Wastes


Portland, Maine, Facility faces EPA Sanction for Unsafe Storage of Hazardous Chemicals

A chemical manufacturing and distribution facility in South Portland, Maine, faces an EPA fine of up to $151,900 for improper storage of hazardous materials, in violation of federal and state laws.

Google Carbon Offset

Hog Waste Producing Electricity and Carbon Offsets

A pilot waste-to-energy system recently constructed by Duke University and Duke Energy garnered the endorsement of Google Inc., which invests in high-quality carbon offsets from across the nation to fulfill its own carbon neutrality goals.

German Water Bodies Unlikely to Meet EU Quality Standards by 2015 Deadline

This is the conclusion of a study in which data from the four largest rivers in northern Germany – the Elbe, Weser, Aller and Ems – were analyzed over ten years.

Wastewater Recycling Can Multiply Greenhouse Gas Emissions

New research shows that wastewater recycling processes may generate more greenhouse gases than traditional water-treatment processes. Despite this finding, there are good reasons to continue keep wastewater recycling among the water-resource tools for urban areas

Israel's Sewage-Powered Fuel Cell is Attracting Investors

In building a fuel cell that uses bacteria to break down waste in water, Israel's water company Emefcy Ltd. has raised about $10 million from investors including GE, NRG Energy Inc. and ConocoPhillips.

Study Shows Human Sewage Kills Imperiled Coral

A research team from Rollins College in Florida and the University of Georgia has identified human sewage as the source of the coral-killing pathogen that causes white pox disease of Caribbean elkhorn coral. Once the most common coral in the Caribbean, elkhorn coral was listed for protection under the United States Endangered Species Act in 2006, largely due to white pox disease.

Peter Martin Kuhn Added to EPA Fugitive List

The former president and CEO of French Gulch Nevada Mining Corporation and Bullion River Gold Corporation failed to surrender to federal authorities after he was indicted for his role in a conspiracy to illegally dispose of mining wastes containing hazardous concentrations of arsenic and lead.

Waste Facility Agrees to $1.7M Settlement for Alleged Hazardous Waste Violations

In a settlement valued at more than $1.7 million, Clean Harbors of Braintree Inc. has agreed to pay a significant penalty and perform additional projects, to settle a complaint filed by the U.S. Department of Justice on behalf of EPA, regarding numerous violations of hazardous waste management and emergency planning laws at the company’s Braintree, Mass., facility.



Food for Thought: The Most Earth-Friendly Way to Dispose of Food Waste

Consider the apple core. From an environmental perspective, what’s the most responsible way to dispose of it, or a banana peel, or any food waste?

Water Information Solution Keeps Food Company Cool as a Cucumber

Since Mt. Olive Pickle Company began analyzing its wastewater data electronically, it's seen a host of benefits. The solution saves time, allows better communication and even enables the company to file required reports with the state electronically.

DOE Panel: Let Communities Volunteer to Host Waste Facilities

The Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future also says currently available revenues are sufficient and a new, non-DOE nuclear waste management program should be established.

Grazing Management Effects on Stream Pollutants

Surface water quality is important for the proper function of aquatic ecosystems, as well as human needs and recreation. Pasturelands have been found to be major sources of sediment, phosphorus and pathogens in Midwest surface water resources.

Rising Above The Recycling Decline

The United States is lagging behind other countries when it comes down to overall recycling efforts. As the world’s largest trash producing country at 1,609 pounds of trash per person, per year, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, it raises questions why the land of opportunity isn’t taking advantage of its position to help reduce some of the Earth’s greenhouse gas emissions.

EPA Urges Residents of Joplin, Mo., to Keep Tornado Debris Segregated

As the process of recovering from the May 22 tornado in Joplin, Mo., nears the end of its eighth week, EPA Region 7 is urging residents and cleanup crews to keep residential storm debris segregated into six categories to speed curbside collection efforts.

Civic Works to Receive $300,000 EPA Brownfields Training Grant

Civic Works in Baltimore will receive a $300,000 Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training Grant to help train low-income residents for environmental jobs.

N.C. Hog Farm and its President Plead Guilty to Clean Water Act Violations

Freedman Farms Inc. and its president, William B. Freedman, pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in New Bern, N.C., to violating the Clean Water Act when they discharged hog waste into a stream that leads to the Waccamaw River, the Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina announced.

GM Landfill-Free Environmental Initiative Gains Steam

General Motors' efforts to eliminate the shipment of plant waste to landfills is spreading to its non-manufacturing sites, 10 of which now reuse, recycle or convert to energy all waste from normal operations.

GE Introduces Low-Energy Membrane Bioreactor Wastewater Treatment System

GE has introduced a membrane bioreactor wastewater treatment technology called LEAPmbr, which addresses pressing water quality and operational cost issues faced by owners of municipal, industrial and residential water/wastewater treatment facilities worldwide.

DOE Completes Legacy Cleanup at New York, California Sites

Last month, the DoE completed the cleanup of Cold War legacy waste at the Nuclear Radiation Development LLC site near Grand Island, N.Y. and at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, Calif.

Cleanup Operations Expanding after Crude Oil Released into Yellowstone River

ExxonMobil Pipeline Company continues to expand its clean up operation following a release of crude oil into the Yellowstone River in Montana.