Waste Management, Illinois Environmentalists Plan For Closure Of Landfill
Waste Management of Illinois, Inc. (www.wm.com) and the New Calumet (IL) Study Committee have reached agreement on a new urban redevelopment project to be established once Waste Management shuts down the CID Landfill in Chicago's Southeast side. The landfill will close under higher standards than required, and will be redeveloped as a community park and recreation area. Waste Management will fund neighborhood programs by sharing 50 percent of the profit from the redevelopment project and establish a new recycling facility. The New Calumet Study Group was founded by environmentalists who had previously opposed Waste Management's plans to expand the landfill...Read More »
BFI Canada, IESI Join Forces To Form New Company
BFI Canada Income Fund (TSX: BFC.UN) and IESI Corporation have executed a $1.1 billion agreement to combine the two companies, which will result in the creation of one of the largest non-hazardous solid waste management companies in North America. The transaction has already been approved by the boards of both companies.
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Grace Likely To Be Indicted In Asbestos Case
W.R. Grace & Co. (www.grace.com) has announced in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (www.sec.gov) that it is likely to be indicted in the first quarter of 2005 by a federal grand jury investigating its former vermiculite mining and processing activities in Libby, Montana. The federal government could bring possible obstruction of federal agency proceedings and charges of violating federal environmental laws and conspiracy. Grace owned and operated the vermiculite mine in Libby from 1963 to 1990, and the vermiculite ore found there was contaminated with asbestos that spread throughout Libby. The District Court of Montana has ordered Grace to pay more than $54.5 million in cleanup reimbursements...Read More »
Pennsylvania Looks Into Dredge Dumping Standards
Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell (www.governor.state.pa.us) has directed the state Department of Environmental Protection (www.dep.state.pa.us) to seek a final review of standards set in permits for Lehigh Coal and Navigation Co.'s proposal to dispose of dredged sediment, coal ash, cement kiln dust and lime kiln dust in Tamaqua, Schuylkill County. The state's Cleanup Standards Scientific Advisory Board is reviewing the permits to ensure they protect public health and the environment...Read More »
Skagit County, Wash. May Allow Private Competition With Transfer Station
Skagit County, Wash. (www.skagitcounty.net) is considering whether to allow private-sector competition with the county's own transfer station. All the county's cities and solid waste managers, as well as several private garbage firms, have expressed opposition to the idea. The proposal is part of the county's Comprehensive Solid Waste Management plan, which is now under consideration by the county council...Read More »
Wisconsin Rewards Efficient Recycling Programs
Wisconsin recycling programs are working to become more efficient even as they seek additional state funds for their services. In 2004, 77 recycling programs in the state received money through the Department of Natural Resources' efficiency incentive grant program. Wisconsin mandated recycling in 1990, and the grant program was established in 2001 with a yearly appropriation of $1.9 million. The first grants were awarded in 2003, and in 2004, the number of grant applications more than doubled...Read More »
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