Topic: Clean Water Act

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In Pictures: Companies that have paid big for environmental disasters
In Pictures: Big Environmental Disasters

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BP engineer arrested in Gulf oil spill

Former BP engineer Kurt Mix is accused of deleting text messages that revealed the true scope of the disaster.
First BP oil spill arrest: Why put the squeeze on a mid-level engineer?

The first criminal charges brought in the 2010 BP oil spill – against Kurt Mix, a former BP engineer – show that the government still seeks the answer to an essential question in the spill’s aftermath: Did BP tell the truth about what it knew about the size of the spill? At stake are billions in fines.
Focus
Arizona immigration law: states vs. Obama at US Supreme Court, again

The US Supreme Court is set to hear arguments Wednesday concerning the tough Arizona immigration law. Key question: Does the state statute usurp federal authority to set immigration policy?
BP oil spill settlement: Justice for 100,000 Gulf Coast victims?

The estimated total cost of the settlement will be about $7.8 billion, which makes it one of the largest class-action settlements in US history. The BP oil spill settlement was filed Wednesday.
EPA wetlands order can be challenged by land owners, Supreme Court rules

The Idaho couple, saying the ‘EPA used bullying and threats of terrifying fines’ to halt building of their dream home, thanks Supreme Court justices for ‘affirming’ their right to a court hearing.
BP faces billions in fines as spill trial nears

The huge legal bill for the catastrophic 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is coming due for BP as a federal trial opens Monday to determine the company’s liability for the blowout of its Macondo well.
Supreme Court to hear case of dream home quashed by EPA

The Supreme Court on Monday will hear arguments in a case that shows the EPA is out of control, property-rights advocates say. Environmentalists say the couple involved is merely trying to scapegoat the EPA.
Gulf oil spill could result in criminal charges for BP employees

The Wall Street Journal reports that federal prosecutors are targeting several Houston-based engineers and at least one supervisor employed by British oil giant BP connected to the 2010 Gulf oil spill.
Farmers, EPA clash over Chesapeake Bay regulations

Stricter Chesapeake Bay rules may hurt farmers, who say they’re already doing their part to clean it up.
Costly fence on US-Mexico border is effective – only in hurting nature

In addition to sinking $1 billion into the failed "virtual fence," the US government has spent $2.6 billion for 650 miles of solid border. This wall doesn’t deter people – but it does defy the laws that protect the land.
The Vote
House passes spending bill, but the fight's just starting

Republicans in the House pushed through a spending bill that targets many popular programs in a way sure to set up confrontation with the Democrat-run Senate and the Obama administration.
House's frenzy of budget cuts: defund military bands, ban White House repairs

There's still no federal budget for 2011, so House members are trying to come up with a stopgap 'continuing resolution' with billions in cuts. What to cut? House members are making hundreds of proposals this week.
Gulf oil spill report warning: US must watch offshore drilling more closely

President Obama's commission to investigate the Gulf oil spill suggested wide-reaching reforms to avoid another disaster, including new oversight of the offshore-drilling industry.
US sues BP, eight others to cover cleanup, losses from Gulf oil spill

Justice Department seeks unlimited payments from BP and other companies to cover cleanup costs, economic losses from this year's huge Gulf oil spill. The civil suit alleges safety lapses by BP and others.
Robert Dudley BP CEO to take over Friday; dividend payments might resume next year

Robert Dudley BP CEO begins his new job on Friday. Thursday, Dudley was discussing what BP has and will become under his watch.
Global warming heats up a nuclear energy renaissance

Global warming and the BP oil spill have helped rehabilitate nuclear energy in the eyes of the public – and some environmentalists.
BP oil spill: New York Fed checking on Wall Street firms' exposure to oil company

BP oil spill: The New York Federal Reserve is investigating Wall Street firms' exposure to the oil company, in the event BP goes bankrupt over the Gulf oil spill.
In Pictures: Companies that have paid big for environmental disasters
At Saturday talks, Obama and Cameron to discuss BP oil spill

The BP oil spill is likely to dominate talks between US President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister James Cameron, on Saturday.
Oil spill jail time for BP officials? It could happen.

BP officials could be prosecuted under the Clean Water Act, the Oil Pollution Act, and the Endangered Species Act. So could federal officials if they aided and abetted any illegal acts.
Did BP intentionally 'low-ball' the extent of the Gulf oil spill?

US Geological Survey estimates on the flow of oil from the wrecked wellhead are more than double what BP has been claiming, leading some to accuse BP of misrepresenting the flow of oil to minimize fines.
In Pictures: Big Environmental Disasters
Ocean acidification: another path to EPA rules on carbon emissions?

In a legal settlement Thursday, the EPA agreed to help states test coastal waters for acidity, and to weigh whether to tighten rules on carbon emissions to address ocean acidification.
Green Economics
The Clean Water Act and the economics of ambiguity

If the Supreme Court narrows the ambiguous definitions in the Clean Water Act, will companies create new domestic pollution havens?
Research finds higher acidity in Alaska waters

Alaska's marine waters are turning acidic from absorption of greenhouse gases faster than tropical waters.