OIL SPILL OFF SOUTHERN CALIFRONIA COAST CLOSES DOWN BEACHES

Ringo H.W. Chiu / Press Herald

Saturday morning, the U.S. Coast Guard noticed an oil slick off the coastline of Newport Beach. The oil slick was later discovered to be the result of a leak from an oil pipeline off Huntington Beach. So far, an estimated 126,000 gallons, or 3,000 barrels, had spread into an oil slick covering about 13 square miles of the Pacific Ocean since it was first reported on Saturday morning. As the oil spreads, beaches are being closed down, including those in Laguna Beach.

HONEY, WE BOUGHT THE EXORCIST HOUSE!

Evy Mages / Washingtonian

In August of 2020, Danielle Witt and Ben Rockey-Harris traded in their apartment in the district for a house in the suburbs. They were able to find a three-bedroom house in the Prince George county town of Cottage City.

However, the now home owners would find out after purchasing the home that the property was the site of the events that inspired the exorcist. In 1949, an exorcism was preformed on a young boy who had supposedly been posses by demons after reporting’s of strange events occurring around the house had been placed. These events would catch the attention of a Georgetown student who would then go on to write the novel and then screen play “The Exorcist” based off these events.

The director of the film, “The Exorcist,” even filmed himself in the driveway of this property for a documentary. The story has attracted several “ghost hunters” to their property. The new homeowners claim that most of these individuals park their cars, take a few pictures, and leave. Some do approach the couple to inquire further about the property.

FLAGSTAFF ADDRESSES FLOOD DAMAGE AFTER RECORD RAINFALL HITS MUSEUM FIRE BURN SCAR

Coconino County / AZCentral

After a 200 to 500 year rainfall hit the city of Flagstaff Arizona on the Museum Fire Burn Scar, Governor Doug Ducey issued a declaration of emergency. This rainfall occurred on August 17, 2021, coming in at the largest rainfall to date for this area flooding streets and building all across the area. This flooding resulted in 88 private homes to endure damage either internally or externally, and 33 public properties.

FIRST EPA-VALIDATED LAB TEST FOR PFAS IN WASTEWATER, GROUNDWATER AND SURFACE WATER

Environmental Source Samplers, Inc.

The EPA has partnered with the United States Department of Defense to create a draft of the first EPA-validated laboratory analytical method. This method will be able to test for per and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in eight environmental media. This list of media includes: wastewater, surface water, groundwater, and soils.

This partnership has developed a single – laboratory validated method that will test for forty different PFAS compounds. These methods will also help to produce a multi – laboratory validation study of the method by the year 2022. This application may also be used for different applications such as the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits while also supporting NPDES implementation. This method provides a consistent method for measuring PFAS that maintains quality control procedure for the Clean Water Act.

RESIDENTS OF TROUBLED SUPERTALL TOWER SEEK $125 MILLION IN DAMAGES

Karsten Moran / The New York Times

The Supertall Tower located at 432 Park Avenue, is one of the most expensive properties in the world. It is being sued by its own board for $125 million in damages. These damages are listed as but not limited to: multiple flooding incidences, faulty elevators, intolerable noise that is caused by the sway of the building, and the second electrical explosion to happen in three years that knocked out the power for all residents in the building.

In 2015, this new building was a statement to quality apartments, attracting some of the wealthiest owners. Many of the owners are part time residents or investors who hid their identity from the public using their own shell companies. One of the apartments sold for $88 million to the Saudi retail magnate Fawaz Alhokair. Jennifer Lopez also owned an apartment here in 2018 for $15.3 million. However, the residents of this building have a high turnover rate because the building does not live up to the luxury that is promised by the pricing of the apartments.

In some cases, the defects that were found and complained about by residents posed a life safety risk making the building undesirable. For instance, there have been several reporting’s of residents getting stuck in stalled elevator cars for hours which could be attributed to the large amount of sway in the building.

Many of these claims have already been made about the building in a suit filed in February. The $125 million will go towards repairing over 1,500 design and construction defects. Most of these defects were found in common elements of the building and were identified by an engineering firm hired by the board of condos. The board of condos claims there may be more to come with resident lawsuits and punitive damage.

SOCALGAS AGREES TO PAY UP TO $1.8 BILLION IN SETTLEMENT FOR 2015 ALISO CANYON GAS LEAK

Environmental Defense Fund / The New York Times

Six years ago in a natural gas well located in the hills above the San Fernando valley area of Porter Ranch failed, filling the air with methane. An agreement was announced on Monday that Southern California Gas Co.  will pay up to $1.8 billion to settle after years of lawsuits.

SoCalGas has made a statement that this settlement is to resolve “substantially all material civil litigation” that has been placed against them. This would also include an after-tax charge of nearly $1.1 billion within this month. While this may have ended the legal battle for the company, many residents say the settlement came with no ease of long-term fears over exposure to toxic chemicals.

Residents have also raised the question whether or not their community will be safe after the exposure to the toxic chemicals. 100,000 tons of methane, ethane and other chemicals populated the atmosphere over the Porter Ranch area for 112 days forcing 8,000 families to flee their homes. When the gas leak had finally been contained, it had become the largest Methane leak in US history.

The attorneys that representing the plaintiff mentioned Monday at the Los Angeles Federal Courthouse that the settlement reflected just compensation for the injuries caused by the methane leak. Many of the effected residents were able to give depositions via zoom expressing that they want the storage field shut down, as it remains active to this day.

In some cases, residents reported heart palpitations, cancer and other ongoing health problems they believe have been caused by being exposed to these toxic chemicals. Residents also keep reporting and claiming that they smell leaks coming from the facility even still. The company has since then been required to conduct a $25 million study to determine the long term and short-term effects of the people located withing the effected area.

STUDY FINDS PFAS ‘FOREVER CHEMICALS’ IN INDOOR AIR

Getty Images / Independent

PFAS “forever chemicals” are being found inside of classrooms, stores, and homes. The University of Rhode Island and Green Science Policy Institute tested twenty sites for PFAS chemicals. The chemicals were found at seventeen of the sites including a kindergarten classroom. PFAS chemicals are linked to causing cancer, birth defects, liver disease, thyroid disease, decreased immunity, hormone disruption and many of other serious health concerns.

NEW ORLEANS SEEKS SUSTAINABILITY AS IT REBUILDS FROM HURRICANE IDA

Jalen Small / NewsWeek

New Orleans, the city that has faced the front lines of two major hurricanes within the last two decades. Several residents stayed with there properties throughout the flooding just as they had done in 2005 with Hurricane Katrina. Of those people, 26 of them were killed during the flooding. The city is longing for a way to preserve their cultural heritage while also maintaining a safe environment that may endure several natural disasters to come.

After Hurricane Ida passed, the community began planning a program called “We’re Fueling the City.” It is a week-long event where food and gasoline was handed out to local residents in need of assistance. Within a couple of days, the event had given away over 1,200 gallons of gas and served over 2,000 meals to people in need.