Forest Fires or Fire Retardant

I came across this interesting controversy.  The Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics (FSEEE) has filed a second lawsuit against the Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and NOAA Fisheries.
The FSEEE first filed suit in 2003 claiming that fire retardants must be analyzed for their effect on the environment under the National Environmental Policy [...]

The Supremes Confirm Landlord has to clean up tenant’s mess

The United States Supreme Court declined to hear a case questioning whether a tenant has to reimburse the landlord for the cleanup of hazardous waste it left behind.  Therefore, the opinion of the lower court stands as the rule of law.
Intracel was a pharmaceutical company that held a ten year lease.  It stopped paying rent [...]

FutureGen: the future of coal fired power plants

The U.S. Department of Energy sponsored a project to prove up new technologies for drastically reducing carbon emissions from coal fired generating plants.  There was a lot of study and a lot of local competition from states, and then the DOE killed the project.  You can find an interesting summary of the project on Wikipedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FutureGen
Part [...]

Argentina Closes Six Facilities for Polluting River

The Environment Secretariat of Argentina closed a poultry feed maker, a petrochemical company, three metalworking firms and a recylcing center on the contaminated Matanza-Riachuelo River basin.  They previously closed 80 facilities, but most were reopened after correcting violations.  The moves are part of a $1.8 billion cleanup of the river basin ordered by the Argentine [...]

China bans plastic bags

The Ministry of Commerce (why not China’s environmental agency?) has issued rules implementing the ban  on thin plastic bags effective June 1.  Retailers will no longer be able to offer free thin plastic bags, but must charge for them and the cost must be itemized in sales receipts.  Environmental advocacy groups estimate the Chinese use [...]

Ex EPA Chief Not Liable for Clean Air Assurances after 9/11

The Second Circuit US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that former EPA head Christine Whitman was not liable for saying the air near the collapsed World Trade Center was safe to breathe.  She was sued by residents and workers from lower Manhattan.
http://www.abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/wireStory?id=4701629
http://www.abajournal.com/news/ex_epa_chief_not_liable_for_clean_air_assurances_after_9_11/
 

Ontario, Canada, criminal prosecution, Vaughan

March, 2008.  The defendants owned or operated a disposal site for non hazardous waste.  In 2004, the site caught fire and burned for several days, impacting neighboring residences and schools.  Three individuals were sentenced to jail for 3-6 months, and fined.  The four companies were fined $1.7 million, and must pay a victim surcharge, which [...]

Russia may pay informants

The Russian environmental agency, Rosprirodnadzor, may pay informants who report environmental violations.  The money would come from fines collected against environmental violators.  BNA Intenational Environmental Reporter, April 2, 2008.

To bottle water or not

Interesting story in Business Week on Nestle’s attempt to build a bottled water plant in an old lumber town in northern California.   Nestle would use the spring water for bottled water.  Opponents in town are leary of drawing down the water levels, and the promised economic benefits.  Nestle claims their plants use less water than [...]

Welcome to my blog

 
As we approach Earth Day 2008, I thought it would be a good idea to roll out my new blog with my comments and observations on global environmental law, and anything else I want to talk about that is related to the environment.    Happy Earth Day.