Acknowledgement to Great American Environmental Division While installing new electrical lines in a historic building the contractor used a hole saw to cut through a ceiling. Unknown to the contractor, the saw had inadvertently disturbed and released asbestos-containing insulation material. The contractor had to pay for clean-up costs for the asbestos fibers released throughout the […]

Source: http://www.sanduskyregister.com, June 27, 2011 By: Jessica Cuffman While owners of the former Apex Manufacturing site moved forward to clean up the property, the Ohio EPA fined them for asbestos-related violations. Famous Realty of Cleveland will have to pay $20,700 in civil fees for improperly destroying buildings that still had asbestos inside them, according to […]

Source: http://www.kold.com, June 28, 2011 By: Bud Foster A few years ago, it was not unusual for people to use washes and arroyos as their own personal garbage dumps. It was not illegal, it was convenient and some thought it was a good way to help prevent flooding by shoring up the sides. Those days […]

Source: Vindicator (Youngstown, OH), June 29, 2011 Posted on: http://envfpn.advisen.com Water contamination seems to be the main opposition to oil and gas drilling throughout shale regions in Ohio and Pennsylvania. Many Mahoning Valley residents, specifically in Columbiana County, signed leases with Oklahoma-based Chesapeake Energy Corp. in April. But until drilling picks up, landowners have been […]

Source: http://www.gazette.net, June 10, 2011 By: Chris Huntemann Maryland companies working to make state leader in green building Constructing more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly buildings is becoming a major money-maker for some Maryland companies. For example, Morgan-Keller Construction in Frederick says the percentage of its “green” building projects has jumped from 25 percent to more […]

Source:  http://www.miller-mccune.com, June 13, 2011 By: Ben Ikenson A lawsuit challenges the claims of the nation’s foremost green building effort — the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED certification) program. It is telling that the Creation Museum in Petersburg, Ky., wants the design of a biblical theme park that will showcase a 500-foot-long replica […]

Source: http://www.businessinsurance.com, Issue: June 20, 2011 By: Joanne Wojcik An architectural firm agrees to design an office building to achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design gold certification, the second-highest level of the U.S. Green Building Council’s sustainability design scale. Meanwhile, the developer that hired the architect advertises the project as having significantly reduced operating […]

Read here about how Pennsylvania’s Health Secretary would like to create a registry to monitor health issues in areas near heavy drilling in the Marcellus Shale.

Source: The Bakersfield Californian, June 13, 2011 Posted on: http://envfpn.advisen.com Oil field legislation making its way through Sacramento could shine a light on the routine but controversial practice of hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” even as some in the industry doubt the proposed rules would have much impact on Kern County oil production. Assembly Bill 591 […]

Source: Charleston Daily Mail (WV), May 24, 2011 Posted on: http://envfpn.advisen.com The expansion of West Virginia’s natural gas industry could open up new battlefronts in the courtroom over the protection of property rights, health and the environment. Some of the legal uncertainty may result from the failure so far of state lawmakers to settle questions […]

Read here about a major gas driller that was fined $1 million in Pennsylvania.

Source: http://enr.construction.com By: Nadine M. Post A lawsuit over construction of a life-sciences building at a major university stands as the first known claim related to the use of building information modeling by an architect. Furthermore, the claim and its settlement serve as a cautionary tale to others using BIM, says the insurer. “The creators […]