Government

WASHINGTON--Champion Chemical Company, Imperial Oil Company Inc. and Imperial's two former officers have agreed to pay at least $1.4 million to resolve actions to enforce a prior agreement to reimburse cleanup costs incurred by the federal government at the Imperial Oil Company Inc./Champion Chemical Company Superfund Site in Marlboro Township, NJ, the Department of Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced.

WASHINGTON--One year after officially opening its first green roof in midtown Manhattan, the Postal Service announced it continues to exceed its energy savings targets, placing the agency more than two thirds of the way to achieving its goal to reduce energy use by 30 percent by 2015.

On January 28, 1969, the Union Oil Platform A, an oil platform 5.5 miles off the coast of Santa Barbara, California, blew out and dumped 100,000 barrels of crude oil, according to an estimate by the U.S. Coast Guard. The well was 3,500 feet below the ocean floor, and the temporary cap did not work. Additional fissures opened up soon after. Union Oil promised to have the leak plugged in 24 hours, but it took 11 days, during which the oil flowed into the Santa Barbara Channel. More than 10,000 birds and other animal life died due to the disaster.

It was not an easy decision to post an unflattering piece about New York's junior senator. I held back for several months and made the decision based, in part, by mounting frustration about our legislative process. The disconnect between voter and elected official seems to be widening, even though the digital age was supposed to make us closer. The day when one could walk into a congressional representative's office or send a letter and expect an immediate reply is far gone.

Soon after the attempted, and thankfully foiled, terrorist attack by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, aka Underwear Bomber, on Christmas Day of 2009, there was much talk about what steps need to be taken to ensure this never happens again. One of the many ideas offered did not sit well with me, mostly due to my history as a cancer survivor. This particular plan was to give full body x-rays at airports, which could certainly prove unhealthy to those of us who have had radiation therapy in the past.

EAST BRUNSWICK, NJ--Whitman, New Jersey's leading environmental and engineering management firm, has announced that Dr. Ira Whitman, P.E., has been nominated by Governor Chris Christie to serve on the state’s Site Remediation Professional Licensing Board.

WASHINGTON--Representatives of We Can Lead, a coalition of more than 150 major U.S. businesses, including NRG Energy, Virgin America, PSEG, Target, eBay and Exelon, welcomed the introduction of a proposed framework for comprehensive energy and climate legislation, introduced by Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Joseph Lieberman (I-CT). The framework, titled "The American Power Act," reflects months of bi-partisan effort and sets the stage for a national dialogue on America's energy future

WASHINGTON--As the U.S. Senate determines how to move forward on current clean energy and climate proposals, dozens of everyday Americans, from Florida to Maine and in between, brought their homegrown support for clean energy legislation straight to their Senators on Capitol Hill.

WASHINGTON--The U.S. Department of Labor's Veterans' Employment and Training Service has announced a $2 million grant competition under the Veterans' Workforce Investment Program to assist eligible veterans by providing employment, training, support services, credentialing and networking information in renewable and sustainable energy.

WALTHAM, MA--American DG Energy Inc. was honored for the fourth year in a row by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Combined Heat and Power (CHP) Partnership for the carbon emissions reductions of the Company's CHP projects.