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☆ Man charged with smuggling greenhouse gases from Mexico into US in first-of-a-kind prosecution
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-05 | by ( Laura Paddison | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —A California man was arrested and charged Monday with allegedly smuggling potent, planet-heating greenhouse gases from Mexico, marking the first such prosecution in the US, according to a statement from the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California. He is then alleged to have sold them for a profit on sites including Facebook Marketplace and OfferUp. These greenhouse gases are short-lived in the atmosphere, but powerful — some are thousands of times more potent than carbon dioxide in the near-term. “The illegal smuggling of hydrofluorocarbons, a highly potent greenhouse gas, undermines international efforts to combat climate change,” said David M. Uhlmann, the assistant administrator for the EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. In 2016, nearly 200 nations including the US agreed to the Kigali Amendment to reduce planet-heating pollution from these greenhouse gases.

Persons: Michael Hart, Hart, Todd Kim, HFCs, ”, David M, Tara McGrath, ” Hart Organizations: CNN, US, Office, Southern, Southern District of, Facebook, Justice Department’s, Natural Resources, Environmental Protection Agency, EPA’s, UN Environment, AC, Department of Justice Locations: California, Mexico, Southern District, Southern District of California, San Diego, United States, Kigali

WASHINGTON (AP) — Efforts by the Biden administration to limit pollution from automobile tailpipes — a major source of planet-warming emissions — face a crucial test as legal challenges brought by Republican-led states head to a federal appeals court. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit will hear arguments Thursday and Friday on three cases challenging Biden administration rules targeting cars and trucks. The cases before the appeals court will test a 2021 Environmental Protection Agency rule that strengthened tailpipe pollution limits and a 2022 EPA decision that restored California’s authority to set its own tailpipe pollution standards for cars and SUVs. The court cases come as the Biden administration pushes the auto industry to quickly adopt electric vehicles as part of its climate agenda. “Far from doing something unexpected or novel'' in the tailpipe pollution rule, "EPA merely tightened existing standards,'' Kim wrote.

Persons: Biden, Ken Paxton, Joe, ”, Paxton, Dave Yost, Peter Zalzal, ″, Pete Huffman, Todd Kim, “, Kim, Zalzal Organizations: WASHINGTON, Republican, U.S, Appeals, District of Columbia, Biden, Transportation, Supreme, Environmental, Agency, EPA, National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, Texas, GOP, Texas Senate, Environmental Defense Fund, Natural Resources Defense Council, NHTSA, Justice Department's, Natural Resources, General Motors, Ford, GM, Alliance, Automotive Innovation, EV, Auto Innovators, Department, EDF Locations: U.S, California, Russia, Ukraine, Texas, Ohio, West Virginia

☆ DOJ sues son of West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice and his coal empire over millions in unpaid fines
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Kevin Breuninger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The Department of Justice on Wednesday accused the son of West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice and 13 coal companies the younger Justice owns or operates of failing to pay millions of dollars in penalties for environmental violations. The Republican governor last month launched his campaign for the Senate seat held by Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin. A spokesman for Justice's Senate campaign did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment. Democrats weaponizing the federal government to attack the family of a Republican Senate candidate is a complete abuse of power."

Persons: Jim Justice, Jay Justice, Todd Kim, Kim, Democratic Sen, Joe Manchin, Tate Mitchell, Joe Organizations: Justice, West Virginia Gov, DOJ, Natural Resources, Republican, Democratic, Senate, National Republican, Joe Biden's Department of Justice, Republican Senate Locations: West Virginia

The settlement between BP Products North America Inc., the Justice Department and the Environmental Protection Agency will also require the company to invest approximately $197 million in new technology and other capital improvements to reduce air pollution. The BP refinery near Lake Michigan released nearly 16 times the legal limit of benzene allowed by the Clean Air Act, the EPA said in 2009. Following the EPA's investigation, BP spent about $4 billion to expand the Whiting refinery to process heavy Canadian crude. The company also agreed to undertake a $5 million supplemental environmental project to reduce diesel emissions in the communities surrounding the Whiting Refinery and install 10 air pollutant monitoring stations. Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch and Laura Sanicola in Washington; Editing by Chizu NomiyamaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

“After years of neglect, Jackson’s water system finally reached a breaking point this summer, leaving tens of thousands of people without any running water for weeks. Lumumba said Monday that his administration intends to cooperate with federal officials. In late 2019, the state Health Department notified the EPA about concerns with the city’s water system. An inspection by the EPA raised alarms about problems, including not having enough properly credentialed staff members at the city’s water treatment plants. Mark Chalos, an attorney who filed the most recent class-action lawsuit, said many Jacksonians remain suspicious of the city’s water quality.

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