Environment | WPN World People News

Farming operations on Kaua‘i.

Pollution in Fairbanks, Alaska, during a winter heat inversion.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on 3 August finalized protections on nearly 3.7 million acres of critical habitat in Washington, Oregon and California for the marbled murrelet, a coastal bird unique to the Pacific Northwest.

Wednesday, a federal judge imposed a tight deadline on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to finalize new anti-pollution water quality rules aimed at protecting public health. The rules, often called fish consumption rules, must ensure that fish caught and eaten from Washington waters are safe for the most vulnerable and exposed populations.

The U.S. Environcy announced settlements with two Southern California facilities for improper handling of hazardous waste. Bachem Americas, Inc., and Crosby & Overton, Inc., will collectively pay more than $130,000 in penalties and emergency response assistance for federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) violations.

After weeks of testimony and argument about the Tesoro-Savage oil terminal proposal, at least two things are clear: first, this project will not benefit Washington citizens and consumers, and second, the risk of an oil spill into the Columbia River is too great.

The Obama Administration released its finalized Guidance on the Consideration of Climate Change and Greenhouse Gas Emissions. Under the authority granted by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the guidance establishes a consistent and efficient way for agencies to consider not only the effects of federal projects on climate change but also the effects of climate change on federal projects.

Texas recently filed a lawsuit in U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in an attempt to block vital protections against methane pollution from the oil and gas industry.

On Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency broke the law by failing to protect the public from toxic air pollution from industrial and commercial boilers and incinerators.

The Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on July 29 that Honeywell International Inc. and Georgia Power Company have agreed to clean up the 760-acre saltwater marsh at the LCP Chemicals Superfund Site in Brunswick, Georgia. The settlement requires the companies to spend an estimated $28.6 million to remove and isolate contaminated sediments in the marsh and to monitor the long-term effectiveness of the work.