Tag: Environmental Protection Agency

HURRICANE HARVEY

EPA orders more repairs at the San Jacinto River Waste Pits, following Harvey

Posted on · The companies say the protection offered by the cap now covering the site is sufficient, and are opposed to the expensive cleanup. The EPA's plan calls for ringing the site with a temporary dam and digging up 212,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediments, enough to fill about 16,000 dump trucks.

Engines Podcast

Engines of Our Ingenuity 3141: Greenhouse Gases

Posted on · Episode: 3141 An analysis of greenhouse gases and climate change.  Today, a closer look at greenhouse gases.

Houston Matters

Inside Oral Arguments in a Critical Case Over the Clean Power Plan

Posted on · The full D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals Tuesday (Sept. 27, 2016) heard oral arguments over a case challenging the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan. West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency is seen by many environmental and industry watchers as one of the most important environmental cases in nearly a decade, as it will decide whether […]

Houston Matters

An Update on the San Jacinto Waste Pits Superfund Site

Posted on · In 2005, Texas Parks and Wildlife discovered what became known as the San Jacinto Waste Pits in Pasadena, where Champion Paper Mill had once contracted with a company to dispose of industrial waste. That company chose to place that waste in pits along the San Jacinto river. In 2008, the Environmental Protection Agency declared the […]

Houston Matters

Why Houston Might Struggle Living Up to the EPA’s New Smog Rules

Posted on · They’ve been part of the Houston landscape for decades: giant flares that burn off explosive gases from refineries and petrochemical plants. But the pollution they emit, as well as exhaust from many thousands of vehicles, has been reduced in Houston. The amount of ozone that’s created by pollution when hit with sunlight used to exceed federal standards […]

Houston Matters

Understanding the President’s Clean Power Plan — and Reactions To It

Posted on · Last week, President Obama, flanked by EPA Chief Gina McCarthy, presented a revised “Clean Power Plan” setting standards to reduce carbon dioxide emissions 32 percent from 2005 levels by 2030. That’s 9 percent more than the administration’s previously proposed rules. The plan requires states to submit plans to meet that goal. Reaction here in Texas and across the […]

Houston Matters

Understanding and Combating Houston’s Ozone and Air Pollution Problems

Posted on · The American Lung Association recently released it’s annual “State of the Air” report, which studied air quality data from 2011 through 2013. While Houston isn’t among the worst U.S. cities for some types of pollution, the report ranks Houston/The Woodlands among the top ten when it comes to ozone pollution (smog). The report comes a […]