a deepwater well rupture killed 11 men, sank a rig and spewed 4 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, BP and the other companies involved are scheduled to face their judge in court. The...
EPA Fines 6 Arizona School Districts For Asbestos
Feb 21 2013 // Six school districts in Arizona have done compliance work to avoid hefty federal fines for asbestos violations. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency fined the school districts a combined total of nearly $95,000. More...
Submerged Superstorm Debris Raising Pollution, Boater Safety Concerns
Feb 20 2013 // On the surface, things look calm and placid. Just beneath the waterline, however, it’s a different story. Cars and sunken boats. Patio furniture. Pieces of docks. Entire houses. A grandfather clock, deposited in a...
Scientists Back EPA on Montana Asbestos Risks
Feb 11 2013 // Federal officials anticipate finishing by late 2014 a risk study to guide the cleanup of an asbestos-contaminated Montana mining town, after a panel of scientists backed draft results that say even a minuscule amount of...
BP, States May Still Be Far Apart Over Oil Spill Deal
Feb 4 2013 // It is a question that has lawyers and many others on the U.S. Gulf coast buzzing: Will BP strike a massive deal to settle the remaining claims over the Gulf of Mexico well blowout? BP could be nearing a settlement of...
Barnes & Thornburg Adds Insurance Recovery Group in Minneapolis
Jan 31 2013 // Three insurance recovery attorneys have joined Barnes & Thornburg LLP’s Minneapolis office as partners in the firm’s Policyholder Insurance Recovery and Counseling Group. The attorneys joining the firm...
Judge Approves BP Gulf Oil Spill Settlement
Jan 29 2013 // A U.S. judge has accepted an agreement by BP Plc to plead guilty for its role in the Deepwater Horizon disaster and pay $4.0 billion in penalties for the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history, a court official said on...
Foodborne Illness Cases Present Complex Coverage Questions
Jan 28 2013 // One of the most heavily litigated insurance issues in coverage liability cases related to outbreaks of widespread foodborne illnesses is the determination of occurrence where multiple people in multiple states are affected...
Want to Grow Your Agency, But Just Can’t Quite Make It Happen?
Jan 28 2013 // Almost every agency owner I’ve ever met, and I’ve met maybe thousands, has wanted to grow his or her agency. Many, maybe most, have been stuck. Whether they are stuck at $300,000 revenue, $500,000, $6 million...
Beazley Launches Environmental Cleanup Costs Insurance
Jan 23 2013 // Beazley plc has expanded its environmental products offering with the launch of an environmental cleanup costs insurance policy that provides coverage for cost overruns for remediation of known conditions at covered...
In Inaugural Address, Obama Vows to Tackle Climate Change
Jan 22 2013 // President Barack Obama said on Monday he will confront climate change in his second term in office, an unexpected vow that puts the politically charged issue among his domestic priorities alongside gun control and...
Foodborne Illness Cases Present Complex Coverage Questions
Jan 14 2013 // One of the most heavily litigated insurance issues in coverage liability cases related to outbreaks of widespread foodborne illnesses is the determination of occurrence where multiple people in multiple states are affected...
Governments Struggle with Financial Crisis as the Planet Warms up
Jan 11 2013 // The global economy has been through economic recessions before, and has eventually recovered from them. This time around, however, it must do so while coping with the ever increasing menace of climate change – that makes...
Philadelphia Launches Coverage for Restoration Contractors
Jan 3 2013 // Philadelphia Insurance Cos. (PHLY) a property/casualty and professional liability insurance company for niche markets, has launched insurance coverage specifically designed to protect restoration contractors. These...
Long-Awaited New Hampshire Pollution Trial Ready to Start
Dec 31 2012 // Nearly a decade after it was first brought, a lawsuit accusing two oil giants of widespread groundwater contamination in New Hampshire is expected to present jurors with the most complex and time-consuming trial in state...
Company Fined For Alaska Asbestos Release
Dec 26 2012 // An Alaska company has been fined $70,000 and placed on three years of probation for releasing asbestos into the air in Anchorage. Chief U.S. District Court Judge Ralph R. Beistline (BISTE’-line) last week also...
Conocophillips Reaches Deals Over Alaska Spills
Dec 20 2012 // ConocoPhillips has agreed to federal and state civil penalties of about $200,000 for spills of crude oil and contaminated water from corroded pipe in Alaska’s Kuparuk Oil Field in 2006 and 2007. ConocoPhillips Alaska...
Berger Named President of Berkley Specialty Underwriting Managers
Dec 20 2012 // Kenneth J. Berger has been named president of Berkley Specialty Underwriting Managers LLC. The appointment is effective immediately. Berger succeeds Steven S. Zeitman, who has been appointed chairman and will remain chief...
Food Borne Illness Cases Present Complex Coverage Questions
Dec 19 2012 // One of the most heavily litigated insurance issues in coverage liability cases related to outbreaks of widespread food borne illnesses is the determination of occurrence where multiple people in multiple states are...
After Sandy, New York City Eyes Moving Power Gear Higher
Dec 14 2012 // A major push is on to move New York City’s electrical infrastructure to higher ground or upper floors after Superstorm Sandy sent seawater pouring into low-lying substations and skyscraper basements and plunged half...
