Source: http://www.philly.com, June 9, 2015 By: Michael E. Kraft The Obama administration recently announced the first major federal regulations of hydraulic fracturing, which take effect this month. Fracking has been praised for contributing to a massive increase in production of oil and natural gas, reducing the nation’s reliance on imported oil and fostering increased use […]

Source: http://www.constructionbusinessowner.com, June 2015 By: Kathy Wells With the economy on the upswing, a higher quantity of new projects and numerous changes in the industry, contractors are faced with a volume of new potential risk factors that, if ignored, could greatly affect their businesses Construction Business Owner sat down with risk management professional Steven Davis, […]

Source: http://www.lexology.com, June 8, 2015 By: Brian A. Wolf, Smith Currie & Hancock Your insurance policy may not cover the costs of an expensive Chapter 558 construction defect process. Florida’s construction defect statute, Chapter 558, requires an owner to notify contractors of all alleged construction defects. After the notice is sent, the contractor notifies all […]

Source: http://www.propertycasualty360.com, June 8, 2015 By: Phil Gusman Number of projects has increased, but a talent shortage impacts risk profiles at all levels. When discussing current trends in the construction-insurance marketplace, experts agree on one thing: The greatest concern is a shortage in skilled labor to meet the growing demand in projects. “This is probably […]

Source: http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com, June 4, 2015 By: Eric Dietrich Between multiple lawsuits and an expensive cleanup project, the city of Bozeman’s leaky former landfill off Story Mill Road is an expensive liability for taxpayers, totaling almost $2.2 million in costs and counting since 2012, according to a financial document released this week. However, the issue shouldn’t […]

Source: Los Angeles Times, June 4, 2015 Posted on: http://envfpn.advisen.com Corrosion had eaten away at nearly half of the metal wall of a pipeline that ruptured and spilled up to 101,000 gallons of crude oil along the Santa Barbara County coast last month, federal regulators said Wednesday. The 10.6-mile pipeline had “extensive” external corrosion and […]

Source: http://www.businessinsurance.com, June 2, 2015 By: Judy Greenwald An insurer is not obligated to provide coverage under a pollution policy if barrels containing oil are submerged in water but no oil leaks out, says an appeals court in a divided opinion with a strongly worded dissent. Santa Rita, Guam-based Guam Industries Services Inc. owned and […]

Source: http://www.spokesman.com, June 3, 2015 By: Nicholas Deshais A proposal to use city funds to pay for more than $300,000 in environmental cleanup at the Davenport Grand Hotel was shot down this week by Spokane City Council members, who argued that doing so would be unconstitutional and set a bad precedent for other polluted properties […]

Source: http://www.stanforddaily.com, June 2, 2015 By: Reade Levinson *Glenn Wilson is a pseudonym used to protect the identity of the subject of the story. In June 2013, Glenn Wilson*, a graduate student in the School of Engineering, walked outside his Escondido Village apartment to find his 3-year-old daughter playing in lead paint chips that University […]

Source: http://www.lexology.com, May 29, 2015 By: James D. Hollyday, Pepper Hamilton LLP This article was originally published in the May 2015 issue of AGC Law in Brief. The Massachusetts Superior Court (County of Worcester) held in Coghlin Electrical Contractors, Inc. v. Gilbane Building Co. and Travelers & Surety Company of Americadecided on June 24, 2014 that […]

Source: http://www.newsworks.org, June 1, 2015 Stepping up criticism of a controversial settlement with Exxon Mobil to deal with pollution claims, environmentalists yesterday agued it would do little to restore groundwater and other natural resources damaged at sites the company once operated in Paulsboro in South Jersey. The proposed settlement puts the giant oil company on […]

Source: Spokesman-Review (Spokane, WA), June 2, 2015 Posted on: http://envfpn.advisen.com Hecla Mining Co. has agreed to pay $600,000 for releasing heavy metals and other pollution into the South Fork of the Coeur d’Alene River over a five-year period. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency documented nearly 500 violations of the company’s federal discharge permit at the […]