News stories tagged with "epa"

(04/13/12) For the first time in a long time, political observers had been eyeing New York's Republican Presidential Primary, wondering if New York voters might actually have an impact on who's running for the White House. But it appears the GOP nominee has all but been decided before a single ballot is cast in the Empire State.

The Innovation Trail's Zack Seward looks at Mitt Romney's positions on a couple of key economic issues.

Marie Cusick, Ryan Delaney, Matt Richmond and Daniel Robison contributed reporting on this story. The Innovation Trail is a collaboration between five upstate public media outlets, reporting on New York's innovation economy. Support comes from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. more

(08/23/11) The state Department of Environmental Conservation is joining the Federal Environmental Protection Agency in the effort to clean up a heavily polluted half-mile section of the Black River.

Paper mills and other industry along the river near the villages of Carthage and West Carthage, left it heavily polluted. The area was declared an EPA Superfund site last year. But it's still heavily used for fishing, rafting and kayaking, and there are several homes along the polluted stretch. more

(01/13/10) The Environmental Protection Agency has released its first comprehensive survey of the nation's lakes. Samara Freemark tells us what the study turned up. more

(11/13/09) The Environmental Protection Agency was to be in Ft Edward last night for an information session on the dredging of PCB-laden sediment from the Hudson River. The $780 million project is expected to take six years. It's the biggest clean up of a river in the country. The first phase of the cleanup concluded in October.

PCBs are considered probable carcinogens. General Electric plants in Fort Edward and neighboring Hudson Falls dumped PCB-contaminated wastewater into the Hudson for decades before PCBs were banned in 1977. GE has been doing the clean up, supervised by the EPA. They'll review this past summer's work over the winter. The next dredging work is expected in 2011.

GE fought the plan to dredge PCBs for years. Spokesman Mark Behan told the Albany Times Union the company has not committed to continue to pay for the clean up when dredging resumes.

A fight over dioxin pollution from a Dow Chemical plant in central Michigan also dates back over 30 years. It's a local issue that's made national news, like the Hudson River PCBs. And it's still unresolved, despite administration changes, Congressional hearings, and whistle-blower awards. Shawn Allee met the man who first took the issue to Congress and who feels it should make news again. more

(11/09/09) Late last week, the Environmental Protection Agency announced that Judith Enck has been chosen as Regional Director for the district that includes New York state. That means she'll have oversight over environmental projects along the St. Lawrence Seaway, the dredging of the Hudson River - as well as dozens of smaller superfund sites across the North Country. Until this month, Enck served as Governor David Paterson's deputy secretary of the environment. She has also been an environmental activist in New York. Brian Mann spoke about Enck's appointment with Martha Foley.

(05/29/09) Four hundred years after Henry Hudson sailed up the river that bears his name, one of the biggest toxic waste cleanups ever is underway. It's an attempt to restore the Hudson to health. Environmentalists fought more than 30 years for the cleanup, but not everyone's on board. As part of a collaboration with Northeast stations, David Chanatry reports.

(05/18/09) After decades of research, litigation and political wrangling, General Electric is finally dredging tons of PCB-contaminated muck from the upper Hudson River. The first scoop was pulled from the river Friday morning. It's expected to be one of the biggest and most challenging environmental clean-ups in US history. This morning, Brian Mann has a special in-depth look at the battle over the future of the Hudson River.

(05/15/09) The Environmental Protection Agency's budget has a lot of money for green energy projects, dealing with climate change and creating green jobs. But as Lester Graham reports, the EPA will also deal with old fashioned environmental issues such as pollution.

(08/06/07) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has allowed the number of its criminal investigators to drop below levels mandated by Congress. As Tracy Samilton reports, former EPA officials say that could hurt enforcement activities across the nation.

(06/22/06) New York and 15 other states have filed suit against the Environmental Protection Agency. They say the agency's mercury reduction plan doesn't go far enough. Mercury is a neurotoxin that can cause brain damage in children, even in small doses. gregory Warner reports.