Marine Pollution Control8631 West Jefferson Avenue
Detroit, MI 48209 USA
313.849.2333 - 24/hour
11320 E Lakewood Blvd., #11
Holland, MI 49424
800-521-8232 – 24/Hour
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EPA fines Washington fuel distributor $27,500 for lack of oil spill prevention plan
August 22, 2013
A fuel distributor in Yakima, Wash., has agreed to pay the U.S. EPA $27,522 to settle multiple violations of Clean Water Act oil spill prevention rules and requirements at its facility.
EPA inspectors at the Wondrack Distributing Inc. facility noted that a spill prevention plan had not been fully implemented, according to the report. Inspectors also found that secondary fuel containment on site had breaches from unknown piping and cracks in the walls.
If an oil spill were to occur at the Wondrack facility, it could harm the nearby Yakima River, the report said. Facilities with the potential for oil spills, and more than 1,320 gallons of above-ground fuel storage capacity, must prevent discharges to waterways by using a detailed spill prevention and control plan.
Humans can rectify environmental mistakes
August 22, 2013
PORT CARLING - Human activity has impacted our planet in a lot of negative ways, but according to Dr. Norman D. Yan, people have made positive changes to fix past mistakes.
"We have had enormous problems in the past that we’ve repaired," he said in his lecture Environmental Good News Stories last Thursday evening in Port Carling.
He said good news stories have to be told because they give people hope about some of the problems we still face.
Google Cuts Carbon Footprint But Funds Climate Change Deniers
MOUNTAIN VIEW, California, August 15, 2013 (ENS) – Google’s self-confessed obsession with building energy efficient data centers and buying renewable energy has paid off. The search engine giant announced Tuesday that it reduced its carbon footprint by nine percent in 2012. But its recent funding of right-wing climate deniers has undermined its reputation as a green corporation.
Jolanka Nickerman, Google’s “Carbon Czarina,” blogs that in 2012 Google emitted 1.5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide, before purchasing high-quality carbon offsets to reduce that footprint to zero.
USF scientist says BP oil spill residue still on Florida shelf
August 22, 2013
A new report published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology by marine science professor at the University of South Florida Dr. John Paul suggests that Tampa Bay’s sea life is still in danger due to BP’s 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill and the chemicals used to disperse oil.
Colorado enforcers favor practical atonement for oil and gas spills
August 14, 2013
State government enforcers increasingly are letting oil and gas companies that break rules do public service projects instead of imposing formal penalties.
The shift reflects evolving efforts by the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission to cope with expanding industrial operations in a way that demonstrably helps harmed communities.
The COGCC "continually seeks to put into practice a robust enforcement program," COGCC director Matt Lepore wrote in response to Denver Post queries.
But Colorado's ability to minimize environmental harm is strained as the number of active wells statewide now exceeds 51,000 and the state has only 15 inspectors to keep track of them, as well as monitor cleanup at closed wells.