Advisen FPN

EPA: QEP Field Services to pay $4M over emissions	Environmental
DENVER-- Federal regulators say QEP Field Services Co. has agreed to pay $4 million to settle allegations it violated the Clean Air Act at five natural gas compressor stations on the Uintah and Ouray Reservation in Utah. The Environmental Protection Agency says the company, formerly known as Questar Gas Management Co., will pay a $3.65 million fine, plus...

Montana looks for more Exxon oil from 2011 spill	Environmental
The July 1 accident spilled an estimated 1,500 barrels of crude oil, or 63,000 gallons, into the Yellowstone River near Laurel. Department of Environmental Quality scientist Laura Alvey said that includes a sheen she saw last week on an island east of Laurel. Homeowner Jim Swanson had contacted the DEQ after seeing sheens along the river behind his Laurel house.

High-speed rail environmental exemptions sought	Workers Compensation
SACRAMENTO, Calif.-- California's high-speed rail chief says he's seeking environmental exemptions on the first 130- mile leg of the bullet train in the San Joaquin Valley. California High-Speed Rail Authority chairman Dan Richard said during a Tuesday state Senate hearing that the exemption would avoid any legal delays caused by an injunction, a...

Group threatens EPA with lawsuit over St. Croix alewives [Bangor Daily News, Maine]	Environmental
May 16-- ELLSWORTH, Maine-- Two individuals and a southern Maine organization are ramping up their legal fight to restore alewives to the St. Croix River, this time accusing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency of complicity in preventing the fish from spawning Down East. Friends of Merrymeeting Bay, Doug Watts of Augusta and Kathleen McGee of Bowdoinham have...

Groups sue over proposed NM coal mine expansion	Environmental
FARMINGTON, N.M. Environmentalists are suing the federal government over approval of a permit that allows for expansion of a coal mine in northwestern New Mexico. The Western Environmental Law Center filed the suit in federal court in Colorado on Tuesday. It names the Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation and Enforcement.

Pollution charges possible [Times Union, Albany, N.Y.]	Environmental
But in paperwork filed last week with the Securities and Exchange Commission, company CEO Craig Morrison provided a glimpse into the investigation, which involves problems with the plant's "hazardous waste incinerators" that could result in criminal charges. It was June 2009 when investigators from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Justice...

Fayette commissioners won't back shale lawsuit [Tribune-Review, Greensburg, Pa.]	Environmental
May 16-- Fayette County will not support a lawsuit filed against the state over oil and gas drilling regulations. Act 13, passed in February, allows local governments to enact an optional per-well fee on drillers, something Fayette County did earlier this year. "It would let them know that Fayette County would like them to address this issue," Troutman said.

Mondaq Business Briefing -Seyfarth Shaw LLP United States - The U.S. EPA Intends To Slash Federal Enforcement Programs And End Support Of Voluntary Disclosures Under Its Audit Policy	Environmental
The EPA intends to rely less on on-site inspections and more on non-physical investigations in the form of Requests for Information, administrative subpoenas, and electronic montoring and reporting. The EPA also intends to focus enforcement "in communities that are disproportionately affected by pollution" and other vulnerable communities, mainly urban...

Bankruptcy Court Allows Suit Against Delta Petroleum Executives	Environmental
A group of Delta Petroleum's securities investors, who say the company's stock traded at artificially high prices, have been given the go-ahead by the bankruptcy court to proceed with a lawsuit against Delta Petroleum's top executives. On April 18, shareholders filed a case with the U.S. District Court in Colorado against Delta Petroleum's chairman, chief executive and chief financial officer.

Allergies Are Tied to Urban Living	Environmental
Now there's another reason to get back to nature. A new study reveals that people who grow up in more-rural environments are less likely to develop allergies. The reason may be that environments rich with species harbor more friendly microbes, which colonize our bodies and protect against inflammatory disorders.

Global Warming Threatens Pine Forests, Forcing Federal Officials to Shift Strategy (Rocky Mountain National Park, Colo.)	Environmental
A few modest features distinguish the trunk of the limber pine standing among the trees near abandoned beaver ponds: a white, plastic pouch attached by a removable staple, a numerical metal tag secured with an aluminum nail and a printed warning: "Pouches on trees to repel mountain pine beetles. Pouches contain chemicals. Do Not Touch-Do Not Remove."

Green: A New Skirmish in the Ethanol Wars	Business & Economy
The auto and oil industries plan to release a report on Wednesday indicating that some cars running on E15, the 15 percent ethanol blend that was recently authorized by the Environmental Protection Agency, experienced engine damage. But officials at the Energy Department counter that the study is flawed and that the department's own research, which the E.P.A....

Potomac Tops List of Troubled U.S. Rivers	Environmental
A new report named the Potomac the nation's most endangered river, saying it is threatened by nutrient and sediment pollution that lowers the quality of drinking water and kills marine life and will only get worse if Congress rolls back regulations in the Clean Water Act.

Santa Clara Valley Water District under investigation for violating water pollution laws [San Jose Mercury News, Calif.]	Environmental
Prosecutors from the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office have notified the Santa Clara Valley Water District that the agency is facing fines of up to $25,000 in connection with the most recent spill, in early January at Coyote Reservoir. punishment, deterrence and compliance, "deputy district attorney Tina Nunes Ober wrote in a March 29 letter to...

Madigan sues Bartonville firm [Journal Star, Peoria, Ill.]	Environmental
Attorney General Lisa Madigan has sued a Bartonville company for allegedly violating the state's water pollution statutes by allowing too much chloride to flow into the Illinois River. The 26- page suit, filed May 9, says the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency inspected piles of road salt stored at Carrie Scharf Materials Co.' s facility along the...