Source: Indoor Environment Connections, April 2012 By: Thomas P. Bernier and Susan E. Smith, Segal McCambridge Singer & Mahoney, Ltd., Baltimore MD Legionnaires’ disease is a serious, potentially lethal, type of pneumonia that is caused by bacteria of the genus Legionella. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate that 8,000 to 18,000 persons […]

Source: Business Insurance, February 24, 2013 By: Douglas McLeod Insurance coverage disputes are bound to follow fracking liability suits, including arguments over the scope of pollution exclusions in general liability policies, lawyers say. Along with operators extra expense policies, which cover cleanup costs from a well blowout, general liability policies also cover “sudden and accidental” […]

Source: http://theenergycollective.com, February 24, 2013 By: Jim Pierobon Illinois is on track to go where no push for hydraulic fracturing has gone before in the U.S.: a consensus on how to regulate the controversial practice of injecting chemicals and large amounts of water deep underground to flush out large quantities of natural gas and crude […]

Source: http://www.nj.com, February 25, 2013 By: Ryan Hutchins/The Star-Ledger A resolution may be near for scores of towns, public authorities and corporations that were dragged into one of the costliest hazardous waste cases in U.S. history. A confidential proposal, a copy of which was provided to The Star-Ledger, would allow towns to extricate themselves from […]

Source: http://www.heraldonline.com, February 22, 2013 By: David Wren The Southern Environmental Law Center on Thursday filed a notice with the Environmental Protection Agency and others alleging that state-owned utility Santee Cooper is violating the federal Clean Water Act by allowing pollution at its Grainger electric generating plant here to seep into the Waccamaw River. Santee […]

Read here about a regulatory bill in Illinois that is being negotiated to address ground rules for the hydraulic fracturing industry.  

Source: Xinhua News Agency (China), February 25, 2013 Posted on: http://envfpn.advisen.com Tap water for 60,000 people was cut off Monday due to the pollution of a water source in east China’s Jiangxi province, government sources said. Around 10 a.m. Monday, an oily substance was seen floating near a water intake used by a tap water […]

Source: Columbus Dispatch, February 25, 2013 Posted on: http://envfpn.advisen.com When Crystal Sullivan moved into her Croton Road house more than a decade ago, the flies from the nearby egg farm were so thick that they coated the porch ceiling. The infestation was widespread. Neighbors complained of flies crowding their cars and ruining their picnics. Nearby, […]

Source: Buffalo News, February 25, 2013 Posted on: http://envfpn.advisen.com The federal judge who oversaw the Love Canal lawsuit for nearly two decades has asked state and federal officials for a “detailed response and plan of action” on how to correct any difficulties that might still exist in the neighborhood surrounding the 21,800-ton chemical landfill. U.S. […]

Read here about an investigation into leaking underground waste tanks that has been launched by an Oregon Senator.  

Source: Newark Patch, February 26, 2013 By: Paul Milo A deal has been proposed that would free Newark and dozens of other communities, corporations and government authorities from liability in a lawsuit over Passaic River contamination, The Star-Ledger reported Monday. The paper obtained a copy of the confidential proposal, which would allow the towns and […]

Source: http://www.lexology.com, February 22, 2013 By: Robert S. Sanoff, Foley Hoag LLP In some jurisdictions, an environmental claim under a liability policy with a “sudden and accidental” pollution exclusion has the same prospect of success as a due process claim under the strict scrutiny standard — strict in theory, fatal in practice. In Massachusetts, however, […]