"Regulators Bear Down on Nuke Plant"
"Because problems continue to emerge, federal regulators again are increasing their level of oversight at the troubled Fort Calhoun Nuclear Station."
Source: Omaha World-Herald, 12/14/2011
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD)
Day After Story on Weak Enforcement, Iowa Cracks Down on Polluter
"Iowa’s attorney general is suing a corn processing plant, alleging it has released more air pollution than allowed for at least the past 18 months. Filing of the lawsuit came a day after the Center for Public Integrity’s iWatch News highlighted the state environmental agency’s passivity in curbing emissions at the plant in the Mississippi River town of Muscatine."
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Source: iWatch News, 12/05/2011
Erionite, Like Asbestos, Can Cause Cancer
The naturally-occurring erionite causes malignant mesothelioma and evidence suggests it is much more toxic than asbestos. Concern is rising as development that disturbs erionite deposits occurs in 12 western states.
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"Lawsuit Leaves Large Gas Storage Fields in Kansas Unregulated"
Because of a federal district court decision striking down Kansas' gas-safety law, neither the state nor federal government is inspecting gas storage fields which could present a fatal hazard.
Source: Wichita Eagle, 10/04/2011
New Disposal Rules Could Mean Less Oil Waste Buried in N. Dakota Land
"TIOGA - Brenda and Richard Jorgenson have a long list of reasons why they dislike and fear the reserve pit from an oil well buried on their land, located a half-mile from their house. They say it reeked of chemicals when it was being filled with diesel-saturated mud, rock cuttings and fluids left over from drilling last year."
Source: Bismark Tribune, 09/19/2011
Voluntary Sage-Grouse Protection Efforts Awarded $71 Million
Greater sage-grouse are at just 3% of their historical numbers, and warrant protection, according to the Bureau of Land Management. But since other species are in even more dire straits, the birds haven't been declared a threatened or endangered species. The US Dept. of Agriculture money is a work-around aimed at saving the birds and their habitat.
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Projects in 6 States Selected To Help Pioneer 3 Biofuels
USDA continues to expand its Biomass Crop Assistance Program that provides financial incentives for producers of various biomass products with the latest selected project areas for growing camelina in CA, OR, WA, and MT, poplar trees in OR, and switchgrass in KS and OK.
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FWS Proposes To Expand Hunting at 10 Wildlife Refuges
Hunting, under certain conditions, is already allowed at more than 300 of the 553 sites in the National Wildlife Refuge System. Contact local environmental, animal rights, and hunting groups for opinions for or against these proposals that would allow additional species to be killed at 10 refuges in 8 states.
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"Wichita's Economy Is Greener Than You Think"
"Wichita actually has thousands of jobs tied to improving the environment — in businesses such as organic farming, insulated building materials and wind turbine parts. But what makes the green economy different today is that it also attracts people who simply want to do well — as in, make money — rather than people who want to do good."
Source: Wichita Eagle, 08/03/2011
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