On April 29th, a tornado touched down and caused property damage to Wichita and Andover, Kansas. Wichita's local YMCA endured damage during the tornado and have released a statement claiming that they will closed until further notice. No injuries or deaths due to the tornado have been reported. Residents were able to capture video of the tornado passing through their neighborhood.
CASINO DEVELOPER CHARGED WITH $650K ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGES PENALTY
A casino developer, Freesoul Real Estate Development, has been found guilty of damaging mangroves and a coral reef during the construction of a project on Malolo, Fiji, and will have to pay $650,000 as a result of the damages. The mangroves and a coral reef damaged during the construction were considered an attraction to Fiji. Justice Daniel Goundar said that this was an unprecedented act of vandalism against Fiji’s environment.
$230 MILLION CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT REACHED FOR DAMAGES CAUSED BY PLAINS ALL AMERICAN PIPELINE’S 2015 SANTA BARBARA OIL SPILL
Plains All American Pipeline, who spilled an estimated 15,000 barrels of crude oil into the Pacific Ocean in 2015, has agreed to pay $230 million to the fishing industry and shoreline residents whose properties endured damages due to the oil spill. Plains All American operated a transportation of crude oil pipeline stretching 130 miles between the Santa Barbara coast and inland refinery markets in California. In 2018, Plains All American was found criminally liable for the oil spill due to failed maintenance, extensive pipeline corrosion, and a corroded pipeline. The oil spill polluted several costal properties and harmed the fishing industry. Judge Gutierrez must give a final approval on the matter. Once the approval is obtained, class members will be notified and a court-approved plan of distribution will be created with $184 million distributed among the Fisher class and $46 million distributed among the Property class.
EATON TOWNSHIP: TORNADO CAUSES PROPERTY DAMAGE
Lorain County, Ohio, experienced its first tornado of the 2022 season on April 25th. The Eaton Township Fire Department responded to Eaton Commerce Parkway at 2:30 p.m. after reports of a tornado in the area. One roof was torn from a building causing damage to multiple cars and public property. The tornado was on the ground for less than a minute and crossed 70 yards. The tornado was classified by the National Weather Service as an EFO, the weakest tornado on the Enhanced Fujita Scale.
WATER POLLUTION: STAKEHOLDERS URGE NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT, OSUN STATE TO STOP ILLEGAL GOLD MINING
Osun State Government and the Nigerian Government have been requested to find a long-lasting solution to illegal gold mining that was polluting the Osun River for 2 million residents. Both the state and the federal government will not only take immediate steps to purify the contaminated Osun River but also compensate residents whose lives have been affected by the presence of mercury, lead and cyanide as a result of illegal mining activity. Residents are blaming the government because the government failed to take action against the illegal mining.
MICHIGAN PFAS ACTION RESPONSE TEAM
The Michigan PFAS Action Response Team has assembled a webpage to organize sites under investigation for PFAS. They are divided into two different categories: PFAS Sites and Areas of Interest. PFAS sites are defined as a property where EGLE has a groundwater monitoring well sample result that exceeds one or more of Michigan's seven PFAS groundwater cleanup criteria and has determined the property is the location of the source of PFAS contamination. Areas of Interest are investigated due to the potential of PFAS contamination for which a source has not been determined.
This website features several datasets as part of Michigan PFAS Action Response Team (MPART)'s efforts such as PFAS Sites, PFAS Surface Water Sampling, and Statewide Testing Initiative of Public Water Supplies Hexbins and Results Table.
24 APARTMENTS DAMAGED, PEOPLE DISPLACED AFTER EARLY MORNING FIRE
On April 23rd, Isles at East Millenia Apartments in Orlando, Florida, caught fire. Orange County, Florida, Fire Department Deputies claimed they could see individuals stuck inside of the structure on every floor. The fire department was able to evacuate 8 individuals without any fatalities. Electricity to the entire building was shut off while the Orange County, Florida, Fire Department conducted an investigation into the fire. 20 people have been displaced.
LINCOLN COUNTY ASSESSOR’S OFFICE: $20.8M LOSSES DUE TO MCBRIDE FIRE
Preliminary reports from the McBride fire by the Lincoln County, New Mexico, assessor’s office show the village of Ruidoso endured $5.5 million in property damages out of a total of $20.8 million for the entire county. County officials are estimating a $55,000 loss in taxes throughout the village and a $140,000 loss in taxes across the county. The McBride fire started on April 12th, burning 6,159 acres of land. As of April 27th, the fire is 89% contained. 207 primary structures and multiple buildings have been burnt.
SERIAL KILLER'S HOUSTON HOME GOES ON SALE FOR $185,000
A property formerly belonging to Dean Corll, the serial killer known as 'Candy Man,' has been listed for $185,000. Corll was known as the 'Candy Man' because his family owned a candy company and he was known to give free candy to local children. Corll lived at 2020 Lamar Drive in Pasadena, Texas, and murdered over 28 victims on this property in the 1970s.
Corll's victims' recovered corpses showed evidence of torture. Corll was shot and killed by a 17 year-old boy enraged with Corll for everything he had done to his friends. In 2022, 50 years after Corll’s death, the 1,231 square foot home is being listed for $184,900 in Pasadena, Texas.
STATE OF OREGON FINDS THAT HERMISTON FRENCH FRY PLANT VIOLATED ITS PERMIT, SPREADING EXCESS NITRATES INTO THE AREA’S GROUNDWATER
A "pre-enforcement notice" has been issued by Oregon Environmental regulators to the Lamb Weston potato processing plant in Hermiston, Oregon. The "pre-enforcement notice" was issued after finding the company overapplied excess wastewater to nearby farmlands. The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality found Lamb Weston had violated its water pollution permit 75 times from 2016 to 2020, totaling nearly 189 tons of excess nitrates into the area's groundwater supply. Lamb Weston could face a formal enforcement action.
BLAZE DAMAGES 6 HOMES
6 homes were damaged and 16 families were displaced during the wind-fueled fire that occurred on April 15th, in Lawrence, Massachusetts. The third-floor balcony of a home caught fire and spread to 5 other properties. All residents were evacuated with no injuries reported. The fire took approximately hours to extinguish.
BOULDER, COLORADO FIRE THAT DESTROYED 24 UNITS AT APARTMENT COMPLEX DETERMINED ACCIDENTAL
On March 25th, in Boulder, Colorado, firefighters were called out to Magwood Apartments located at 2880 Kalmia Avenue. The building was on fire and residents had already begun evacuating. The fire displaced 24 residential units and was determined to be accidental. A BFR investigation team claimed the fire started from someone's discarded smoking material in a dried plant pot. The BRF has also expressed that they believe the fire started in the upper part of the building and spread into the attic.
FRIDAY HARBOR, SAN JUAN ISLAND, WASHINGTON FIRE CAUSES MORE DAMAGE THAN INITIALLY THOUGHT
On April 7th, a fire caused damage to historical buildings in downtown Friday Harbor, San Juan Island, Washington. A San Juan County Fire spokesperson stated that 6 properties have sustained fire damage. The 6 properties included a tavern, wine bar, coffee shop, kayak tour business, real estate agency, and private offices. Several other businesses in the area remained closed due to the effects of the smoke from the fire.
12 DISPLACED BY KANSAS CITY APARTMENT FIRE
On April 4th, a fire caused damage to a 3-story apartment building and displaced 12 individuals. The fire was called in around 4:41 am to the apartment building located on East 28th street in Kansas City, Missouri. Smoke and fire were located on the 3rd floor of the building when firemen arrived on the scene.
WASTE DUMPED IN A SOUTH BEND NEIGHBORHOOD TO BE TREATED
Bendix and other companies dumped toxic waste for decades in a lot adjacent to South Bend, Indiana. Honeywell International (whose predecessor is Bendix Corp) and the city of South Bend, Indiana, will pay to have areas of the park excavated. These excavation will be conducted as part of a federal environmental program that designates Honeywell International and the city of South Bend, Indiana, as “potentially responsible parties.”
ACTING AG ANNOUNCES GROUNDWATER CONTAMINATION LAWSUIT IN ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE COMMUNITY
Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and Commissioner of Environmental Protection Shawn M. LaTourette announced on April 4th that the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has filed a suit against a chemical company based in Connecticut. Allegedly, this chemical company is responsible for damaging natural resources in New Jersey by contaminating groundwater at the site of the former Hexcel manufacturing plant.
The site has already undergone remediation of the contamination but the lawsuit is seeking compensation for the damaged natural resources, specifically the lost value in their contaminated water supply. The chemicals came from the leaking storage tanks and operations at the Hexcel plant. The lawsuit is being handled by the Environmental Enforcement and Environmental Justice (EEEJ) Section within the Division of Law’s Affirmative Civil Enforcement Practice Group.
IS THE RED HILL CONTAMINATION MOVING?
The Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility is a military fuel storage facility in Hawaii. A water contamination crisis has been tied to the Navy's Red Hill fuel tanks with concerns on whether pollution from the facility could migrate toward civilian wells. The Navy has claimed they do not have the information required to assess how or when that may happen. Scientists have not found answers to how much fuel contamination is under the facility, how much already has spread, how quickly it’s moving, and what direction it may be going. Despite the threat the Navy facility poses to Honolulu’s water supply, the aquifer that lies beneath it has not been thoroughly studied.
MAP REVEALS THE PRESENSE OF LEAD IN CHICAGO BACKYARDS
Lead was found to be present in the soils of the Chicago, Illinois, environment. Communities of Chicago now have access to a citywide map that will set forth an estimated amount of lead contamination in soils.
According to the study, 20% of the city's soils are higher than 400 parts per million (ppm). The average amount of lead in the soil was 220 ppmwhich is approximately 11 times higher than the natural level of 20 ppm. Some south-side neighborhoods had lead levels in the soil of more than 1,000 ppm. Illinois Environmental Protection Agency follows the federal EPA rate of 400 ppm, though other states set forth different levels, such as the California EPA has a lower level of 80 ppm
JUDGE APPROVES $34M SETTLEMENT IN PFOA LAWSUIT
On Monday, April 18th, a federal judge ordered Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Corporation to pay $34 million for a class-action lawsuit filed against the company. The lawsuit was filed over the presence of PFAS chemicals in the soil and groundwater of a southern community in Bennington, Vermont. The company will pay $26.2 million to compensate Bennington, Vermont, property owners for alleged damages. They will also pay $6 million to monitor the health of those exposed to perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA).
Two former ChemFab Corporation factories that had be purchased by Saint-Gobain were determined to be responsible for distributing PFOA chemicals through exhaust emissions. The lawsuit was filed in May of 2016. Saint-Gobain has since paid over $40 million to comply with state consent orders to extend municipal water lines to homes with wells.
The Vermont Legislature has passed a bill stating in Vermont, people exposed to chemicals can sue the polluter for medical monitoring. This bill is expected to be signed into law by Gov. Phil Scott, although he had vetoed two other previous medical monitoring bills. Claims against Saint-Gobain can still be filed through August 22, 2022.
CENTRAL CITY, IOWA, HAS WATER WELLS WITH PFAS
Central City, Iowa, stated they will only use one of their two water wells because one of their wells tested for PFAS. In February, the city well tested at 62 parts per trillion for the two PFAS compounds. A test of the city's drinking water also showed testing at 61-parts-per-trillion concentration. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s current health advisory for PFAS is 70 parts per trillion.
The well that tested for PFAS has been shut down and the City pulls its drinking water from the other well. City officials believe they have enough water to meet the city's demands during peak usage season but are considering limiting the use of water throughout the year to ensure the well will be able to supply the needed demand of water. New policies have been set into place for Central city that require public water supplies to be tested every three months to monitor the water.