News


Georgia EPD Unveils Air Quality Website

The website provides smog alerts and real-time monitoring data with which Georgia residents are familiar and adds information about individual air pollutants and their impacts.

Colombia Establishes New Marine and Coastal Area for Conservation

PHOTO: WILDLIFE CONSERVATION SOCIETY

Colombia Establishes New Marine and Coastal Area for Conservation

The Government of Colombia has recently established a new marine and coastal area for conservation and sustainable use in partnership with local communities in Tumaco, Colombia.

More Than $456 Million in Disaster Assistance Provided to U.S. Virgin Islands

More than $456 million in federal funding has been provided so far to the U.S. Virgin Islands for disaster assistance following the devastation to the region from hurricanes Irma and Maria in September.

EPA Awards $681,343 to Ohio State University for Harmful Algae Blooms Research

EPA Awards $681,343 to Ohio State University for Harmful Algae Blooms Research

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded $681,343 to The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, for research on the prediction, prevention, control, and mitigation of freshwater harmful algal blooms.

Canada Introduces Revised SmartDriver Program

"This program will help meet the trucking industry's growing demand for safe, fuel-efficient drivers while educating existing operators on improved driving techniques. The real savings come in the form of reduced greenhouse gas emissions, helping meet Canada's domestic and international climate goals," said Jim Carr, Canada's Minister of Natural Resources.

FEMA Expands Reinsurance Program for Flood Claims

FEMA Expands Reinsurance Program for Flood Claims

FEMA transferred $1.46 billion of the NFIP’s financial risk to the private reinsurance market, increasing the NFIP’s flood claims-paying ability.

EPA to Provide Over $1 Million for Diesel Reductions to Two Portland Organizations

EPA to Provide Over $1 Million for Diesel Reductions to Two Portland Organizations

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is providing over $1 million to two Portland-area organizations in an effort to reduce harmful diesel emissions from trucks and construction equipment in the Portland metro region.

Guilty Plea in Antitrust Conspiracy Involving Water Treatment Chemical

Two individuals and one company have now pleaded guilty to charges arising out of a federal investigation of collusion in the liquid aluminum sulfate industry, according to DOJ.



PA Agency Urges Periodic Home Radon Testing

DEP said someone who does not want to use a do-it-yourself test kit should consider hiring a qualified radon professional to conduct a test.

Pennsylvania DEP Orders Pipeline Work Halted

The agency's order lists various violations and says Sunoco Pipeline's "unlawful conduct . . . demonstrates a lack of ability or intention on the part of Sunoco to comply with the Clean Streams Law, the Dam Safety and Encroachments Act, and permits issued thereunder."

DARPA 'Ocean of Things' Proposers Day Set for Jan. 4

The idea is for "smart floats" that would contain a suite of commercially available sensors to collect environmental data such as ocean temperature, sea state, and location and also data about commercial vessels, aircraft, and even maritime mammals moving through the area.

NC Water Infrastructure Authority Meeting to Discuss Fair Bluff Initiative

The authority's parent agency, the state Department of Environmental Quality, developed the initiative in response to significant wastewater infrastructure impacts from Hurricane Matthew that are affecting the economic health of the town of Fair Bluff in Columbus County.

Canadian Government Aids Software/Instrumentation Company

Maid Labs Technologies that makes monitoring, measurement, and data-logging instrumentation and software for wastewater and drinking water pumping stations.

Company Paying $99,000 Civil Penalty for Air Quality Violations

The agency reported since 2013, Cabot had excess emissions of natural gas from 267 pneumatic controllers at well sites and did not submit complete compliance demonstration reports for 20 gas wells.

New York DEC Says Hudson River PCB Cleanup Not Finished

The state wants EPA to further evaluate the need for additional removal of contaminated sediment to make sure the targeted PCB reductions in fish are met, and it is also asking EPA to start its investigation of the Lower Hudson River.

NC Seeks Ideas for Spending VW Settlement Money

The state expects to get about $92 million from a $2.9 billion settlement that was reached following an investigation launched in 2015 into Volkswagen for making and installing illegal software devices to help some vehicles defeat emission tests.

$10 Million to Be Paid By Defendants in Virgin Islands Methyl Bromide Case

DOJ and EPA alleged the Virgin Islands pest control company illegally applied fumigants containing methyl bromide in multiple residential locations in the U.S. Virgin Islands, including the condominium resort complex in St. John where a family of four became seriously ill in March 2015 after the unit below them was fumigated.

New Director Chosen for Rutgers Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences Institute

Brian Strom, chancellor of Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences, said Dr. Helmut Zarbl's appointment and new faculty he will recruit "will deepen the institute's core strength and link the school and institute, as well as extend its reach to include faculty across Rutgers who are interested in environmental health. This will give EOHSI the ability to significantly impact environmental health in New Jersey and beyond."

Wettest Wet Season Still Affecting South Florida

USACE said the tremendous amount of rainfall inundated the three water conservation areas and affected the wildlife that live there.

Saudi Company Agrees to Use GE Solution in Solar and Desalination Plants

The First National Operations and Maintenance Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Saudi Arabia's ACWA Power, will implement the APM solution at 26 thermal, wind, and solar power generation and water desalination sites in nine countries.