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EPA: Affirm agency power to regulate farm runoff
ELKINS, W.Va. — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency wants a judge to affirm its power to make poultry growers get water pollution permits for runoff from their operations — even though it’s withdrawn the requirement for a West Virginia farmer who sued. Hardy County farmer Lois Alt is challenging EPA’s authority to apply a Clean […]
New EPA chief: Climate controls will help economy
President Barack Obama’s top environmental official is wasting no time taking on opponents of the administration’s plan to crack down on global warming pollution. In her first speech as the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, Gina McCarthy on Tuesday told an audience gathered at Harvard Law School in Cambridge, Mass., that curbing climate-altering pollution […]
Federal court upholds Bush-era smog standard
WASHINGTON — A federal court on Tuesday upheld a 2008 air pollution standard the Obama administration vowed to strengthen, but later reversed itself and kept in place. The U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington rejected arguments that the ozone standard for public health set by former President George W. Bush was either too weak or […]
MIPS announces grants to 17 tech teams
The Maryland Industrial Partnerships (MIPS) program, an initiative of the Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute (Mtech) in the A. James Clark School of Engineering at the University of Maryland, College Park, said it awarded $3.8 million to 17 teams combining Maryland companies with university researchers to bring technology products closer to market.
Multistate agreement in works for Chesapeake Bay
ANNAPOLIS — States in the Chesapeake Bay watershed are working to have a new cleanup agreement ready by October with clearer goals and greater flexibility and transparency. This would be the fourth Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement in 30 years intended to spur improvements. The last agreement was signed in 2000. The Capital of Annapolis reported […]
Hagerstown cement plant owner fined $700,000
HAGERSTOWN — The owner of a Hagerstown cement plant has agreed to a $700,000 fine to settle allegations it violated the federal Clean Air Act. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced the proposed settlement Thursday with the U.S. arm of the Swiss company Holcim and its St. Lawrence Cement Co. subsidiary. In addition to the […]
Chesapeake Bay restoration sized up: mixed report
RICHMOND, Va. — Washington, D.C., and states within the Chesapeake Bay watershed are making progress to reduce pollution flowing into the hobbled estuary but none is on track to meet cleanup commitments set this year, an analysis by environmental groups concludes. The mixed assessment released Monday is based on an analysis of benchmarks each state […]
Deal would possibly cut ‘rain tax’ up to 85% for port businesses
Baltimore officials are close to an agreement with port and other harbor-area industries that could significantly reduce the amount those businesses would pay under the city’s proposed stormwater fee.
EPA warehouse needs cleanup; feces, mold found
WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency has some cleaning up of its own to do. An inspector general’s report released Monday found rodent feces, mold and other problems at an EPA storage warehouse in suburban Washington that the government leases for $750,000 a year. The report also found that 11 contract workers charged with protecting […]
Study: Feds overestimate poultry pollution
NEWARK, Del. — A University of Delaware-led study has found that decades-old federal standards overestimate current poultry industry contributions to water pollution. The News Journal of Wilmington reports that researchers found that nitrogen levels in poultry house manure are 55 percent lower than the Environmental Protection Agency’s standards. Efforts to eliminate waterway dead zones an[...]
Eastern Shore conservation group gets funds pledge
The Eastern Shore Land Conservancy, a nonprofit conservation organization based in Queenstown, announced that it has received a pledge of $250,000 from the Grayce B. Kerr Fund to be put toward the planned Eastern Shore Conservation Center in Easton.
