Posts Tagged ‘Air Pollution’
A Burning Problem
Students on an Alternative Spring Break tackle the problem of illegal trash fires and their associated health risks.
Read MoreUnder Pressure: A Fractured Relationship with Natural Gas
Across the East, fracking for natural gas is advancing in starts and stops — as some states embrace the practice, another bans it, and still more consider the risks and potential rewards of entering the fracking fray.
Read MoreSupreme Court Hears Challenges to Mercury Air Toxics Standards
In March, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments regarding the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s regulation of air pollutants from power plants.
Read MoreRevisions Expected for Surface Mine Blasting Rules
The federal Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement announced that it will revise current rules to prevent toxic gas emissions from surface coal mine blasting operations.
Read MoreHigh Courts Support Air Pollution Standards
By Brian Sewell A series of recent court rulings have supported air pollution standards proposed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, adding to the challenges facing utilities that rely heavily on coal. In April, a federal appeals court upheld the EPA’s Mercury and Air Toxics Standard, a rule finalized in 2011 targeting emissions of mercury…
Read MoreRegional Roundup
‘Ag-gag’ bills Considered in Tenn., N.C. North Carolina became the 11th state this year to consider a form of an “ag-gag” bill, which limits the spread of information about agricultural practices through laws about employee practices. Called the “Commerce Protection Act,” the North Carolina bill was proposed by Senators Brent Jackson, Wesley Meredith and Jim…
Read MoreRegional Roundup
A Failure To Cooperate Over Wilderness Right-of-Way Rutherford Electric Membership Corporation filed a condemnation petition in January that would allow the utility to build power lines through Box Creek Wilderness, a 5,100-acre tract of preserved forest east of Asheville, N.C. REMC says the utility needs the line to supply power to members in McDowell County…
Read MoreVested Power: State-Level Legislative Agendas in 2013
By Brian Sewell, J.W. Randolph and Nathan Jenkins At the state level, the public often has greater access and input on decisions and the processes of their governments. But so do special interests — especially campaign funders and industries that play a significant role in state and large-scale economies. State governments in Appalachia create their…
Read MoreEPA Issues First-Ever National Mercury and Air Toxic Standards
In December 2011, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued the Mercury and Air Toxic Standards, the first-ever national standards to protect families from mercury and toxic air pollutants emitted by power plants. Pollutants from coal-fired power plants include arsenic, acid gas, nickel, selenium and cyanide. The standards will cut these emissions with proven pollution controls…
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