Environment | WPN World People News

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced a settlement with food processing company Ventura Foods, LLC, located in Ontario, Calif. Ventura Foods has agreed to pay $157,900 for violations of federal regulations including failing to notify the proper officials immediately following the release of anhydrous ammonia, failure to submit a required Risk Management Plan, and inadequate chemical accident prevention.

A coalition of local and national public interest organizations filed a brief in federal court supporting the Environmental Protection Agency’s long-held authority under the Clean Water Act to regulate waste from commercial animal farms and seeking to confirm that a large West Virginia poultry operation should comply with all applicable regulations.

U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) denied a misguided request by California agribusinesses and property rights advocates to take Puget Sound’s critically endangered orcas off the endangered species list. This decision confirms that the Southern Resident orcas are unique and need continued full protection.

California sea otter, resting in a colony of a dozen sea otters and wrapped in kelp.

The CSX coal export and processing facility in Baltimore, MD.

Worker in the Niger Delta cleans up an oil spill.

Manta Rays

An independent team of experts in agricultural waste management concluded that without clean water protections, "human health risks are substantial."

The green valley on the right is the site of the proposed Spruce No. 1 mine.