The U.S Army Corps unveiled a $1.7-billion, 10-year plan this week to restore the ailing Anacostia River in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area to health. U.S. officials brief public on river cleanup. The plan, two years in the making, identifies 3,000 projects to help restore the severely polluted river and watershed spanning 176 sq miles of land through a combination of stormwater controls, stream restoration, wetland creation and restoration, fish blockage removal, reforestation and controlling trash and chemical contamination “Now we can begin even more aggressive action to clean up the Anacostia River,” said U.S. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer
Editor’s Note: Portions of this article originally appeared on ENR.com. The warning shot came in a federal court in Louisiana, and it may signal the beginning of the end of one of the more costly aspects of the homebuilding boom of 2004-2007. Federal Judge Eldon Fallon in New Orleans ordered Taishan Gypsum Co. Ltd. to pay seven Virginia families a total of $2.6 million to remediate defective Chinese-made drywall in their homes. The case is the first of several class-action lawsuits filed against manufacturers of material that has proven to be a veritable nightmare—and source of odors—for thousands of homeowners.
A federal judge has slammed the Environmental Protection Agency, threatening to hold the agency in contempt of court for failing to curb nutrient pollution in the Florida Everglades. Judge Alan Gold of the Southern District of Florida on April 15 ordered EPA to establish specific milestones to ensure Florida reduces phosphorus to levels mandated by the Clean Water Act. The judge also suspended the state of Florida’s power to issue new water-pollution discharge permits and required EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson to appear in person before the court in October to provide a progress report. EPA says it is reviewing the
More than 100 House Democrats have asked President Obama to help find a “dedicated revenue source” for the high-speed-rail program. In an April 14 letter to Obama, the 106 lawmakers did not specify which options they favor. High-speed rail got $8 billion in the stimulus package and $2.5 billion in 2010 appropriations. However, the legislators say that with budgets tight, high-speed rail cannot keep relying on authorizations and appropriations.
Some construction industry groups are concerned about a potential proposal from the White House they say would allow federal procurement officers to “blacklist” contractors based on an new pre-screening scoring system. President Obama reportedly is considering issuing an executive order to make changes in the Federal Acquisition Regulation, says Marco Giamberardino, a senior director at the Associated General Contractors. He says the proposal may resemble recommendations from the National Employment Law Center for “high-road” contracting, which gives preference to firms that provide wages or benefits exceeding current federal requirements. The recommendations also raise questions about what criteria would be used
The warning shot came in a federal court in Louisiana, and it may signal the beginning of the end of one more costly aspect of the homebuilding boom of 2004-2007. Federal Judge Eldon Fallon in New Orleans ordered Taishan Gypsum Co. Ltd. to pay seven Virginia families a total of $2.6 million to remediate defective Chinese-made drywall in their homes. The case is the first of several class-action lawsuits filed against manufacturers of material that has proven to be a veritable nightmare—and source of odors—for thousands of home-owners. + Image Source: U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission Photo: AP/Wideworld Consumer Product
International donors have pledged $5.3 billion for the first stage of a plan to help earthquake-devastated Haiti rebuild. Among pledges made at a March 31 conference was $1.15 billion from the U.S. Haiti says it will need $3.9 billion for the 18-month first phase of the plan. The Jan. 12 magnitude-7 quake caused more than 220,000 deaths and destroyed about $4.3 billion in housing, roads and other infrastructure.
The Environmental Protection Agency on April 1 issued guidance that for the first time provides a numeric benchmark to measure the level of salt in water affected by mountaintop mining in Appalachia. Currently, states use “narrative” standards, which do not include numeric benchmarks. The guidance, a blow to the mining industry, identifies a range of conductivity of 300-500 microSiemens per centimeter in streams affected by mining runoff. The guidance took effect immediately but may be modified after a public comment period, EPA says. Ed Hopkins, the Sierra Club’s director of environmental programs, says the new policy will make it easier
New guidance from the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the Dept. of Housing and Urban Development, released on April 2, recommends homeowners replace all potentially defective drywall as well as electrical components, wiring, gas-service piping, sprinkler systems and smoke and carbon monoxide alarms that may have been affected by the drywall. Also released on April 2 were preliminary data from a Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory study measuring chemical emissions from drywall. The results show a clear distinction between drywall made in China in 2005 and 2006 and non-Chinese wallboard samples from 2009. Certain Chinese samples had hydrogen-sulfide emission rates 100
Plans to build a new, $50-million facility to recycle fly ash in southern Maryland for Atlanta-based Mirant could fall through if the Environmental Protection Agency designates the coal combustion by-product as a hazardous waste, says Mirant’s Misty Allen , the utility’s director of external affairs. Photo: The Sefa Group The proposed recycling facility would use a new technology that burns 100% of carbon from coal ash. Allen says Mirant filed an application on March 26 with the Maryland Public Service Commission to build a facility in Morgantown, Md., that would recycle up to 400,000 tons of coal ash per year.
