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Health Worries Stalk Neighborhoods in Detroit’s ‘Sacrifice Zone’
Posted by Greenwire: John Mcardle on September 12th, 2011
Greenwire: A fire at the Marathon Petroleum Corp. refinery here late last month caused little structural damage, but its timing could not have been worse for the plant's owner. The blaze, which was quickly extinguished by the refinery's emergency personnel, occurred on the morning that U.S. EPA and advocacy groups were touring the plant's industrial neighborhood as part of a national environmental justice conference at a downtown conference center. Billowing smoke from Marathon's gas flare safety system stood...
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‘Being Disliked, but Feared’ Is Swaggering Advocacy Group’s Ambition
Posted by Greenwire: John Mcardle on May 24th, 2011
Greenwire: The federal Merit System Protection Board reinstatement this year of U.S. Park Police Chief Teresa Chambers was a landmark victory in the annals of whistleblower protection law and a crowning achievement for Chambers' legal team at the nonprofit Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). But PEER executive director Jeff Ruch is the first to admit his group's mission of "protecting employees who protect our environment" is not necessarily best served through drawn-out legal battles...
Jury Rules for EPA in 21-Year Battle With Cranberry Farmer
Posted by Greenwire: John Mcardle on April 27th, 2011
Greenwire: One of U.S. EPA's longest ongoing enforcement matters is about to be wrapped up after a federal jury ruled this week that the Clean Water Act protects 46 acres of wetlands filled in by a Massachusetts cranberry farmer more than two decades ago.
EPA has argued that the site's connections to navigable waterways gave it jurisdiction, but the property owner has spent more than $2 million trying to prove the government is overstepping its authority and that no wetlands ever existed on his land near...
Rep. Whitfield Scores One for Coal, Stripping $1.5M From ‘Greening the Capitol’
Posted by Greenwire: John Mcardle on February 17th, 2011
Greenwire: Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.) won a victory for the coal industry in the wee hours of the morning today when the House adopted a relatively cheap but highly symbolic amendment to the fiscal 2011 continuing resolution. Whitfield's amendment, which was adopted by voice vote at about 1 a.m. this morning, stripped $1.5 million from the House's Greening the Capitol initiative, a program begun in 2007 under then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to make Congress an example of energy efficiency in the workplace....