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If the Leaders Lead, the Lead Standards Will Follow
U.S. EPA to tighten standard for airborne lead |
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02 May 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 6:24 AM on 02 May 2008 Compelled by court order to review its 30-year-old standards for airborne lead, the U.S. EPA proposed a new, tougher standard this week that would cut allowable lead levels by over 90 percent. True to form, though, the agency proposed a range of standards that exceeded the maximum limit of what its scientific advisers recommended as necessary to protect public heal ... |
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| Topics: air pollution, news, toxics, United States, US EPA (all these topics) |
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Interference and Loathing in Washington, D.C.
Over 800 EPA scientists report political interference in their work, survey says |
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24 Apr 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 6:35 AM on 24 Apr 2008 More than 800 U.S. EPA scientists reported some form of political interference in their work in the last five years, according to a survey of EPA staff by the Union of Concerned Scientists. UCS sent out some 5,500 questionnaires to EPA scientists and received some 1,580 responses; over half the respondents asserted they had experienced p ... |
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| Topics: news, United States, US EPA (all these topics) |
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The Devel(opment) Is in the Details
Bush admin finalizes development-friendly wetlands rules |
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01 Apr 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 6:21 AM on 01 Apr 2008 The Bush administration has finalized rules for wetlands development that encourage developers to restore or create new wetlands when old ones are destroyed, sometimes far from the original site. While it sounds innocent enough on its face, opponents of the controversial approach say that natural streams and wetlands are more complex than simply wet places, and they're d ... |
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| Topics: Army Corps of Engineers, news, United States, US EPA, wetlands (all these topics) |
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Twisted Mettle
Bush admin appeals ruling on mercury cap-and-trade plan |
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27 Mar 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 7:00 AM on 27 Mar 2008 The Bush administration has appealed a court ruling that struck down the U.S. EPA's controversial mercury cap-and-trade plan. The earlier ruling by a three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals found the EPA violated the Clean Air Act when it enacted the mercury rule in 2005. The cap-and-trade system allowed dirtier power plants to buy the right to pollute from cleaner ones; 17 sta ... |
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| Topics: litigation, news, toxics, United States, US EPA (all these topics) |
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Living Through Chemistry
Toxics report shows slight dip in U.S. releases overall, mercury releases up |
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22 Feb 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 7:56 AM on 22 Feb 2008 The U.S. EPA's 2006 Toxics Release Inventory just came out, showing a slight decline in total toxic chemicals released in the country, as well as a 17 percent increase in releases of mercury. Individual states showed mixed results, with Arizona's total toxic releases shooting up by 52 percent from 2005 to 2006 due almost entirely to pollution from one mine that ... |
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| Topics: news, toxics, United States, US EPA (all these topics) |
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Cap 'n' Crunched
Bush's controversial mercury rule for power plants struck down by federal court |
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08 Feb 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 9:57 AM on 08 Feb 2008 Bad news for the Bush administration: A federal appeals court on Friday struck down a U.S. EPA rule that would have let coal-fired power plants trade the right to emit mercury, a neurotoxin that contaminates waterways, accumulates in fish, and has been linked to nerve and brain damage, particularly in children. Environmentalists and public health advocates, among oth ... |
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| Topics: litigation, news, toxics, United States, US EPA (all these topics) |
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State of Denial
EPA staff supported California auto-emissions waiver, documents show |
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24 Jan 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 4:48 AM on 24 Jan 2008 As suspected, U.S. EPA employees last year told agency Administrator Stephen Johnson that California had "compelling and extraordinary conditions" that would justify a federal waiver allowing the state to limit greenhouse-gas emissions from autos, according to EPA documents reviewed by Senate staffers this week. Nonetheless, Johnson denied the state that waiver in Dec ... |
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| Topics: jackassery, news, politics, United States, US EPA (all these topics) |
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Angrier By the Dozen
EPA sued by 12 states over relaxed toxic-chemical rule |
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29 Nov 2007 |
News |
| Posted at 6:07 AM on 29 Nov 2007 The U.S. EPA's moves to relax the nation's toxics reporting rule will not go unchallenged. Twelve states have announced they're suing the agency over rule changes to the Toxics Release Inventory that allow companies to file less-informative reports and escape reporting if they release less than 5,000 pounds of toxic chemicals, up from the previous threshold, set under President Reagan, o ... |
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| Topics: litigation, news, toxics, United States, US EPA (all these topics) |
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Owl Be Seeing You
Plan for northern spotted owl's recovery in question |
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18 Oct 2007 |
News |
| Posted at 5:57 AM on 18 Oct 2007 The future of the infamous northern spotted owl in the Pacific Northwest may be in further jeopardy if some U.S. federal agencies carry out their plans to restructure its recovery. Perhaps most potentially destructive is the Bureau of Land Management's recently announced plan to essentially opt out of the Northwest Forest Plan -- a truce of sorts between loggers and environmentalists that has ... |
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| Topics: Bureau of Land Management, endangered species, news, United States, US EPA, US Fish and Wildlife Service (all these topics) |
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Settling the Scourge
AEP settlement exempts company from enforcement for 10 years |
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11 Oct 2007 |
News |
| Posted at 10:56 AM on 11 Oct 2007 Earlier this week brought news of a settlement agreement between utility giant American Electric Power and the U.S. EPA in which the company agreed to install some $4.6 billion in pollution controls at some of its power plants and pay over $70 million in penalties and cleanup costs. Today, The Washington Post reported that the agreement contained language exempting the company from ... |
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| Topics: business, litigation, news, United States, US EPA (all these topics) |
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Through Hell and High Yogurt
Yogurt-maker Dannon agrees to pay fine, treat wastewater in EPA settlement |
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10 Oct 2007 |
News |
| Posted at 6:21 AM on 10 Oct 2007 International yogurt giant Dannon has agreed to pay a fine of $71,350 and install a multimillion-dollar automated wastewater control system as part of a settlement with the U.S. EPA. There have been some 10 illegal discharges over the past few years at the company's 3-million-cup-a-day yogurt plant in Ohio -- and it's not just spilled yogurt. In February 2005, ... |
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| Topics: business, news, United States, US EPA, water pollution (all these topics) |
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Spare the Ozone and Despoil the Riled
EPA may soon approve toxic alternative to ozone-depleting pesticide, despite criticism |
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26 Sep 2007 |
News |
| Posted at 7:11 AM on 26 Sep 2007 To replace the toxic, ozone-depleting pesticide methyl bromide -- a favorite of stubborn U.S. berry growers -- the U.S. EPA is reportedly set to soon approve an alternative that doesn't deplete ozone but is "one of the more toxic chemicals used in manufacturing" according to opponents, including six Nobel Prize-winning chemists. ... |
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| Topics: agriculture, news, toxics, United States, US EPA (all these topics) |
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Law & Odor
Groups petition federal agencies to regulate air fresheners |
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20 Sep 2007 |
News |
| Posted at 12:31 PM on 20 Sep 2007 Environmental groups petitioned the U.S. EPA and the Consumer Product Safety Commission yesterday to regulate air fresheners, which can aggravate asthma and often contain chemicals such as benzene and formaldehyde, as well as other compounds linked to developmental problems in kids. The eco-groups want companies to list all the ingredients in air fresheners and conduct health and safety t ... |
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| Topics: business, news, United States, US EPA (all these topics) |
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