Novato, California, Police stated on June 27th that a series of commercial burglaries, arson, and vandalism incidents led to the arrest of Conn Michael Prescott over the weekend. The 61-year-old man of Emerald Lake Hills, California, was arrested on June 25th on suspicion of arson, vandalism, burglary, and other charges. He is being held on a $500,000 bail enhancement in the Marin County Jail after causing $300,000 in damages to the involved business.
BENNET, HICKENLOOPER URGE U.S. AIR FORCE TO ADDRESS 'FOREVER CHEMICALS' IN EL PASO COUNTY
On June 24th, the U.S Air Force was urged by two Colorado senators to address PFAS in El Paso County water. In a letter, U.S. Sens. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper said is in the Widefield aquifer, which provides drinking water to thousands of residents and supplies surface water to area ponds, some of which Coloradans use for recreational fishing. They are asking the Air Force to expand on a pilot programs that remove PFAS from water. They also requested the Biden administration to partner with Colorado in taking additional steps to address PFAS from military activities.
PFAS in the Widefield aquifer south of Peterson Air Force Base affected some 80,000 people in the Security-Widefield-Fountain area. $50 million in funding for Air Force environmental restoration and remediation has been spent primarily on protecting drinking water for the affected communities since the discovery back in 2016. In Colorado, the Fountain-Widefield-Security area is one of the state’s biggest PFAS sites due to the long-term use of PFAS-containing firefighting foam at Peterson Air Force (now Space Force) Base beginning in the 1970s. Water and soil testing in 2016 by the Air Force revealed PFAS levels of 240,000 parts per trillion in soil samples and more than 88,000 parts per trillion in groundwater at seven locations on the base. The base is now a designated EPA Superfund site.
FOREST FIRE BURNS THOUSANDS OF ACRES IN SOUTHERN NEW JERSEY
On June 20th, fire fighters responded to a fire in Washington Townships, New Jersey, as a forest fire had consumed 11,000 acres. No injuries or property damage has been reported. The fire broke out in a remote section of the Wharton State Forest and was discovered early Sunday afternoon, according to the New Jersey Forest Fire Service. The fire was 50% contained by June 21st and put out on June 22nd. The cause of the fire is still unknown and produced dense smoke, was spanning areas of Washington, Shamong, Hammonton and Mullica Township.
OFFSHORE WIND, CHEMICAL CONTAMINATION AND PLASTICS BAGS: ENVIRONMENTAL LEGISLATION ROUNDUP
On June 21st, a bill was moved closer to enacting the purchase of more offshore wind energy, capping concentrations of PFAS in drinking water, prohibiting food packaging that contains PFAS, and banning the distribution of single-use plastic in Providence, Rhode Island. The house leadership also announced that they have put an end to the plastic processing plants due to the risks they pose on public health, their energy intensive process, and because they do nothing to curb the demand for single use plastics.
ENVIRONMENTAL, PUBLIC HEALTH GROUPS TO SENATE: ACT ON TOXIC PFAS IN DRINKING WATER
A letter was delivered on June 22nd, to the U.S. Senate’s Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee from 82 organizations, including Environment America and U.S. PIRG, regarding comprehensive federal legislation to protect Americans’ drinking water from contamination by the class of chemicals known as PFAS. The 82 organizations from 30 different states are calling for the EPW committee to designate PFAS as a hazardous substance. This would prohibit the use of PFAS in firefighting foam and direct the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to issue drinking water standards and stop the dumping of PFAS into our nation’s waterways. It is estimated that from Alabama to Alaska, more than 200 million Americans’ drinking water may be contaminated with PFAS.
CRISTIANO RONALDO ‘OFFERS TO PAY FOR HOME DAMAGE CAUSED BY £1.7M BUGATTI CRASH
An unnamed homeowner of Majorcan, Spain, has stated that he has been promised compensation after the Manchester United Legend's rented his mansion on June 21st. The homeowner feared for his dog's life as a $1.7 million Bugatti crashed into the property on June 20th. Police have confirmed an employee of Ronaldo’s, thought to have been one of his bodyguards, was driving the sports car when it came off the road and smashed into a stone wall protecting the house.
EPA PLEDGES $23 MILLION TOWARD CLEANUP AT STRATFORD’S RAYMARK SUPERFUND SITE
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) pledged roughly $30 million on June 2nd toward environmental remediation efforts at former industrial sites in Connecticut. These sites will include the ongoing clean-up of asbestos, lead, and other toxic contaminants at dumping grounds once used by local auto-parts manufacturer Raymark Industries. This federal investment is part of an overall plan to spend $5.4 billion over the next 7 years cleaning up brownsfields and Superfund sites as part of Congress’ Bi-partisan Infrastructure Bill.
$23 million, the largest amount of money given by the EPA, was dedicated to the 34-acre site of the former Raymark plant in Stratford, referred to as “one of the most complex” remediation projects under the agency’s Superfund program. The Army Corps of Engineers, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, and the EPA have helped manage the cleanup efforts for three decades after the plant was closed in 1989.
EPA INVESTIGATES POLLUTION AT OLD OIL REFINERY IN EAST CHICAGO
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) claims that the site of the old Cities Service Refinery in East Chicago, Illinois, is not affecting the residents next door, but residents are unsure of these claims. The EPA claims to have found groundwater in the center of the site that tested at high-levels for fuel chemicals. The EPA project manager, claimed the agency started testing the groundwater from the property line of the site and worked its way in to ensure the chemicals weren't reaching residents.
Maitza Lopez lives in the Calumet, Illinois, a nearby neighborhood claimed that the EPA should have tested at residential properties as well. Lopez claims that she, along with their residents, will find shiny, black, substances seeping into her basement and toilet. Lopez stated that local residents should have been notified of the testing at the old refinery. The EPA said it will keep monitoring the groundwater at the facility while it looks into what sort of cleanup should be done on the site, if any.