Enforcement


Virginia Man Pleads Guilty to Trafficking in Illegally Imported Sperm Whale Teeth

Sperm whales are classified as “endangered” under the Endangered Species Act and are listed on Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.

Dry Cleaning Chemicals Found in Water Next to Middle School in New York

EPA finalizes plan to clean up old dry cleaner site in Hempstead, N.Y. Chemicals used in dry cleaning found in water next to Woodmere Middle School.

CBP, EPA, PHMSA Join Forces to Advance Information Sharing to Protect Americans' Health

Agreements with Customs and Border Protection will protect Americans’ Health

EPA Commits $1.5 Million to 125 Communities to Support Smart Growth

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced plans to help an estimated 125 local, state, and tribal governments create more housing choices, make transportation more efficient and reliable and support vibrant and healthy neighborhoods that attract businesses.

Logitech Gets $250,000 Fine for Unsubstantiated Keyboard Health Claims

The company incorporated a silver compound designed to protect a keyboard against deterioration, then marketed the keyboard as protecting the user from bacteria and microbes. To promote such benefits for that use a company must have the product tested, then registered by the EPA.

EPA Orders $60 Million Groundwater Cleanup at Toxic Mega Superfund Site

EPA is ordering a $60 million clean-up of rocket fuel-polluted groundwater at the Aerojet Superfund Site in Sacramento County, Calif.

Asbestos Abatement Contractor Sentenced to Six Years in Prison

Rochester, N.Y., asbestos abatement contractor sentenced to six years in prison for environmental crimes and false statements to OSHA.



Twelve Defendants Arrested as Part of Illegal Pesticide Ring

Twelve people were charged yesterday with illegally distributing and selling unregistered and misbranded pesticides from multiple locations in Manhattan. Prosecutors charged two of the 12, Chen Yah Huang and Jai Ping Chen, with federal crimes, and the remaining ten were charged under state statutes

EPA Fines Ship Owners, Operators $44M for 53,000 Gallon San Francisco Bay Oil Spill

The federal and state natural resource trustees estimate that the spill killed 6,849 birds, affected 14 to 29 percent of the herring spawn that winter, oiled 3,367 acres of shoreline habitat and resulted in the loss of more than one million recreational user-days. A result of a multi-governmental effort by federal and state agencies, and municipal governments, the settlement is expected to fully compensate (in addition to previously reimbursed costs) for the natural resources and other damages and costs resulting from the spill.

Portland, Maine, Facility faces EPA Sanction for Unsafe Storage of Hazardous Chemicals

A chemical manufacturing and distribution facility in South Portland, Maine, faces an EPA fine of up to $151,900 for improper storage of hazardous materials, in violation of federal and state laws.

German Shipping Company to Pay $800,000 for Cover-Up of Oil Pollution

Uniteam Marine Shipping GmbH was sentenced in federal court in San Juan, Puerto Rico, for violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships and making false statements to the U.S. Coast Guard.

EPA Funds Pollution Prevention Projects in New Jersey and New York

From funding smart meters on college campuses, to reducing hazardous chemicals in high school laboratories, to promoting alternatives to dry cleaning, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is making its pollution prevention grants count across New Jersey and New York. The EPA has awarded more than $600,000 in grants to fund projects that help prevent pollution in these two states.

Climate Policy Initiative Study Finds U.S. Building Energy Codes Work

In the first U.S. study to measure the real impact of building energy codes on total household energy consumption, Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) found that U.S. building energy codes have reduced household energy use and greenhouse gas emissions

Pennsylvania DCNR Warns Heavy, Rain Flooding Boost Risk of Landslides

Recent heavy rain and flooding has increased the danger of landslides on moderate to steep slopes, according to scientists in the Bureau of Topographic and Geologic Survey in the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR).

Study Sharpens Picture of How Much Oil and Gas Flowed in Deepwater Horizon Spill

In a detailed assessment of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, researchers led by a team from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) have determined that the blown-out Macondo well spewed oil at a rate of about 57,000 barrels a day, totaling nearly 5 million barrels of oil released from the well between April 20 and July 15, 2010, when the leak was capped. In addition, the well released some 100 million standard cubic feet per day of natural gas

Chemical drum

Making Chemicals Safer

When many people think of industrial chemicals, they think of those scary-looking yellow drums, containing unknown but almost certainly hazardous goo. A new industry initiative, though hopes to change that by giving consumers more information on the chemicals they use every day.

Roanoke Chemical Distributor To Pay $44,000 Penalty for Safety Violations

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that a chemical distributor in Roanoke, Va., has agreed to pay a $43,967 penalty and complete more than $200,000 in safety improvements to settle alleged violations of federal environmental laws designed to protect and inform the public about hazardous chemicals.

Waste Facility Agrees to $1.7M Settlement for Alleged Hazardous Waste Violations

In a settlement valued at more than $1.7 million, Clean Harbors of Braintree Inc. has agreed to pay a significant penalty and perform additional projects, to settle a complaint filed by the U.S. Department of Justice on behalf of EPA, regarding numerous violations of hazardous waste management and emergency planning laws at the company’s Braintree, Mass., facility.

Dow Chemical Agrees to Pay $2.5M to Resolve Air, Water and Waste Violations at Mich. Complex

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Justice announced that Dow Chemical Company has agreed to pay a $2.5 million civil penalty to settle alleged violations of the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) at its chemical manufacturing and research complex in Midland, Mich.

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