Environment | WPN World People News

Under a settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, two pesticide distributors, Superior-Angran LLC and Superior Angran Caribbean Inc. of Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, will come into compliance with the Clean Air Act and federal pesticides law. The two companies will also pay a $210,000 fine and provide professional training for pesticide applicators.

EPA Region 7 has reached a proposed settlement of Clean Water Act violations by the City of Columbia, Mo., involving pollutant discharges from the Columbia Landfill and Yard Waste Composting Facility. As part of the settlement, the city has agreed to pay a civil penalty of $54,396 and perform a Supplemental Environmental Project (SEP) project involving the construction of a wetland area at a cost of no less than $475,000.

This week, a federal court ruled against a meritless right-of-way claim to a road located in a sensitive river canyon in northeastern Nevada. The court rejected a claim by Elko County Nevada that it owns a road, commonly known as the South Canyon Road, at the edge of the Jarbidge Wilderness within the federally managed Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) jointly finalized standards for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles that will improve fuel efficiency and cut carbon pollution, while bolstering energy security and spurring manufacturing innovation, on 16 August.

OMNOVA Solutions, Inc. will pay a $7,090 penalty as part of a settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to resolve alleged violations involving the transportation of used oil that contained polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from the company’s chemical manufacturing facility located at 1001 Chambers Ave., Jeanette, Pa.

Citrus and Allied Essences, Ltd. a producer of essential oils used for flavoring and fragrances, will pay a $59,472 penalty to settle alleged violations of hazardous waste regulations at its manufacturing facility in Belcamp, Md., the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced on August 15.

An administrative law judge upheld Oregon’s decision to reject permits for a coal export terminal at the Columbia River’s Port of Morrow on a wide range of issues, on 12 August. In fact, the coal terminal’s proponents lost on all seven legal issues decided by the judge.

A farmer near Bahir Dar, Ethiopia, tilling the soil with cattle and plough before the planting process.

Phoenix, AZ — In a 4 to 1 vote on 11 August, the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) rejected a number of anti-solar rate proposals for customers of UNS Electric, Inc. Earthjustice, Vote Solar, and the Arizona Center for Law in the Public Interest were among the groups working to maintain consumer solar options in the UNS rate case, which is one of five rate cases with major implications for solar power currently under way in Arizona.

Consumers say mobile phone manufacturers are releasing too many new models, according to a survey Greenpeace East Asia commissioned across six countries. In all countries surveyed, consumers were most likely to say that mobile phone manufacturers should be responsible for providing people with the means to recycle their phones, while 4 in 5 surveyed said that it was important that a new smartphone can be easily repaired if damaged.