Enforcement


More Protection for Participants in Human Studies Involving Pesticides

EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson has signed amendments that strengthen existing standards for human research involving pesticides submitted by third parties for consideration in EPA decision-making. These amendments will apply to studies involving the controlled exposure of participants to pesticides.

Nevada Gold Mines Fined for Environmental Violations

Three gold mining companies in Nevada have been fined $618,000 for failing to correctly report toxic chemical releases and waste management activities.

States, EPA Try to Tackle Interstate Air Pollution

Section 126 of the Clean Air Act authorizes individual states to file petitions with EPA to stop interstate air pollution, and it may be the most effective legal tool available. The question is how aggressively EPA will pursue it.

New Avenue Opens for Challenges to CWA Compliance Orders

The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Sackett v. EPA recognized that property owners have the right to immediately go to court to challenge the validity of administrative compliance orders issued by EPA under the Clean Water Act.

Two federal judges during 2012 ruled EPA exceeded its authority under the Clean Water Act in regulating the impacts of mountaintop removal coal mining in Appalachia.

Mountaintop Removal Mining Proves Hard to Stop

Federal judges ruled EPA exceeded its authority under the Clean Water Act in regulating the impacts of coal mining in Appalachia. EPA has appealed both cases, which could have major implications for its ability to control one of the most environmentally destructive practices in the country.

EPA Administrator Jackson Stepping Down

She announced she will leave the administration soon after President Obama's State of the Union speech.

New Hampshire Facility to Pay Fines for Violating Clean Water Act

CSG Holdings, Inc., a sand and gravel company in New Hampshire has been fined $150,000 for violating the Clean Water Act.

APWA Collaborates on Consortium’s New White Paper

The American Public Works Association (APWA) will be teaming up with 20 national organizations in the new version of Homeland Security Consortium’s (NHSC) white paper, “Protecting Americans in the 21st Century: Priorities for 2012 and Beyond.”



The Clean Water Act Celebrates its 40th Birthday

The Clean Water Act has accomplished significant achievements since it was first passed by Congress in 1972. For four decades, the legislation has helped protect and conserve wetlands, streams, rivers, and other waterways across the nation.

Illegal Dumping Caught by Surveillance Cameras in Massachusetts

The installation of hidden cameras by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) captured several perpetrators in the act of illegal dumping in high-risk areas.

Mobile Home Parks' Owners Settle CWA Violations

Among other things, the settling entities agreed to hire an approved third-party environmental consultant to perform audits at each mobile home park, including examination of the treatment, collection, and drinking water systems.

EPA Measures VOCs at NY Site

The agency on Sept. 28 released its evaluation of air samples taken about two weeks earlier at the Hillcrest Industries site in Attica, N.Y., and the surrounding community.

Indictment Alleges Impersonator Trained Cleanup Workers

Connie M. Knight, 46, is charged with impersonating a federal employee for the purpose of enticing more than 1,000 people to pay her for fraudulent hazardous waste safety training, so they could work on the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Settlement Resolves Mercury Waste Case

Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc. has agreed to pay a $68,475 civil penalty and to spend at least $300,000 to build a state-of-the art hazardous waste storage facility.

INTERPOL Urges Countries to Set Up Environmental Security Task Forces

The law enforcement agency said establishing National Environmental Security Task Forces is an effective way to fight environmental crime.

British Waste Industry Warned on Safety

Seven workers and two members of the public have died since June 2012, most when they were struck by moving equipment, the British safety agency reports.

Scotts Miracle-Gro to Pay $12.5 Million for Pesticide Violations

EPA announced the company was sentenced Sept. 7 in an Ohio federal court for 11 criminal violations of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA).

AWWA Releases Response to New Lead Reduction Act

After a shareholder meeting with the EPA, AWWA releases 10 suggestions on how to best implement a new lead reduction act.

Sinclair Oil to Pay $3.8 Million Penalty and Install Pollution Controls at Wyoming Refineries

The Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have announced a settlement with two subsidiaries of Sinclair Oil Corporation to resolve alleged violations of air pollution limits established in a 2008 consent decree at refineries in Casper and Sinclair, Wyo.

Michigan Town Supervisor Sentenced to Three Years in Prison For Conspiring to Defraud HUD

William Morgan, the former supervisor of Royal Oak Township, a suburb of Detroit, was sentenced in federal court to three years in prison. Mr. Morgan had previously entered a guilty plea to charges that he conspired to defraud the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), violate the Clean Air Act’s asbestos requirements, and commit bribery.

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