epa
-
Xcel Energy agrees to pay $925K fine to settle with EPA over coal ash disposal
The Environmental Protection Agency announced a settlement Monday with Xcel Energy over alleged violations of EPA coal-ash disposal guidelines at Xcel’s Comanche power plant in Pueblo. According to the EPA, Xcel has agreed to “return to compliance” with the EPA’s Coal Combustion Residuals program and pay a $925,000 civil penalty. The EPA alleges that Xcel…
-
Commerce City’s Suncor refinery faces new pollution regulations
The Suncor refinery in Commerce City is facing new pollution control standards from the state as the Colorado Air Pollution Control Division moves forward on updating long-expired air pollution permits that Suncor applied to renew in 2010 and 2016. Under Title V of the 1990 Clean Air Act, state and federal regulators are required to…
-
Colorado organizations net $75k in EPA grants
Five Colorado organizations will receive $75,000 each from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for local projects that help improve and sustain the health of their community. Those receiving awards from the Environmental Justice Small Grants program are: Groundwork Denver, which provides energy efficiency and winterization assistance Ute Mountain Ute Tribe in Towaoc Rocky Mountain Sustainable…
-
EPA IG: Pruitt’s resignation left ethics probes inconclusive
WASHINGTON – The internal watchdog at the Environmental Protection Agency has closed two probes into the conduct of former Administrator Scott Pruitt as inconclusive because investigators were unable to interview him before he resigned. EPA Acting Inspector General Charles Sheehan said in a report sent to Congress this week that Pruitt’s departure left his investigators…
-
EPA wrestles with how to regulate toxic chemicals in Colorado aquifer
The acronyms read like a helping of toxic alphabet soup: PFOA, PFOS, PFNA, PFHpA. They number in the thousands – each representing a different compound with the same chemical foundation as those contaminating the aquifer beneath the El Paso County towns of Security, Widefield and Fountain, near Colorado Springs. But as the number of those…
-
EPA seeks dismissal of Gold King Mine spill lawsuit
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is asking a federal court in New Mexico to toss out a lawsuit over a mine waste spill in Colorado that polluted rivers in three states.The agency said in a motion this week that workers are already working on the cleanup of the accidental release of contaminated…
-
Andrew Wheeler aims to complete Trump’s deregulatory agenda at EPA
Andrew Wheeler, acting administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, has a lot of work ahead of him to complete the deregulatory agenda started by his recently departed predecessor, Scott Pruitt. Wheeler says he’s ready to make a lasting impact, whether or not he is confirmed as EPA’s permanent leader. “Of course we are absolutely implementing…
-
THE PODIUM | Litigation, studies won’t clean up the Animas River
As the third anniversary of the EPA-caused Gold King mine disaster approaches, real question exists as to whether the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency can overcome an inherent conflict of interest and properly manage the Bonita Peak Mining District Superfund Site to improve water quality in the Animas River. The EPA could demonstrate such capability by…
-
EPA accelerates cleanup of Pueblo Superfund neighborhoods
PUEBLO – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says it will accelerate the cleanup of three Pueblo neighborhoods that were contaminated by a smelter.The agency said Friday it will increase funding for the Colorado Smelter Superfund site to as much as $15 million a year, more than twice the current amount. EPA says that means the…
-
EPA’s new leader lobbied for Colo. uranium company on shrinking Bears Ears
The man who will replace Scott Pruitt at the helm of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency – at least temporarily – is a former lobbyist who represented a Colorado uranium company. Andrew Wheeler was narrowly confirmed by the Senate as EPA’s deputy administrator in April despite opposition from environmentalists and most Senate Democrats. He will…