Environmental Protection Agency News

EPA Won’t Say Which Texas Sites Toxic Waste Has Been Removed From After Harvey

The Environmental Protection Agency says it has recovered 517 containers of “unidentified, potentially hazardous material” from highly contaminated toxic waste sites in Texas that flooded last month during Hurricane Harvey. The agency has not provided details about which Superfund sites …

EPA Wants 7 Oklahoma Oil Well Injection Sites Shuttered

The Environmental Protection Agency has requested oil producers stop injecting wastewater in seven well sites in northeast Oklahoma to halt saltwater contamination in the area. The EPA’s request comes nearly a year after the Bird Creek saltwater contamination first was …

Maryland Plans Lawsuit Against EPA Under Clean Air Act

Republican Gov. Larry Hogan’s administration announced plans Thursday to sue the Environmental Protection Agency, if the agency doesn’t respond to Maryland’s request to make sure power plants in neighboring states use pollution controls. Ben Grumbles, secretary of the Maryland Department …

After 18 Months, Houston Hurricane Vulnerability Documents Arrive from Feds

Note: This article originally appeared in the Texas Tribune. Eighteen months ago, the Texas Tribune and ProPublica asked the federal government for some documents. At the time, we were investigating what will happen the next time a massive hurricane hits …

EPA Says 3 Injection Wells Source of Contamination in Oklahoma Creek

The Environmental Protection Agency says it has narrowed the source of salt contamination in an Osage County, Oklahoma, creek to three nearby oil and natural gas injection wells. The Tulsa World reports the contamination was first reported in August 2016 …

Montana Settles with Asbestos Victims for $25M

The state of Montana has reached settlements totaling $25 million with more than 1,000 victims of asbestos-related disease over claims that health officials failed to bring attention to the hazards of a contaminated mine. The Flathead Beacon reported that the …

High Levels of Lead Discovered at Western New York School District

Testing at 13 buildings belonging to a western New York school district returned results that confirmed the presence of elevated levels of lead in water at some schools. The Democrat & Chronicle reports nearly 14 percent of all faucets tested …

New Hampshire Town Seeks Municipal Water from City after Coakley Rejection

Officials and residents in the New Hampshire town of Greenland are urging Portsmouth’s City Council to support running municipal water to homeowners whose wells are vulnerable to contamination from a Superfund cleanup site. The Coakley Landfill Group, which includes the …

Wyoming Refiner Pays $655K for Asbestos Cleanup

Sinclair Casper Refining Co. has paid $655,000 to the Environmental Protection Agency for cleaning up asbestos at an oil refinery in the town of Thermopolis, Wyo. The Casper Star-Tribune reported the agency determined there was significant contamination at the site …

$160M Claim Filed by Navajo Nation Over Mine Spill

The Navajo Nation has submitted a claim of more than $160 million in damages to the federal government over last year’s mine waste spill that fouled rivers in three western states. A cleanup team led by the U.S. Environmental Protection …