Source: San Jose Mercury News (CA), March 3, 2015 Posted on: http://envfpn.advisen.com An oil company has sued to block San Benito County’s voter-approved fracking ban in a move that could affect the growing trend of California cities and counties’ efforts to stop the controversial oil drilling practice of hydraulic fracturing. In the lawsuit, Citadel Exploration, […]

Source: Los Angeles Times, March 4, 2015 Posted on: http://envfpn.advisen.com California officials, responding to concerns about groundwater contamination, are closing 12 wells in the Central Valley used to dispose of chemical-laden water from oil and gas production, regulators announced Tuesday. Steve Bohlen, who leads the state Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources, said the […]

Source: Charleston Daily Mail (WV), March 4, 2015 Posted on: http://envfpn.advisen.com, March 4, 2015 Attorneys are looking at ways to bring the Freedom Industries bankruptcy case to conclusion, first and foremost by dealing with obligations under a West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection remediation program and selling the Etowah River property. Tuesday’s hearing in federal […]

Source: The Independent (UK), March 3, 2015 Posted on: http://envfpn.advisen.com British American Tobacco has dumped its auditors PwC and taken them to court over a potential $1bn (651m pounds) US environmental damages bill. It is the latest in a long line of tests for the Big Four auditing firm, which is still reeling from accusations […]

Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, March 11, 2015 Posted on: http://envfpn.advisen.com The lawsuit of 241 Washington County residents against the owner and operator of a fuel pipeline that spilled gasoline onto a Town of Jackson farm field in July 2012 has been settled. Washington County Circuit Judge Todd Martens on Wednesday approved the agreement and dismissed […]

Source: http://constfpn.advisen.com, March 11, 2015 By: John Carver and Todd M. Rowe Recent news investigations have brought to light allegations that flooring manufactured in China may use glue that contains the toxin formaldehyde. The potential for insurance claims increases each day as homeowners begin to remove this toxic flooring from their homes. Unfortunately, we saw […]

Source: Hartford Courant (CT), March 7, 2015 Posted on: http://envfpn.advisen.com Caulk used in the construction of Clark Elementary School is laden with PCBs and may be a reason why the school’s air is tainted with the hazardous chemical, the district’s consultants said in a report Friday. Samples taken from the public school revealed PCB levels […]

Source: Houston Chronicle, March 8, 2015 Posted on: http://envfpn.advisen.com In the 1950s, decades before LeRoy Melcher became a well-known real estate tycoon and philanthropist, he opened his first shopping center on San Felipe Road in River Oaks. It was a modest 12,000 square feet, with a convenience store at one end, and at the other, […]

Source: UPI Top Stories, March 8, 2015 Posted on: http://envfpn.advisen.com The Environmental Protection Agency said that Thursday’s oil train derailment and spill in Illinois poses an “imminent and substantial danger” of contaminating the Mississippi River. The Galena River and the Upper Mississippi National Wildlife and Fish Refuge are also threatened. Fires resulting from the derailment […]

Source: http://www.bhpioneer.com, March 5, 2015 By: David Ganje This is not my grandfather’s farming operation for sure.  Today’s farmer and rancher ‘enjoys’ certain legal protections in their operations. Laws are on the books that protect an operator from liability based on the act of farming.  South Dakota and other states have some version of a […]

Source: http://www.nytimes.com, March 6, 2015 By: Ronda Kaysen Construction Defects Follow a Brooklyn Building Boom It took just three years for balconies to crack and concrete to flake from the facade of one Brooklyn condominium. Another building was prone to flooding, because the storm drainage system was never connected to the sewage system. With buildings […]

Source: Daily Oklahoman (Oklahoma City), March 4, 2015 Posted on: http://fpn.advisen.com Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner John Doak on Tuesday issued a bulletin to insurance companies clarifying his department’s expectations for earthquake insurance coverage. The notice focused on exclusions regarding man-made damage, pre-existing damage and claims adjusters. “We want to make sure everyone is clear on earthquake […]