Weekly News Bulletin: Sep. 3-9, 2003

 

Insituform Completes Purchase of Insituform East

Insituform Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: INSU) has completed its purchase of the business of Insituform East, Inc., including selected assets, for approximately $5.5 million in cash. Insituform East was the final remaining independent licensee of the Insituform cured-in-place pipe process and NuPipe form and fold process in North America. Insituform Technologies, Inc. is a worldwide provider of proprietary technologies and services for rehabilitating sewer, water and other underground piping systems without digging and disruption...Read More »

 

 

NSWMA, Republic File Suit Over Michigan County Ordinance

The National Solid Wastes Management Association, together with Republic Services of Michigan, LLC, has filed a complaint against Wayne County (Mich.) Executive Robert A. Ficano and Wayne County over a county ordinance which NSWMA says is explicitly aimed at impeding the disposal of out-of-state and out-of-country waste in Wayne County landfills. The ordinance says no landfill in Wayne County can receive waste generated from any jurisdiction outside the county that does not have a beverage container deposit law equivalent to that currently in effect in Michigan. Landfill operators would be subject to fines of up to $10,000 per day and potential imprisonment. NSWMA and Republic contend that the ordinance violates the commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution, among other principles...Read More »

 

 

IESI Purchases Assets From Waste Corporation of Texas

IESI Corporation has announced the purchase of certain assets from Waste Corporation of Texas LP. The assets purchased were generally west of Fort Worth, Texas and consisted of 3 hauling operations located in Mineral Wells, Stephenville, and Graham, and one transfer station located in Granbury. The hauling operations acquired serve approximately 26,000 residential and 4,900 commercial and industrial customers. The estimated annual revenue is approximately $8.7 million...Read More »

 

 

Michigan Judge Imposes $1.1M Penalty Against Bulk Petroleum

Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox has announced that a judge has imposed a $1,090,000 penalty against Bulk Petroleum Corp. of Marinette, Wisconsin, for its failure to properly assess and clean up gasoline leakage from underground storage tanks at a site in Hartland. The penalty is the largest ever issued in Michigan against a gas station owner or operator for failure to investigate and remedy such contamination. The order is the result of a lawsuit filed by the Attorney General in cooperation with the Department of Environmental Quality against Bulk Petroleum over contamination occurred at Bulk Petroleum's Hartland gas station in 1987. The Attorney General and DEQ are seeking $3,364,400 in fines and penalties from Bulk Petroleum...Read More »

 

 

Judge Will Resolve Dispute Over L.A. River Trash Removal

A California Superior Court judge has established October 27th for the trial date on the dispute between 22 Los Angeles County cities and the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board on a controversial order to eliminate all trash found in the Los Angeles River and its tributaries. The cities are seeking to modify the rules, contending they are unreasonable and would severely impact city services. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Works has estimated that compliance costs will run $642 million over the next ten years...Read More »

 

 

Texas Promulgates New Industrial Landfill Rules

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has developed new draft rules governing the permitting process of non-hazardous industrial solid waste landfills, and has published the rules in the Texas Register, thus opening the comment period on the legislation. The new law requires the state agency to develop rules for these types of landfills, and retroactively apply them to any pending application. The new rules are designed to close a loophole in state law. Prior to the development of the rules, regulations governed only the permitting of municipal solid waste landfills and hazardous waste landfills. Non-hazardous industrial solid waste landfills fell somewhere in the middle and were not governed completely by either set of rules...Read More »

 

 

Waste Management Will Intervene In Arkansas Lawsuit

A Washington County (Ark.) Circuit Court judge has granted Waste Management Inc. permission to intervene in a lawsuit that challenges a state agency order last year that reopened the company's Tontitown landfill. In April, dozens of residents near the landfill filed the lawsuit, seeking a hearing before the Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission. If the residents win a new hearing, Waste Management could potentially face more fines and penalties. Therefore, it should be permitted to intervene in the case in order to protect its own interests, according to Circuit Judge Kim Smith. The Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality closed the landfill in April 2002 after a former landfill manager reported a cave-in had occurred at the site. In order to reopen the landfill in August 2002, Waste Management and ADEQ signed a consent order stipulating the implementation of new regulations and payment of penalties totaling $300,000...Read More »

 

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