Source: http://womensenews.org, April 22, 2013 By: Molly M. Ginty The boom in hydraulic fracturing for natural gas raises medical worries for a number of female health activists and researchers. “We need comprehensive studies to assess long-term problems,” says public health professor Madelon Finkel. Creeping over the darkened hills of Concord Township, Ohio, past oak and […]

Source: http://www.lawyersandsettlements.com, April 21, 2013 By: Gordon Gibb A California fracking lawsuit initiated at the beginning of the year seeks enforcement of existing California laws that require oversight of an increasingly controversial method of oil and gas extraction. The lawsuit, filed January 24 in Alameda County Superior Court, suggests the required oversight is not happening […]

Source: http://www.lexology.com, April 12, 2013 By: David Erickson and Mark Anstoetter, Shook Hardy & Bacon LLP A federal court in New York has held that uncovering buried hazardous substances during excavation constitutes a “sudden and accidental” release thus triggering insurance coverage. Narragansett Elec. Co. v. Am. Home Assurance Co., No. 11-CV-8299, (S.D.N.Y. 4/1/13). At issue […]

Source: http://www.jsonline.com, April 22, 2013 By: Thomas Content Wisconsin utilities are spending $1.2 billion to clean up aging coal-fired power plants and shutting down older plants under a settlement announced Monday with federal environmental regulators. Under the settlement, filed in federal court in Madison on Earth Day, the utilities will be assessed a civil penalty […]

Source: http://www.recordnet.com, April 23, 2013 By: Alex Breitler Near the peak of last decade’s building boom, air quality officials approved an innovative yet controversial rule holding developers accountable for new pollution caused by growth. But before long, there was no growth. Today, as construction activity resumes in south San Joaquin County and all along the […]

Source: http://www.lexology.com, April 17, 2013 By: Stephen Doody, Allen & Overy LLP Click here to watch a short (2 minute) introductory video. The Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) is set to expire at the end of next year. It has evolved over its lifespan, yet the uncertainty of the risks TRIA addresses begs the question […]

Read here about costs that are mounting at an old mill site in Bellingham, WA as a result of more mercury being found than expected.  

Source: The Daily Progress, Charlottesville, VA, April 21, 2013 Posted on: http://envfpn.advisen.com The U.S. Forest Service is expected in June to end two years of wrangling over whether to ban hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, in the George Washington National Forest. Debate has raged about the issue since 2011, when the service initially proposed a 15-year […]

Source: http://blogs.twincities.com, April 18, 2013 The long saga of the state’s largest Superfund site took an interesting turn on Monday, April 15, when Ramsey County taxpayers became its landowners. Ramsey County bought the final slice of TCAAP — the Twin Cities Army Ammunition Plant — in Arden Hills this week, leaving the county in charge […]

Source: http://www.lexology.com, April 12, 2013 By: Virginia L. White-Mahaffey and Erica L. Gerson, Steptoe & Johnson LLP Less than two weeks apart, two appellate courts issued opinions analyzing whether faulty work claims are covered under commercial general liability policies, each reaching a different result. The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued […]

Source: http://www.irmi.com, April 2013 By: J. Kent Holland Jr., Construction Risk.com LLC Damages claimed by home owner, which were allegedly caused by Chinese drywall that was installed in his home, were excluded from coverage under his homeowners insurance policy pursuant to several exclusions, including the pollution exclusion. When it received the home owner’s claim for […]

Source: http://www.bettendorf.com, April 16, 2013 Grain Processing Corporation (GPC) in Muscatine has agreed to pay a $129,000 fine for violations of the federal Clean Water Act that occurred in 2011, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today (4/16). “GPC failed to comply with its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) monitoring requirements by taking […]