Latest Pollution Headlines

All the headlines from our Pollution Topic Page, ordered by recency.

‘Diesel Brothers’ TV Show Appeals Utah Air Pollution Fine

Apr 20 2020 // The stars of the “Diesel Brothers” reality TV show are appealing a federal court ruling requiring them to pay $848,000 to the U.S. government and a Utah county over pollution law violations.U.S. District Judge...

10 Years Later: Oil Drilled Deeper; Rules Relaxed After BP Oil Spill

Apr 20 2020 // Ten years after an oil rig explosion killed 11 workers and unleashed an environmental nightmare in the Gulf of Mexico, companies are drilling in deeper and deeper waters, where payoffs can be huge but risks are greater...

Supreme Court Sides with BP Unit to Curtail Montana Superfund Cleanup Suits

Apr 20 2020 // The U.S. Supreme Court handed BP Plc unit Atlantic Richfield Co. a victory on Monday, making it harder for Montana landowners to seek a more extensive cleanup of a hazardous waste site than the federal government had...

White House Moves to Weaken EPA Rule on Toxic PFA Compounds in Consumer Products

Apr 20 2020 // The Trump White House has intervened to weaken one of the few public health protections pursued by its own administration, a rule to limit the use of a toxic industrial compound in consumer products, according to...

D&O Insurance Coverage and Coronavirus: Avoiding Exclusions

Apr 20 2020 // Sometimes an article needs an introduction to put the subject in context for the reader. Sadly, no introduction is needed for the coronavirus. It will have affected everyone who reads this. Some will have suffered...

California Supreme Court Ruling Will Enable Montrose to Tap Excess Policies

Apr 20 2020 // A decision earlier this month by the California Supreme Court gave policyholders with long-tail environmental claims a potentially big win, finding that polices within each policy period can be vertically stacked.The...

California Supreme Court Ruling Will Enable Montrose to Tap Excess Policies

Apr 7 2020 // A decision this week by the California Supreme Court gave policyholders with long-tail environmental claims a potentially big win, finding that polices within each policy period can be vertically stacked.The decision was...

Delaware Judge Dismisses Chemours Lawsuit Against DuPont

Apr 1 2020 // A Delaware judge has granted the DuPont Co.’s request to dismiss a lawsuit alleging that it massively downplayed the cost of environmental liabilities imposed on spinoff company Chemours.Vice Chancellor Sam Glasscock...

Chemours Claims Against DuPont Over Environmental Liabilities Left to Arbitration

Apr 1 2020 // A Delaware judge has granted the DuPont Co.’s request to dismiss a lawsuit alleging that it massively downplayed the cost of environmental liabilities imposed on spinoff company Chemours.Vice Chancellor Sam Glasscock...

Judge Won’t Halt Salvage of Capsized Ship on Georgia Coast

Mar 31 2020 // A federal judge ruled she will not halt removal of a capsized cargo ship along the Georgia coast while a salvage company that lost the job to a competitor sues the U.S. Coast Guard.The decision by U.S. District Court Judge...

Oil Industry Seeks Easing of Environmental Regulation During Pandemic

Mar 26 2020 // The Environmental Protection Agency said this week that it’s reviewing a request from the oil and gas industry to ease enforcement of hazardous air and water pollution and other regulatory issues during the...

Coronavirus (COVID-19): Does Business Income Respond?

Mar 24 2020 // Over the past two weeks, the VU has received countless questions concerning COVID-19 (the coronavirus) and the business income policy. As authorities require businesses to limit activities or shut down completely, the fear...

Commentary: Does Business Income Insurance Cover Coronavirus Shutdowns?

Mar 24 2020 // On March 16, a lawsuit was filed in district court in New Orleans seeking a declaratory judgment about whether the business income coverage in a Lloyd’s property policy would cover a government-mandated shutdown or...

Restaurant Suit Tests Business Interruption Insurance for Coronavirus Shutdowns

Mar 19 2020 // A restaurant in the heart of the New Orleans tourism district filed a lawsuit on Monday asking a state judge for a declaratory judgment that its business-interruption policy will cover its damages if it is ordered to close...

Louisiana Chemical Plant Asks Regulators to Allow Higher Emissions of Potential Toxin

Mar 18 2020 // A Louisiana chemical plant that agreed to lower its emissions of a potentially harmful toxin now wants to raise them based on research indicating the compound is safe at much higher levels than what federal environmental...

Pipeline Owner Agrees to Pay $60M in 2015 California Spill

Mar 16 2020 // The owner of an oil pipeline that spewed thousands of barrels of crude oil onto Southern California beaches in 2015 will pay $60 million to to settle allegations that it violated safety laws, the U.S. Environmental...

U.S. Jury Awards Four VW Diesel Owners $100K in Punitive Damages Over Cheating

Mar 11 2020 // A U.S. jury in California on Monday awarded the drivers of four Volkswagen AG vehicles a total of $100,000 as punitive damages for being sold diesel vehicles that emitted excess pollution, although the amount awarded was a...

Ex-Tenant Sues Oregon RV Park for $555K over Living Conditions

Mar 5 2020 // A former tenant at an RV park south of Warrenton, Ore., has filed a lawsuit against the owner alleging negligence over living conditions in a trailer.Sandra Holloway moved into a “dry trailer” at Sunset Lake...

Georgia County to Test Water for Coal Ash Contamination

Mar 3 2020 // Officials in a central Georgia county say they will pay to test water wells for coal ash contamination.Monroe County Manager Jim Hedges tells WGXA-TV that the county will pay $10,000 to test about 55 private wells across...

Walsh Duffield Announces Partnership with New York’s OSEA

Mar 3 2020 // Walsh Duffield, a fifth-generation, family owned insurance company, has partnered with OSEA Inc., a 30-year-old environmental, health, safety and security consulting firm, to provide risk management services to its...