BOSTON, Massachusetts, December 1, 2008 (ENS) – The U.S. EPA and the state of Massachusetts are about to impose stormwater permit controls on industrial, commercial and high-density residential facilities in the Charles River watershed. Stormwater containing high levels of phosphorus is blamed for neon blue-green algae blooms of toxic cyanobacteria that have taken over the…
BOSTON, Massachusetts, September 10, 2008 (ENS) – General Electric’s cleanup proposal for PCB contamination of the Housatonic River south of Pittsfield, Massachusetts raises more than 150 concerns, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The river sediment is polluted with polychlorinated biphenyls, PCBs, south of the GE property where the company formerly manufactured electrical equipment…
BOSTON, Massachusetts, September 8, 2008 (ENS) – Converting 41 acres of wetlands to corn and hay production areas on their Richford, Vermont dairy farm without a permit has cost Mark and Amanda St. Pierre more than $100,000. Under the terms of a legal settlement with the U.S. EPA and the U.S. Department of Justice, the…
BOSTON, Massachusetts, May 19, 2008 (ENS) – The Suffolk Downs, New England’s preeminent thoroughbred racing venue in East Boston, has been ordered to take immediate action to reduce pollutants being discharged to Sales Creek, a tributary to Boston Harbor. According to the U.S. EPA, Suffolk Downs is violating the federal Clean Water Act due to…
BOSTON, Massachusetts, April 28, 2008 (ENS) – The Charles River now has the best water quality for boating and swimming since the intensive Clean Charles Initiative began in 1995, federal and state environment officials said Friday. However, there still is growing concern about elevated levels of nutrients from stormwater runoff, especially phosphorus. The U.S. Environmental…
WOBURN, Massachusetts, March 3, 2008 (ENS) – Dredging of the Aberjona River and off-site disposal of contaminated sediments are included in a $31 million settlement agreement reached Wednesday between two companies and the federal government to handle cleanup at the Industri-Plex Superfund Site in Woburn, 12 miles north of Boston The Pharmacia Corporation, a successor…
BOSTON, Massachusetts, January 15, 2008 (ENS) – Three New England companies will pay penalties to resolve allegations that they violated federal oil storage regulations. The companies have operations in all six New England states, and two own and operate multiple oil storage facilities. Rice Oil Co. of Greenfield, Massachusetts; Irving Oil Co., a Canadian company…