Apr 24, 2013 — A Malone-based company will have to install new equipment to detect leaks at gas stations it owns across the North Country. Federal officials already fined Adirondack Energy $46,000.  Go to full article

Apr 01, 2013 — The company that built Massena will keep its plants open there for at least another 30 years.

Alcoa announced Saturday it will invest $42 million to modernize its East plant and build a new smelting the line. The company will also guarantee at least 900 jobs. In return, Alcoa will get low cost electricity from the hydropower dam on the St. Lawrence River.

The deal hinges on how the Environmental Protection Agency decides to clean up PCBs Alcoa and Reynolds dumped in the Grasse River decades ago.

David Sommerstein joined Martha Foley for more on the deal.  Go to full article

Old Forge, NY, Dec 17, 2012 — The Adirondacks' beloved icon, the Common Loon, has left for its winter home on the Atlantic coast.

Loons have enjoyed unprecedented population growth over the last 30 years. They outlived DDT and a time when people used to shoot loons for sport. But a recent study says things could have been even better. This time the culprit is mercury pollution.  Go to full article

Syracuse, NY, Apr 13, 2012 — 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.  Go to full article

Carthage, NY, Aug 23, 2011 — 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.  Go to full article

Washington, DC, Jan 13, 2010 — The Environmental Protection Agency has released its first comprehensive survey of the nation's lakes. Samara Freemark tells us what the study turned up.  Go to full article

Midland Charter Township, MI, Nov 13, 2009 — 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.  Go to full article

New York, NY, Nov 09, 2009 — 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.  Go to full article

Fort Edward, NY, May 29, 2009 — 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.  Go to full article

Fort Edward, NY, May 18, 2009 — 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.  Go to full article