united states environmental law

King County Superior Court Judge Chris Washington ruled Friday that Seattle does not have to do an environmental review before July Fourth fireworks displays at Gas Works Park on Lake Union. An environmental activist sued to block last summer's event, saying the city's permit should be revoked for failing to do the environmental review. In the decision Friday, Judge Washington said such displays clearly fall under the public celebration exemption to the State Environmental Protection Agency's assessme  

The Guam Environmental Protection Agency held a four-day training course this past week for various GovGuam agency personnel. The event was geared towards teaching participants the many practical skills needed to be a more effective and critical reviewer of the Joint Guam Program Office's Draft Environmental Impact Statement. The daunting prospect of having to review ten volumes of text that spans 11,000 pages has GovGuam agencies and nearly everyone on island all worked up.

We are getting a good systematic view of how to go about it and giving us a roadmap of how to execute the steps necessary to do a good job.   -Paul Kemp

 

A revised county air pollution control ordinance that would have provided for collection of fees from manufacturers with a federal air permit is dead, dismantling the Vigo County Air Pollution Control Department. The Vigo County Board of Health on Friday unanimously voted to incorporate Air Pollution Control into a division of the health department. The board's vote includes a proposal to hire two inspectors and an administrative assistant.

if this is working out, they will have to go before the County Council to request funding to keep this agency going.   -Paul Mason

 

SC Johnson takes very seriously the responsibility of providing products that families can use with confidence, and our products are safe and effective when used as directed. We are aware of the recent report released by Women's Voices for the Earth (WVE) and while we are supportive of the mission of WVE, we strongly disagree with them on this report. Antimicrobial and/or disinfecting products, play an important role in keeping homes clean and safe, particularly during a time like this when the world is  

The federal lobbying effort paid for by cities along the Ohio River for the Riverfront Commons project has been put on hold. Southbank Partners, instead, will use the money to fund an Army Corps of Engineering study needed for the project, which will build a path along the Ohio River in Northern Kentucky from Fort Thomas to Ludlow. Southbank Partners, a non-profit development agency, is heading up the Riverfront Commons project.  

The Environmental Protection Agency has approved another year of funding to the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry for pesticide programs. The funds are provided annually under an agreement between the agencies that allows the state to enforce federal pesticide rules and programs. State agriculture officials say the grant--expected to total over $635,000--is critical this year.  

SUMMARY: EPA is approving a request submitted by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) on September 25, 2009, to revise the Indiana State Implementation Plan (SIP). The submission revises the Indiana Administrative Code (IAC) by amending and updating the definition of "References to the Code of Federal Regulations," to refer to the 2008 edition. EFFECTIVE DATE: This rule is effective on January 19, 2010, unless EPA receives adverse written comments by December 21, 2009.  

A more assertive Environmental Protection Agency is demanding that Texas tighten its pollution rules, drawing the ire of companies and some of the state's political leaders. At the heart of the dispute is an EPA threat to void some of the state's air-quality regulations, which it says break federal law. The agency also is studying whether oil refineries -- of which Texas has many -- emit dangerous amounts of toxins.

Our results speak louder than bureaucratic meddling   -Katherine Cesinger

 

Monsanto Co. is installing a water management system at an Idaho phosphate mine the company depends on to make its Roundup weedkiller to stop the leakage of selenium and heavy metals into a tributary of the Blackfoot River. The company hopes capturing runoff and underground water will remedy problems at the waste rock dump below its South Rasmussen Ridge Mine that have resulted in Clean Water Act violation notices from the federal Environmental Protection Agency. Monsanto is seeking federal approval f  

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's mid-Atlantic Regional Office is accepting applications from Virginia organizations seeking funding to help develop new or improve existing environmental education programs. EPA will take applications through Dec. 15, 2009. EPA's Environmental Education Grant Program allows the agency's regional offices to award grants up to $50,000.