Maryland is poised to dole out more than $300 million to trash incinerators between 2012 and 2030, according to the latest analysis by the nonprofits Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), Clean Water Action and Progressive Maryland. Timothy Whitehouse, executive ...

New legal action could put an end to the practice of spreading toxic sewage sludge on US cropland as a cheap alternative to fertilizer, and force America to rethink how it disposes of its industrial and human waste. A notice of intent to sue federal regulators charges they have failed to ...

There’s usually a large disconnect between the food people eat and the process it took to get on their plate, but you’d think basic regulations would be preventing your broccoli from being raised on toilet water. The poop farmers are putting on our food isn’t just literally crappy ...

The Nevada Wildlife Commission’s endorsement Friday of a plan to remove 75% of wild horses and burros from the state’s public lands, along with its refusal to consider a ban on controversial coyote killing contests, are both out of step with the desires of residents and tourists and ...

It sounds like a crime show episode at sea: In late January 2024, federal regulators learned that a dead female North Atlantic right whale had been sighted near Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. The whale was towed to shore, where more than 20 U.S. and Canadian scientists converged to ...

A Baltimore County company that makes fertilizer using residual material from wastewater treatment plants has been sued by several Texas residents, who allege its products contaminated their farmland with dangerous “forever chemicals.” A Maryland-based nonprofit, called Public ...

A Texas county has launched a first-of-its-kind criminal investigation into the waste management giant Synagro over PFAS-contaminated sewage sludge it is selling to Texas farmers as a cheap alternative to fertilizer. Two small Texas ranches at the center of that case have also filed a ...

Colorado legislators want to close loopholes in a ban on “forever chemicals” in many consumer products that was passed in 2022, saying the cost to filter out PFAS is overwhelming water treatment agencies and other states have moved faster in regulation. About 21,000 industrial sites in ...

Federal employees are filing fewer whistleblower disclosures, and reporting fewer complaints of whistleblower retaliation. The Office of Special Counsel, according to recent data analyzed by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), saw a more than 48% decline in ...

Recent data analysis by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) has unveiled a noticeable decline in whistleblower disclosures and complaints of whistleblower retaliation among federal employees from fiscal 2017 to 2022. This period saw the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) ...

Five farmers in Johnson County, Texas, are suing Synagro Technologies, a Baltimore-based biosolid management company, and its Texas affiliate over high levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in fertilizers produced by Synagro. The firm makes fertilizers from sewage sludge, ...

More than 150 scientists from around the world with expertise in per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have co-signed a new statement urging governmental bodies to adopt a science-based “at least one fully fluorinated carbon atom” definition of PFAS that includes fluorinated (f)- ...

A product liability lawsuit has been filed against a major manufacturer of biosolids-based fertilizer produced from sewage sludge. The lawsuit seeks compensation for damages caused by exposure to the toxic chemicals the fertilizer contains. Fertilizers produced from sewage sludge contain ...

A new artificial turf playing field, the centerpiece of a $7.5 million upgrade of South Philadelphia’s Lawrence E. Murphy Recreation Center, is supposed to be free of PFAS, the chemicals that the EPA has linked to cancer, asthma, and a range of other health problems. Sprinturf, the turf ...

State lawmakers are facing industry pressure to narrow the definition of “forever chemicals,” a move blasted by scientists for increasing exposure risks. “This is their playbook: Not all PFAS are dangerous,” said Kyla Bennett, director of science policy at Public ...

Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), the watchdog group, and five Texas farmers are threatening to sue EPA for allegedly failing to comply with Clean Water Act (CWA) requirements to identify all PFAS that have been found in biosolids and promulgate limits for at least ...

In the wake of fresh evidence that US farms are being poisoned by PFAS-laden fertilizers, a watchdog group and two Texas farm families said Thursday they plan to sue regulators to try to force protective actions. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has violated the Clean Water Act by ...

Five Texas farmers are suing a manufacturer of biosolid fertilizer, alleging that the product “contains high levels of PFAS that poisoned them, killed their livestock, polluted their water, and rendered their property worthless,” according to Public Employees for Environmental ...

In an era where synthetic fields have become the norm, concerns are mounting over the safety of these man-made surfaces. Investigative reports, including those by David Gambacorta of the Philadelphia Inquirer, have highlighted alarming connections between the chemicals in artificial turf ...

Sears Island in Searsport will serve as the staging ground for Maine’s new offshore wind port, Gov. Janet Mills announced Tuesday. The decision to use about 100 acres of the 941-acre island after years of planning and public feedback was not surprising. The Maine Department of ...