pollution

Ohio River Fuel Oil Spill Closes Waterway

August 20, 2014 Lisa Cornwell, www.AP.org Educate! Ohio, Oil, pollution, Water

A 15-mile stretch of the Ohio River closed after a fuel oil spill reopened to river traffic on Tuesday with some restrictions as containment and cleanup continued. River traffic in that area must get Coast Guard clearance and maintain a safe speed, agency spokeswoman Lt. Katherine Cameron said. The area was closed to all traffic, including barges carrying commercial goods, after the spill from a Duke Energy power plant in New Richmond. The spill at the W.C. Beckjord Station happened at about 11:15 p.m. Monday during a routine transfer of fuel oil from a larger tank to smaller ones and was stopped within about 15 minutes, Duke spokeswoman Sally Thelen said. The spill at the plant 20 miles southeast of Cincinnati was considered medium-sized, a designation that applies to inland leaks between 1,000 and 10,000 gallons of oil, Cameron said. Authorities earlier estimated about 5,000 to 8,000 gallons of oil spilled, but the Coast Guard and Duke Energy later Tuesday lowered those estimates to up to 5,000 gallons. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday that the federal agency had taken the lead as on-scene coordinator and was directing the cleanup efforts being carried out by Charlotte, North Carolina-based Duke Energy.

Stop Fracking Our Oceans, Californians Say

August 16, 2014 Miyoko Sakashita, www.huffingtonpost.com Resist! California, Fracking, Oceans, pollution

Contaminated water, polluted air, increased earthquake risk: As fracking has expanded across America, this dangerous form of oil and gas production has caused massive harm to our environment and public health. Now the oil industry is ramping up fracking offshore, in our delicate coastal ecosystems. The Gulf of Mexico, industry sources say, is about to experience a steep increase in offshore fracking, which involves blasting water and industrial chemicals into the sea-floor at high pressures to crack the rock and release oil and gas. Here in California, the oil industry has already fracked hundreds of offshore wells near Seal Beach and Long Beach and in the Santa Barbara Channel. There's been almost no oversight of this dangerous practice by federal and state officials, who can't even say exactly where or how often fracking has been used off our coast. But Californians are fighting back, determined to protect the Golden State's coastal communities, beautiful beaches and endangered marine wildlife. A majority of state voters back a ban on offshore fracking, according to a new poll commissioned by my organization and conducted by Public Policy Polling. The poll also found 2 in 3 California voters are concerned about offshore fracking's effects on endangered marine wildlife like blue whales, who congregate in the Santa Barbara Channel.

Judge Throws Out Texas Family’s Fracking Case

August 16, 2014 David Hasemyer, www.insideclimatenews.org Resist! Fracking, pollution, Texas

A Texas judge has dismissed a million dollar lawsuit filed by a Karnes County, Texas, family who say their lives have been ruined by noxious emissions from oil and gas facilities near their home. District Judge Stella Saxon apparently accepted the argument made by Marathon Oil Corp. and Plains Exploration & Production (PXP) that Mike and Myra Cerny didn't have enough medical and scientific evidence to prove to a jury that they have been sickened by oil field emissions. Marathon applauded the ruling, while the Cernys' attorney said he'll file an appeal. Legal experts say the dismissal could have a chilling effect on others who may be considering legal action against the oil and gas industry. The dismissal in Karnes County stands in stark contrast to a case in Dallas County earlier this year in which a jury awarded $2.9 million to a family who also claimed to be sickened by emissions. That two similar cases could have such different outcomes highlights vagaries of both the justice and regulatory system in Texas, where the oil and gas industry is widely praised and supported. "Judges try to do the right thing but they come at the task with certain preconceptions," said Thomas McGarity, a University of Texas law professor who specializes in environmental and administrative law. "Those preconceptions vary with the sentiments of jurisdictions they represent."

First Nations Serve Eviction Notice Over Eniro Disaster

August 16, 2014 Deirdre Fulton, www.commondreams.org Resist! Canada, Environment, First Nations, pollution

The Neskonlith Indian Band on Thursday served an eviction notice to Imperial Metals, the company responsible for the massive tailings pond breach at Mount Polley Mine in British Columbia, which is seeking to site a separate lead and zinc mine near the headwaters of the Adams River — within Neskonlith territory and home to an important sockeye salmon run. Known as the Ruddock Creek Mine, the contested project is still in the development phase and has yet to go through the environmental assessment process. "As...the caretakers of our land and waters, Neskonlith, part of the Lake Secwepemc People, have an obligation to protect our land for our future generations,” according to a statement issued by the First Nation band. “Neskonlith Indian Band cannot permit any mining development especially in these Sacred Headwaters that will contaminate the water or destroy our salmon habitat.” In an interview with the Canadian Press, Neskonlith Chief Judy Wilson said the Mount Polley spill shows the company cannot be trusted to build and operate a mine while also protecting the surrounding environment. "The industry has proven at Mount Polley that they can't regulate all of that," she said. Last week, a group calling themselves the Klabona Keepers blocked access to workers at the pending Red Chris Mine, also developed and operated by Imperial Metals and scheduled to open later this year.

Mt. Polley Disaster Shows Need To End Excavation Economy

August 14, 2014 Harsha Walia, www.rabble.ca Resist! Canada, Environment, Mining, pollution

The Mount Polley mining disaster in B.C. has barely been sustained in national news, let alone break in international news. This is despite the fact that mining experts are cautioning that the incident is the largest mining disaster in Canadian, possibly even global, history. Where it has made news, the incident is exceptionalized as a single accident, a failure, or the incompetence of one company. The notorious Canadian mining industry, actively supported by provincial and federal governments, has largely escaped public and media scrutiny. Mount Polley disaster Two weeks ago, the dam of the tailings pond breached from the Mount Polley mine near Likely, on Secwepemc territory, releasing 2.5 billion gallons of contaminated water and 4.5 million cubic metres of metals-laden fine sand into Hazeltine Creek, Polley Lake and Quesnel Lake. A state of emergency has been declared in the Cariboo Region, a water-use ban is in place, and federal and Indigenous fisheries have shut down salmon fishing. The long-term impacts are severe: about 2.4 million people -- 63 per cent of the province's population -- live along the Fraser River in 32 downstream communities and Metro Vancouver.

Fracking Companies Fight Families’ Air Pollution Suits

August 14, 2014 David Hasemyer, www.insideclimatenews.org Resist! Fracking, pollution, Texas

Two major oil companies have asked a Texas judge to dismiss a civil lawsuit that could draw new attention to the toxic air emissions from oil and gas production. The lawsuit was filed last year by Mike and Myra Cerny, who say they can't enjoy the use of their home because of the benzene, toluene and other toxic chemicals released from nearby facilities owned by Marathon and Plains Exploration & Production (PXP). The Cernys are using the same argument that helped another Texas family, Bob and and Lisa Parr, win a groundbreaking, $2.9 million judgment against Aruba Petroleum last April: That the emissions created a nuisance that made their lives unbearable. Air emissions are increasingly recognized as a problem in drilling areas throughout United States, with residents complaining of coughing, headaches, nosebleeds, rashes and dizziness. But lawsuits linking gas and oil production to health problems have been considered almost unwinnable, because few scientific studies have been done on how the industry’s emissions might affect human health. Jane Barrett, director of the University of Maryland's Environmental Law Clinic, said that if the Parrs and Cerneys succeed, their cases could change the assumption that ordinary people can't stand up to the industry.

First Nations Protesters Block Workers’ Access To Mine

August 11, 2014 Amy Judd, www.globalnews.ca Resist! Canada, First Nations, Mining, pollution, Protest

The disaster at the Mount Polley Mine will have long-term consequences for years to come across the whole of the mining industry but specifically for Imperial Metals – the owners of the Cariboo mine and a major resource company in B.C. Earlier this week the company took a huge hit on its stock price and on Friday, near Dease Lake at the Red Chris Mine, First Nations members blocked access to employees. Red Chris is a five-hundred million dollar gold operation that has been front and center in B.C.’s resource sector for a decade. On Friday when construction crews began arriving for work, finishing before the mine goes into full production, they were greeted by protesters who demanded a halt to the work. The company has yet to respond. The disastrous tailings pond breach is also sparking concerns about the Mount Polley Mine owner’s involvement in another project. The Ruddock Creek Mining Corporation is a subsidiary of Imperial Metals. It wants to operate an underground zinc-lead mine 100 kilometres northwest of Revelstoke.

Uranium Poisoning Wells, Navajos Drive Miles For Drinking Water

August 11, 2014 Brandon Loomis, www.azcentral.com Educate! health, pollution, Uranium, Water

Teeth clack involuntarily and tools rattle on the floor board under the backseat of Milton Yazzie's Silverado as he and his frail mother bounce along the washboard-creased dirt road from their home. For mile after dusty mile, rise after rutted descent, the truck rocks toward the dry river and then Flagstaff, the screech of Led Zeppelin on the radio inside and of a high-desert wind outside. Three plastic barrels bounce along in the truck bed. It's water day on the reservation. Twice a week, the Yazzies, 57-year-old Milton and 83-year-old Della, come down off their lonely hill on the Navajo Reservation's western side and point themselves toward the city for the clean water they need to keep living. For ages, they drank from a well less than a mile from their home. Then they learned that poison lurked there. Uranium is gurgling up all over Navajo country. At least three Yazzies have died of kidney ailments, a common result of chronic exposure to uranium. Federal environmental officials warned against drinking more. Milton learned to conserve, using an outhouse across their driveway and leaving the tank-supplied indoor plumbing to Della, because of her failing eyesight.

‘Massive Environmental Disaster’ In Canada

August 6, 2014 Denise Ryan, www.nationalpost.com Educate! Canada, Environment, pollution, Water

As far back as 2011, concerns were raised about the tailings pond at the Mount Polley Mine. Brian Olding and Associates, an environmental consulting firm, prepared a detailed report that was submitted to the provincial Ministry of the Environment. “We looked at the pond and we thought there was monitoring required. We wanted an emergency contingency plan in place.” Olding was hired jointly by the Williams Lake Indian Band, the Soda Creek Indian Band and mine owner Imperial Metals to conduct an independent review of the Mount Polley Mine 75 kilometres southeast of Quesnel and prepare a technical assessment report on the proposed discharge of water from a tailings pond. At about 3:45 a.m. on Monday the very pond he reported on was breached, sending over five million cubic metres of contaminated water and toxic slurry into Hazeltine Creek, uprooting trees with its force, and making its way toward Quesnel Lake. By late Monday on the advice of provincial authorities, the Cariboo Regional District had issued a complete ban on drinking, swimming and bathing in the waterways surrounding the mine and extended it to include Polley Lake and all the waterways near the Mount Polley Mine, including Quesnel Lake, Cariboo Creek, Hazeltine Creek and “the entire Quesnel and Cariboo Rivers systems right to the Fraser River.” Residents have been told not to allow pets or livestock to drink the water.

Army Corps To Disclose Oil Pollution From Dams

August 6, 2014 Nigel Duara, www.startribune.com Educate! Environment, Law, Oil, pollution, Water

For the first time in its history, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will have to disclose the amount of pollutants its dams are sending into waterways in a groundbreaking legal settlement that could have broad implications for the Corps' hundreds of dams nationwide. The Corps announced in a settlement Monday that it will immediately notify the conservation group that filed the lawsuit of any oil spills among its eight dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers in Oregon and Washington. The Corps also will apply to the Environmental Protection Agency for pollution permits, something the Corps has never done for the dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers. The settlement filed in U.S. District Court in Portland ends the year-old consolidated lawsuit by the conservation group Columbia Riverkeeper, which said the Corps violated the Clean Water Act with unmonitored, unpermitted oil discharges from the eight hydroelectric dams. No one outside the Corps knows how much pollution is being flushed into waterways every day. The agency doesn't have to track it and, before Monday, no one with sufficient authority compelled them to do so. The settlement reflects the recent tack of the EPA regulating the environmental impacts of energy. The agency recently came up with regulations of mountaintop removal for coal and fracking for oil and gas.

Bhopal Victims Can’t Sue Union Carbide

August 3, 2014 Earthrights International, www.earthrights.org Educate! India, Law, pollution, Union Carbide

New York, NY – Last night a New York federal court found that Union Carbide Corp. (UCC) could not be sued for ongoing contamination from the notorious chemical plant in Bhopal, India, despite evidence that construction of the plant was managed by a UCC employee – evidence that the plaintiffs are confident will lead to a reversal of the erroneous decision on appeal. EarthRights International (ERI) filed the lawsuit Sahu v. Union Carbide Corp. on behalf of residents of Bhopal whose land and water are contaminated by waste from the plant. A poisonous gas leak from the same chemical plant killed over 5,000 people in 1984, and UCC largely abandoned the site, allowing toxic wastes to leach into the local water supply. UCC was intimately involved in the creation and disposal of toxic wastes at the Bhopal plant, and the manager who oversaw the construction of the plant confirmed that he worked for UCC, not for the Indian subsidiary that officially operated the plant. Nonetheless, federal judge John Keenan ignored this evidence, ruling that UCC was not sufficiently involved in the acts at the plant and that the project manager actually worked for the subsidiary. “The evidence demonstrates that Union Carbide was intimately involved in every aspect of designing and building the Bhopal plant, including the waste disposal systems that caused the pollution,” said Marco Simons, counsel for the plaintiffs and Legal Director for EarthRights International.

Protesters Stall An Oil Train For Hours At Anacortes

August 1, 2014 Martha Baskin, www.crosscut.com Resist! health, Oil Trains, pollution

A train attempting to leave a Tesoro oil train facility in Anacortes yesterday was stopped in its tracks when three residents of the coastal town and Seattle locked their bodies to barrels full of concrete, sat on the tracks and refused to move. During the four-hour standoff an estimated 100 BNSF rail cars were held at bay. Authorities would not say whether the tank cars, normally used to carry Bakken field crude oil from North Dakota, had any oil at the time. Three protesters were cited for trespass. Two of the protesters identified themselves as members of Rising Tide Seattle. Their demands included a halt to Bakken crude shipments through the Northwest, an immediate rejection of all crude-by-rail facilities in the Northwest, and assurances that Tesoro refineries in Anacortes, Bellingham and Tacoma will operate in compliance with the Clean Air Act. The EPA at one time charged Tesoro with violating the Clean Air Act no fewer than 4,000 times at a single refinery in North Dakota. Last year, the company and the EPA reached a $1.1 million settlement agreement over claims of widespread violations at other refineries, including Anacortes. A research group at the University of Massachusetts Amherst lists the company is among the top 100 toxic polluters nationwide.

Northern Band Says ‘No’ To Nuclear Waste

July 25, 2014 Jonathon Naylor, www.winnipegfreepress.com Resist! Canada, First Nations, Nuclear, pollution

The most controversial economic-development proposal in the history of this area may have just had its Elijah Harper moment. Brandishing a feather in her hand, Eileen Linklater announced her native band, Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation, is against bringing radioactive waste to the Flin Flon region. "We don't want (any) nuclear waste in our territory," Linklater, a PBCN councillor, told officials studying the concept in May. To say PBCN's opposition complicates the potential of nuclear-waste storage in Creighton, Flin Flon's sister community just across the Saskatchewan border, is an understatement. Creighton (pop. 1,498) is involved in the early, learning phase with the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO), which is mandated to find a site to stockpile Canada's nuclear waste. The waste -- spent nuclear fuel rods from nuclear power plants -- will be buried about 500 metres underground in a highly secure repository. The geology of the chosen area must be sound, but just as importantly, surrounding residents must convincingly demonstrate they want the project. On that point, NWMO has placed heavy emphasis on the will of First Nations people, recognizing they have "unique status and rights," says the agency's website.

EPA Non-Responsive On Texas Air Pollution

July 25, 2014 Lisa Song and Jim Morris, www.insideclimatenews.org Organize! EPA, Journalism, pollution, Texas

For more than a year, InsideClimate News and the Center for Public Integrity have been reporting on air pollution caused by the fracking boom in the Eagle Ford Shale of South Texas. Despite hundreds of complaints from residents, many of them about noxious air emissions, we discovered that the state knows almost nothing about the extent of the pollution and rarely fines companies for breaking emission laws. On our 11 trips to Texas we encountered many residents who asked what seemed to be a reasonable question: If a state regulatory agency—in this case the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality—isn't doing much to curb the industry's air pollution, why isn't the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency stepping in? The EPA, after all, is ultimately responsible for enforcing the federal Clean Air Act. In February, after we published our first stories on the Eagle Ford, we began trying to answer that question by seeking on-the-record interviews with EPA officials in Washington, D.C., and Texas. Five months later, no such interviews have been granted. Instead, EPA press officers have told us to put our questions in writing, an increasingly common response from federal agencies under the Obama administration. The process usually goes like this: A journalist calls the press office to schedule an interview but instead is told to submit written questions. Once these are in, a press officer gets answers from scientists or other officials and then crafts a written response. In most cases, nobody involved in the process—not even the EPA press officers—will agree to be quoted by name.

NYC Trash Train Plan Derailed In Chester, PA

July 12, 2014 Energy Justice Network, www.energyjustice.net Resist! Election, New York (NY), Pennsylvania, pollution

We've been re-organizing the Chester Environmental Justice group to "derail" plans to send 500,000 tons/year of trash from the richest part of New York City by train to be burned in the low-income, 75% black City of Chester, near Philadelphia, PA. The plan would fulfill a contract Covanta has with New York City to burn this waste for the next 20-30 years. That contract would send an equal amount to Covanta's Niagara Falls, NY incinerator, where people are fighting the trash-by-trail plan as well (see http://stopburningthefalls.com/myths/). Chester hosts the nation's largest trash incinerator, burning up to 3,510 tons/day, and residents have had enough. We just won a vote of the Chester City Planning Commission Wednesday, when we got them to vote "NO" on Covanta's proposal for a rail box building to store the rail cars of trash. It'll go to City Council next, and we'll be cranking up the pressure to get them to follow the Planning Commission's advice. With about 100 people turned out, standing-room-only, we packed the place and made a strong impact. We also had 100 people email the local officials leading up to the meeting.

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