Waste Management Agrees To Settle EPA Charges
Waste Management (NYSE: WMI) Corp.'s operating unit in Massachusetts has agreed to settle charges brought by the Environmental Protection Agency that it violated the Clean Air Act. The company agreed to pay a $775,000 civil penalty and spend $2.6 million on environmental projects to improve air quality and to help decontaminate a public waterfront property in East Boston. The EPA charged that in 1997 and 1998 the company improperly handled refrigerators and air conditioners, which probably resulted in the illegal release of chlorofluorocarbons and hydrochlorofluorocarbons into the atmosphere...Read More »
New EPA Rules Would Permit Mine Waste Dumping
The Environmental Protection Agency has drafted new rules that would let mining companies dump waste from mountaintop coal mining operations into rivers and streams, according to a recent Washington Post report. The proposed rules are aimed at lifting regulations prohibiting mining companies from disposing of material considered waste, including rock and dirt, in the nearby waterways. Mountaintop coal mining has been limited by federal rules and court challenges aimed at restricting how much of the waste from these operations can be dumped in waterways. According to a draft "final rule" prepared jointly by the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers, the administration would eliminate that "waste exclusion," the report said...Read More »
Genahol, SWACO Reach Agreement On Ohio Recycling Operation
Genahol Energy, LLC has reached an agreement with the Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio to construct a recycling facility at its landfill in Grove City Township, Ohio. The facility will convert paper and green waste into ethanol and other commercial products. Ethanol is an alternative fuel that is primarily used as an additive in gasoline and diesel fuel to reduce harmful emissions. Over 750 tons of paper and solid waste will be processed daily, resulting in the production of approximately 10 million gallons of ethanol annually. Genahol anticipates that it will finance the $40 million project with a combination of debt and equity from investors...Read More »
Casella Sells Recycling Assets To Waste Management
Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: CWST) has closed on a transaction selling its commercial recycling assets in Newark, N.J. The company is divesting itself of non-core businesses in order to reassert itself as a traditional solid waste services company. The Newark recycling assets were sold to Waste Management, Inc. Casella, headquartered in Rutland, Vermont, is a regional, integrated, non-hazardous solid waste services company providing collection, transfer, disposal, and recycling services primarily in the northeastern United States...Read More »
Goodwill Elimination Will Benefit Companies' Bottom Line
Most of solid waste companies should report higher earnings for the first quarter than a year ago because of the elimination of goodwill amortization. The elimination of goodwill, required under new accounting rules, eliminates an expense for most companies, boosting their bottom lines. But the lingering effects of a slow economy offset any benefit the companies realized from relatively mild winter, according to analysts. The sector is still contending with declines in some forms of wastes, lower recycled commodity prices, and reductions in tipping fees...Read More »
BFI Canada Closes On Initial IPO
BFI Canada Income Fund has closed its initial public offering of 17.5 million units at C$10 each, for gross proceeds of $175 million Canadian. The IPO was made through a syndicate led by CIBC World Markets Inc. and National Bank Financial Inc. Units began trading in Toronto last Thursday under the symbol "BFC.UN." The fund said it will use the net IPO proceeds to acquire the business carried on by BFI Canada and its affiliates, and to pay down existing debt. BFI Canada provides non-hazardous solid waste collection and landfill disposal services in five Canadian provinces...Read More »
EPA Ombudsman Submits Resignation
Robert Martin, the embattled ombudsman at the Environmental Protection Agency, has submitted his resignation, complaining the agency was transferring him into a job where he would "merely answer a telephone" and have no power. Martin has been embroiled in lengthy feud with senior EPA officials going back to the Clinton administration. A federal court on Feb. 12 rejected a lawsuit challenging his transfer to the EPA inspector general's office. At the time, EPA Administrator Christie Whitman said the transfer would give Martin "more independence and the impartiality necessary to conduct credible inquiries." But Martin said the transfer was designed to get him out of the way because he had taken unpopular stands as ombudsman for the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response...Read More »
Waste Connections Reports First Quarter Earnings
Waste Connections, Inc. (Nasdaq: WCNX) has announced first quarter diluted earnings per share of $0.43 on 32.0 million diluted shares. Revenue for the first quarter of 2002 increased 24% to $105.7 million, from $85.1 million in the first quarter of 2001. Operating income for the quarter increased 25% to $29.1 million, or 27.6% of revenues, from $23.2 million for the first quarter of 2001...Read More »
Republic Reports First Quarter Revenue
Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE: RSG) has reported that first quarter revenue increased 3.1 percent to $551.9 million, from $535.4 million for the same period in 2001. Net income for the first quarter increased 10.7 percent to $54.9 million, or $0.32 per share, compared to $49.6 million, or $0.29 per share, last year. Operating income for the first quarter was $106.9 million, compared to $98.9 million for the same quarter last year...Read More »
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