Archive for the ‘environment’
Hearing set on Marsh Fork coal dust case
by Ken Ward Jr. MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — A Raleigh County judge will hold a hearing later this month on a medical monitoring lawsuit claiming hundreds of children were exposed to toxic coal dust from a Massey Energy Co. processing plant and silo next to Marsh Fork Elementary School. Williamson attorney Kevin Thompson is suing [...]
Power plants ‘not making a dent’ in mercury emissions
by Ken Ward Jr. A new report released yesterday by the Environmental Integrity Project warns that power plants are “not making a dent” in their emissions of the potent toxic chemical mercury. There’s a press release online here, and you can read the full report here. According to the report, more than half of the [...]
Dave Matthews Headlines Music Bash to End Mountaintop Removal
More than 1 million acres of Appalachia have already been destroyed. An estimated 1,200 miles of headwater streams have been buried under tons of mining wastes. Over 500 mountains have been permanently scarred. Homes have been ruined and drinking water supplies contaminated. It is time to end this especially destructive method of coal mining. Our [...]
Sen. Byrd splits with Rocky IV on bill to block EPA from issuing greenhouse gas limits
by Ken Ward Jr. This just in: Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., on why he declined to co-sponsor Sen. Jay Rockefeller’s bill to block EPA from issuing greenhouse gas limits: I do not plan to cosponsor Senator Rockefeller’s legislation at this time. I was encouraged by the response last week from EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson [...]
Rocky IV seeks more delay in greenhouse gas controls, but offers no plan of his own
by Ken Ward Jr. West Virginia Sen. Jay Rockefeller today is introducing legislation seeking to delay — for two years — any federal limits on greenhouse gas emissions. Rockefeller says his bill aims to give Congress: … The time it needs to address an issue as complicated and expansive as our energy future … Congress, [...]
Military exposure bills approved by Veterans’ Committee
by Andrew Clevenger Last week, the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs approved two bills geared towards improving health care and homelessness for veterans, particularly those who may have been exposed to hazardous materials during their service. You can read the press release here. Particularly of note, the Homeless Veterans and Other Health Care Authorities [...]
Is the Chemical Safety Board confused about its mission?
by Ken Ward Jr. Last April, U.S. Chemical Safety Board Chairman John Bresland promised Kanawha Valley residents a complete investigation of the August 2008 explosion and fire that killed two Institute plant workers — and he made clear the CSB would get to the bottom of what kind of disaster might have happened that night. [...]
Despite EPA deal, Massey water violations more frequent
by Ken Ward Jr. Two years ago, when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reached a record $20 million Clean Water Act settlement with Massey Energy, this was the lead of my Gazette story on the deal: Federal environmental regulators believe a record $20 million fine, new pollution monitoring requirements and the threat of automatic penalties for additional [...]
EPA moves to set stage for regulations
by Ken Ward Jr. Word just in today that a federal appeals court has declined to consider DuPont Co.’s appeal of a district judge’s decision that allowed New Jersey residents to pursue claims of private nuisance and strict liability as class-action suits against the chemical giant. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the [...]
Obama EPA moves to tighten smog standard
by Ken Ward Jr. In a move that’s been expected since September, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency just announced that it is tightening the nationwide air pollution standards for smog. EPA said: Smog, also known as ground-level ozone, is linked to a number of serious health problems, ranging from aggravation of asthma to increased risk [...]
