Environment | WPN World People News

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reached a settlement with General Petroleum Corporation to resolve federal Clean Water Act violations at its petroleum storage facility located on Terminal Island in the Port of Los Angeles, Calif. The company will pay a $15,500 penalty as part of the agreement, and has already come into compliance with the law, on 13 September.

Arch Coal and its subsidiaries received approval from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Missouri for its reorganization plan that will require the company to replace all of its existing self-bonds with more reliable financial instruments to assure funding for required future environmental reclamation, on 13 September.

Fairfax County, Va. has agreed to pay a $64,450 penalty for underground storage tank violations at 15 county locations where facilities stored gasoline, diesel fuel or motor oil. The settlement addresses compliance with environmental regulations that help protect communities and the environment from exposure to oil or potentially harmful chemicals.

EPA Region 7 conducted a random inspection for lead-based paint renovation work practices at the Kansas City Power & Light building in Kansas City, Mo., in June 2015, which revealed violations of the Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) Rule. As a part of a settlement, Jim Plunkett, Inc., of Kansas City, Mo., has agreed to pay a civil penalty of $4,690 and B&R Insulation of Lenexa, Kan., has agreed to pay a civil penalty of $7,900.

Belize will strengthen the climate resilience of its energy sector as a result of a US$8 million grant from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) approved by the World Bank Board of Directors, on 12 September.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has finalized an $8.7 million plan to clean up contaminated soil at approximately 57 residences that are impacted by the Former Kil-Tone Company site in Vineland, N.J. Pesticides were manufactured at the now defunct Kil-Tone Company facility, and soil at the site, including soil in the yards of nearby homes, is contaminated with arsenic and lead. The city’s drinking water has not been impacted by the contamination. The drinking water supply is monitored regularly to ensure the water quality meets drinking water standards and is safe to consume.

Mongolian farmers harvest carrots as part of an FAO South-South Cooperation Programme between China and Mongolia.

Fourteen new ocean Hope Spots – marine areas critical to the health of the ocean and deserving special protection – have been announced on Friday 9 September by Mission Blue and IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature, at the IUCN World Conservation Congress currently taking place in Hawaiʻi.

The European Parliament should give its consent to the ratification of the 2015 Paris agreement on climate change, recommended Environment Committee MEPs on Thursday. They also urged all EU member states to conclude the ratification process, to ensure its rapid entry into force. In a separate resolution, they also called on the EU to upgrade its emission reduction pledges, so as to close the gap between the individual targets agreed by the Parties and the Paris goals.