Tag Archives: epa

CITGO Fined for Pollution

Posted on 20 September 2013 by Ken Zino

CITGO Petroleum Corporation will pay a $737,000 civil penalty and start projects to reduce harmful air pollution in a deal cut by the Department of Justice and EPA with the Houston-based, Venezuelan-owned company. Continue reading →

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Total to Pay $8.75 Million for Continued Refinery Violations

Posted on 20 September 2013 by Ken Zino

Total Petrochemical USA will pay an $8.75 million fine for failing to comply with the terms of a 2007 settlement with the United States that resolved alleged violations of the Clean Air Act at its Port Arthur, Texas, refinery. Continue reading →

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EPA ChemView Web Site Expands Info on Toxic Chemicals

Posted on 9 September 2013 by Ken Zino

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has launched a web-based tool, called ChemView, to improve access to chemical specific regulatory information developed by EPA and data submitted under the Toxic Substances Control Act. Continue reading →

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Big West Oil Fined $18 Million for Clean Air Act Violations

Posted on 23 August 2013 by Ken Zino

Big West Oil agreed to pay a $175,000 penalty and to spend $18 million to install emission controls at its refinery in North Salt Lake, Utah, the Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today. Big West Oil will also invest $253,000 to improve the monitoring and management of potential releases of hydrofluoric acid at the facility. Continue reading →

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Ford Lowers C-Max Hybrid Mileage Claims

Posted on 15 August 2013 by Ken Zino

Ford Motor Company said today that it is lowering the C-Max hybrid fuel-economy label after being challenged by customers, the EPA and numerous independent automotive testing sites, including AutoInformed. The revised 2013 C-Max label has a combined fuel economy value of 43 mpg, slightly better – in theory – to the combined label of 42 mpg for the Toyota Prius v. Ford’s previous ratings were 47 city/47 highway/47 combined mpg claim for the new 2013 Fusion and C-Max hybrids. Continue reading →

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ExxonMobil to Pay Fine for Fracking Wastewater Dumping

Posted on 11 August 2013 by Ken Zino

The consent decree, lodged in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, is subject to a 30-day public comment period and almost certain court approval given the DOJ’s laughably lenient treatment of corporate criminals. Continue reading →

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EPA Looks at Toxic Sites for Renewable Energy Sources

Posted on 5 August 2013 by Ken Zino

Since Re-Powering’s inception in 2008, more than 70 renewable energy projects have been installed on contaminated lands. These early projects represent just over 200 MW of installed capacity, which could power approximately 30,000 homes, and provide a foundation for future development as demonstrations of the latest technologies in both renewable energy and remediation design. Continue reading →

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Cuts to 2014 EPA Budget Threatens Auto Emissions Rules

Posted on 26 July 2013 by Ken Zino

Not surprisingly since the chairman is Hal Rogers, a Republican from Kentucky, the legislation reflects significant efforts to cripple the EPA – “an agency that has been rife with governmental overreach, overspending on ineffective and unnecessary programs, and costly and questionable regulations.” The bill funds the EPA at $5.5 billion, a reduction of $2.8 billion – or -34% – below the fiscal year 2013 enacted level. Continue reading →

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Oil Recycling Company and Owner Guilty of Toxic Crimes

Posted on 15 July 2013 by Ken Zino

A North Carolina used oil recycling business and its owner plead guilty to unlawful handling of PCB-contaminated used oil and other crimes today. Benjamin Franklin Pass, 60, and P&W Waste Oil Services Inc. of Wilmington, N.C., pleaded guilty in federal court in the Eastern District of North Carolina for violations of the Toxic Substances Control Act, as well as for making false statements and failing to pay several years of taxes. Continue reading →

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Shell Settles Clean Air Act Violations for $115 Million

Posted on 10 July 2013 by Ken Zino

Shell will spend $1 million on a state-of-the-art system to monitor benzene levels of the refinery and chemical plant near a residential neighborhood and school and to make the data available to the public through a website. Shell’s agreement to recover and recycle waste gases at its chemical plant is a first of its kind. Continue reading →

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Supreme Court Dismisses Ethanol Waiver Case

Posted on 24 June 2013 by Ken Zino

The United States Supreme Court today dismissed a petition by the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers or AFPM challenging an EPA regulation that allows for 15% ethanol in gasoline. Continue reading →

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U.S. Sues ExxonMobil over Pegasus Pipeline Oil Spill

Posted on 13 June 2013 by Ken Zino

The complaint covers ExxonMobil’s unlawful discharge of heavy crude oil from a 20-inch-diameter interstate pipeline – the Pegasus Pipeline – that ruptured in Mayflower, Arkansas on 29 March 2013. Continue reading →

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New Steel Alloys can Outperform Aluminum and Carbon fiber

Posted on 11 April 2013 by Ken Zino

Part of the steel industry’s problem, aside from the overall lack of interest among technically illiterate consumers, is regulatory. While the Obama Administration is in the process of implementing the most stringent emissions and fuel economy standards in history, the Environmental Protection Agency only looks at a crude mile per gallon rating that does not take into effect the energy used and greenhouse gas emissions that result during the creation of the 10,000 or more components that comprise an automobile. Continue reading →

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Dominion Energy Deal Cuts Emissions at Coal Powered Plants

Posted on 5 April 2013 by Ken Zino

The Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said that Dominion Energy has agreed to pay a $3.4 million civil penalty and spend approximately $9.8 million on environmental mitigation projects to resolve Clean Air Act (CAA) violations. Continue reading →

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EPA Voids Import Certificates for More Chinese Recreational Vehicles

Posted on 3 April 2013 by Ken Zino

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today that it is withdrawing approval of the import and sale of up to 74,000 gas-powered motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles from China. The agency said that it received either incomplete or falsified certification information. Continue reading →

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