News and Articles


Preventing Petroleum Pollution in New Jersey

Rutgers and NJDEP team up to train more than 2,000 on proper Underground Storage Tank (UST) operations.

DEQ reported that its water quality crews responded on June 6, 2018, to a report of an algal bloom in Provo Bay and collected five samples at various locations at and around the Swede Sportsman Access. (Utah DEQ photo)

New Method Developed for Tracking Water Pollution Sources

"Isotope tools are very powerful to measure nutrients in water, but historically their use has been very difficult, hampered by cost and accessibility. The new technique allows scientists to run more samples and much more cheaply for large-scale studies. I think it is a game changer," said Leonard Wassenaar, hear of the IAEA Isotope Hydrology Section.

FY2019 NRC Fees Increased for Operating Reactors

The FY2019 annual fees are increasing for operating reactors, research and test reactors, and some materials users. Annual fees will decrease for spent fuel storage/reactor decommissioning, fuel facilities, select materials users, U.S. Department of Energy transportation activities, and the DOE Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act Program.

Pennsylvania DEP Issues Draft Denial of Waste Permit

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection announced May 15 it has issued a Notice of Intent to Deny to Elcon Recycling Services, LLC for its Phase II Part B commercial hazardous waste treatment and storage facility application, based on a number of outstanding deficiencies that remain unaddressed to its satisfaction.

EPA Adds WV Site to Superfund List

The site has seen significant contamination issues going back to the 1980s, when elevated levels of polychlorinated biphenyls were first discovered by the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection in the soil near the old Shaffer Equipment Company location.

NY DEC Announces Design Opportunity for Hudson Communities

"This unique opportunity will help waterfront communities along the Hudson River bolster their resilience by designing innovative projects like floodable parks and flood-adapted buildings," said Basil Seggos, commissioner of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

Three Mile Island Nuclear Plant Shutting Down

"Although we see strong support in Harrisburg and throughout Pennsylvania to reduce carbon emissions and maintain the environmental and economic benefits provided by nuclear energy, we don't see a path forward for policy changes before the June 1 fuel purchasing deadline for TMI," said Kathleen Barrón, Exelon's senior vice president, government and regulatory affairs and public policy.

California Moving to Prohibit Use of Chlorpyrifos

"California's action to cancel the registration of chlorpyrifos is needed to prevent the significant harm this pesticide causes children, farmworkers, and vulnerable communities," said CalEPA Secretary Jared Blumenfeld. "This action also represents a historic opportunity for California to develop a new framework for alternative pest management practices."

EPA Region 9 Launches Smart Sectors Pacific Southwest

In the Pacific Southwest, EPA is engaging with the oil and gas sector initially and plans to expand to several other sectors this year.

AAR Presents 2019 Environmental Excellence Award

Gary Van Tassel II of CSX Transportation and his team made the traditional intermodal facility more efficient by implementing new technology and modernizing site layouts, which allow CSX to operate with a smaller footprint, fewer diesel utility trucks, a transition to electrified cranes, and significantly reduced truck dwell times.

EPA Proposes Expanded Groundwater Treatment at NJ Superfund Site

The cleanup plan for the CPS/Madison Superfund site in Old Bridge, N.J., includes expanding the existing groundwater treatment system that is operating at the site, plus on-site treatment of contaminated soil that is a source of groundwater contamination.

New California Program Supports Clean Mobility Projects

The $17 million program focuses on the needs of smaller groups and communities to provide clean mobility solutions that include car- bike- or scooter-sharing projects and subsidies for transit or car-hailing companies.

EPA, DOJ Reach Superfund Settlement for NC Site

The settlement with Honeywell International Inc. and International Paper Co. concerns the cleanup of contaminated soils and sediments at the LCP-Holtrachem plant in Riegelwood, N.C. It is a 24-acre site adjacent to the Cape Fear River.

DOT Completes Review of Draft EA for DC-Baltimore Loop Project

The Boring Company's website for the project indicates the two tunnels would be constructed at least 30 feet below ground and the project initially would be a high-speed underground public transportation system in which passengers are transported in autonomous electric vehicles traveling at up to 150 miles per hour.

ILO Says Urgent Action Needed to Better Manage E-Waste

Representatives of governments and workers' and employers' organizations agreed at an April 9-11 meeting at the ILO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, that governments should increase and promote investments in waste management infrastructure and systems at all levels to manage the rapidly growing flows of e-waste.

Virginia DEQ Awards $20 Million in Stormwater Grants

DEQ Director David Paylor said the Stormwater Local Assistance Fund matching grants "help communities install effective and efficient pollution control measures, such as stream restorations, constructed wetlands, and methods to filter rainwater before it washes pollution into waterways."

NYC Mayor Ending City's Purchase of Single-Use Plastics

The mayor's executive order will reduce the city's carbon emissions by approximately 500 tons per year, decrease plastic pollution, and reduce risks to wildlife, with the city estimating it will reduce the purchase of single-use plastics by city agencies by 95 percent.

Understanding LEED, WELL, and the Differences

The WELL program was started by many of the same people involved in the original LEED program established by the U.S. Green Building Council back in 1998. The WELL program was created far more recently, in October 2014, which is likely one reason few of us are familiar with it.

Miami-Dade County Hosting First Sea Level Rise Workshops

Local experts will be available at the workshops to answer questions and to guide small group conversations to learn more about sea level rise in the county and to devise strategies to address anticipated impacts.

CDC, ATSDR to Fund PFAS Studies

The agencies are soliciting research applications to conduct a multi-site study on the human health effects of exposures to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) through drinking water.