Features


Major Loss By Toshiba Rattles Nuclear Sector

The Japanese company took a $6.3 billion writedown to its U.S. nuclear unit on Feb. 14 and announced several executive changes, including the resignation of Shigenori Shiga as representative executive officer to take management responsibility for the loss.

WEF Accepting Applications for 2017 National Municipal Stormwater Awards

Winners will be announced this summer after an expert committee review and selection process. Each applicant will be designated a bronze, silver, or gold community within the categories of program management and innovation, and WEF also will identify high performers in program management and innovation.

ADEM Seeking UST Conference Presentations

The agency's 24th Underground Storage Tank Assessment and Remediation Conference is scheduled for April 19-20 in Montgomery. Presentation proposals are due by March 1.

Oregon Pursuing Outstanding Resource Designation for North Fork Smith River

The proposal would designate the river, as well as its tributaries and associated wetlands, as Outstanding Resource Waters under Oregon's antidegradation regulations under the federal Clean Water Act. This would be the first such protection for a water body in Oregon.

U.S. Army Pursues ‘Biodegradable’ Ammunition

U.S. Army Pursues ‘Biodegradable’ Ammunition

Military bases are among the most toxic sites in the United States.

Wading birds feed near wooden posts marking a research site in a Louisiana salt marsh in Port Fourchon, La. Color-coded posts mark research plots for the USGS-University of Texas Rio Grande Valley study. (USGS photo)

Study Warns of Big Impacts to Coastal Wetlands

"Most studies have focused on the impact of sea-level rise on coastal wetlands and have excluded the important role of temperature and precipitation," said Michael Osland, a USGS research ecologist and the study's co-author. "We know that climate influences how these wetlands look and work, so this study aimed to demonstrate the importance of considering these forces when modeling what coastal wetlands may look like in the future."

WVDEP Accepts Beech Bottom Industrial Park Remediation Application

The property has been subjected to deep and surface mining in the past and part was occupied by a former fueling station along State Route 2, according to the department.

The Ed Lumley Centre for Engineering Innovation at the University of Windsor campus has a bio wall that includes 1,500 plants. It naturally filters the carbon dioxide in the air and then transfers its freshness to the entire building. This building also boasts glass and solar systems, a green roof that collects and filters rain water, and hollow core slabs to both harness and store energy and in turn decrease the use of traditional HVAC systems. (Termobuild photo)

Green Building and Sustainability

Increased awareness of not only the value, but the necessity of adopting green building initiatives in new builds and retro fits is critical.



Small Drinking Water and Wastewater Systems Receive Funding from EPA

Small Drinking Water and Wastewater Systems Receive Funding from EPA

The EPA will be awarding $12.7 million in funds to help small drinking and wastewater systems, as well as private well owners, improve operations and to better protect the public and the environment.

VA Establishes Presumption of Illnesses from Camp Lejeune Water Supply

During the early 1980s, volatile organic compounds, trichloroethylene, perchloroethylene, as well as benzene and vinyl chloride were discovered in two on-base water supply systems at Camp Lejeune. The contaminated wells supplying the water systems were shut down in February 1985.

Lesser Long-Nosed Bat Recovering, Delisting Proposed

With 30 years of recovery efforts having paid off, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing to remove the bat from the Endangered Species Act's protections.

CARB and EPA Approve Fix for Some VW 2.0 Liter Diesel Vehicles

The first approved modification is for "Generation 3" 2015 vehicles, the agencies announced. It involves the installation of a second NOx sensor and a new or replacement diesel oxidation catalyst, which together will reduce excess emissions from the affected vehicles by 80 to 90 percent.

DOE Announces REMADE Institute

The REMADE Institute will focus on driving down the cost of technologies needed to reuse, recycle, and remanufacture materials such as metals, fibers, polymers, and electronic waste. It aims to achieve a 50 percent improvement in overall energy efficiency by 2027.

The EPA recently stated that fracking may be responsible for groundwater contamination.

Fracking May Be Contaminating Groundwater After All

The EPA recently stated that fracking may be responsible for groundwater contamination

USDA Develops Rapid Test for Imported Red Fire Ants

Entomologist Steven Valles of the Imported Fire Ant and Household Insects Research Unit in Gainesville, Fla., developed novel antibodies that bind to a protein in the fire ant's venom and used the antibodies, along with ARS and APHIS colleagues, to create a portable, easy-to-use test kit.

Waste Management Issues Interactive Sustainability Report

Waste Management recycled and composted more than 14 million tons of materials from the waste stream in 2015 and operated more than 5,100 natural gas-fueled vehicles.

Massachusetts School's Solar Canopy Completed

Solect Energy owns and operates the array and sells the power back to Upper Cape Cod Regional Technical High School at a reduced, fixed rate for the duration of the agreement. The company reports the project was completed and commissioned at zero cost to the school.

President Signs Ensuring Access to Pacific Fisheries Act

The new law provides that the United States will be represented on the North Pacific Fisheries Commission by five commissioners -- two appointed by the president and the three chairs of the North Pacific, Pacific, and Western Pacific Fishery Management Councils.

Interior Secretary Signing Glen Canyon Dam Record of Decision

Secretary Sally Jewell and Deputy Secretary Mike Connor are scheduled to make a major announcement regarding the dam and a cooperative framework that will guide its operation for the next 20 years, and they will discuss how the Interior Department is meeting complex water challenges.

The White House #H2OInnovation public-private partnership is intended to foster water sustainability and increased efficiency and reuse.

Protecting Our Water Supply

Disruptions could shut down businesses and harm the economy.