Environmental violations include the improper disposal of waste, emissions of toxic substances, and illegal exploitation of natural resources. These practices can lead to significant environmental damage, including pollution of air and water, destruction of habitats, and loss of biodiversity. The repercussions are long-lasting, affecting the health of local communities, reducing the quality of natural resources, and contributing to global environmental crises like climate change.
Chemical Safety · EPA Enforcement At an Oregon facility storing more than a regulatory threshold of anhydrous hydrogen chloride, the EPA alleged gaps in hazard analysis and contractor safeguards. Rinchem neither admitted nor denied the allegations and certified that they…
Environmental Law | Clean Water Act | Washington State Two lawsuits accused a gold mine’s owner of violating its water pollution permit. A private group settled and the owner argued that ended the state’s case too. A federal appeals court…
Environmental enforcement Federal inspectors cited failed sensors, corrosion indicators, missing inspection records and other alleged deficiencies at a California facility handling more than 10,000 pounds of anhydrous ammonia. Airgas agreed to a $164,931 civil penalty while neither admitting nor denying…
Environmental enforcement Inspectors at the company’s Nitro, West Virginia, facility documented overdue hazardous waste, missing emergency-plan details, training gaps, unsigned shipment records and improperly managed fluorescent lamps. Dana Transport, Inc. · Nitro, West Virginia · EPA Docket No. RCRA-03-2026-0229 Hazardous…
Environmental enforcement Inside the EPA’s $98,000 Jefferson Road Stormwater Case Against Kokosing Federal and state inspectors cited damaged sediment controls, exposed slopes, concrete outside a washout and an unstabilized area beside Davis Creek. Kokosing signed a proposed settlement without admitting…
Chemical Regulation | Federal Court Ruling The Fifth Circuit vacated EPA’s 2024 methylene chloride rule, which prohibited 40 of 53 uses of a solvent the court acknowledges can cause injury or death. The ruling turns on how much risk the…
Federal Enforcement / CERCLA A Justice Department lawsuit filed in California doesn’t accuse anyone of fraud or a cover-up. It asks a simpler, older question: when a gold mine that opened in the 1890s leaves behind arsenic-laced tailings, who pays…
Environmental Enforcement / Superfund CERCLA D.N.J. Case No. 2:26-cv-11675 Filed September 10, 2026 TL;DR The DOJ, acting for the EPA, sued Environmental Resource Holdings, LLC (“ERH”) on September 10, 2026, under Section 106 of CERCLA. The suit seeks to compel…
Pipeline Safety / Environmental Enforcement A 2016 rupture in North Dakota’s Little Missouri National Grassland released approximately 14,400 barrels of crude oil. The federal government and North Dakota alleged that known geological risks, a mis-calibrated flow meter, and failures in…
Investigation · Corporate Accountability · Iowa TL;DR Global Fiberglass Solutions (GFS) contracted with General Electric and MidAmerican Energy in November 2017 to recycle roughly 1,300 decommissioned wind turbine blades in Iowa. Instead, the blades sat stockpiled at three sites for…