| DENR orders closure of hog farm in Tarlac
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources has ordered the closure of a hog farm in Tarlac and imposed fines on candy and paper manufacturing firms in Cavite for water pollution violations. The Pollution Adjudication Board, headed by Environment Secretary Lito Atienza, issued the cease and desist order on Jan. 24 against Charity Farm located at Barangay Malacampa in Camiling town for its repeated failure to establish water pollution measures since February 2006. The PAB said its inspections and testing showed that the farm exceeded standards on water effluents set under RA 9275 (Clean Water Act). According to the board, the farm's owner failed to do something about it despite several warnings. Added to the violation, the farm also did not have an environmental compliance certificate.
Regional news: Appeals court upholds convictions in Miss. wetlands ...
JACKSON, Miss. -- The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld the convictions of a Mississippi coastal developer and two others for mail fraud and violations of the federal Clean Water Act. A federal jury in February 2005 convicted Robert J. Lucas Jr., of Lucedale, chief executive of Big Hill Acres Inc., and the two others of 41 charges, including conspiracy. .
Many County Streams Listed As 'Impaired'
The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) has released a new statewide list of streams, lakes and reservoirs that do not meet requirements for fishing, recreation and other public uses. As in past years, Greene County has a large number of streams -- a total of 59 -- listed as "impaired" on the list. The great majority of these streams are "listed" because of siltation, and pasture grazing is listed as the cause. Some of the Greene County streams are listed as having unacceptably high levels of the E. coli bacteria, and again the cause is said to be pasture grazing. Full Listing Available This draft list -- also called the 2008 303(d) List -- is a requirement of the federal Clean Water Act. It can be viewed online at http://www.state.tn.us/environment/wpc/publications/2008draft303dlist.pdf.
Gervais property owner gets one-year sentence
A Gervais man on whose property were found thousands of stolen items was sentenced Monday to a year in prison on federal charges. Ivan Cam, 42, will serve a year in prison after he pleaded guilty Aug. 16 to violating the Clean Water Act, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Kerin, who prosecuted the case. Cam appeared in federal court in Portland and was sentenced to a year in prison and one year of supervised release by U.S. District Court Judge Garr M. King, Kerin said. He also was fined nearly $40,000. Cam was convicted of illegally excavating in the wetlands near his home on Mount Angel-Gervais Road. Cam was the first to be prosecuted for a wetlands violation case in Oregon, Kerin said. In the federal case, Cam repeatedly violated the Clean Water Act by digging ditches, trenches and drains in the land around his 10-acre property, federal court records showed.
Mike Lien: Stream protection specialists safeguard Idaho's precious ...
I am writing on behalf of Friends of Teton River, a non-profit based in Driggs, in regards to Idaho Department of Water Resources Director Dave Tuthill's recommendations for the state budget for the 2009 fiscal year. We are concerned with his recommendation to reduce the number of Idaho's stream protection specialists. The specialists are vital to the protection and regulation of Idaho's streams. They review, permit and regulate all stream alteration permits in Idaho in conjunction with the Army Corps of Engineers. The specialists ensure that all stream alteration projects such as stream stabilization and restoration projects are conducted according to Idaho state law and the federal Clean Water Act. As a part of eliminating the regional stream protection specialist positions, Tuthill's memorandum states that "all state enforcement work regarding stream channel alterations will cease." We believe that such a decision would have disastrous consequences on the health and function of Idaho's streams.Idaho's streams are a vital resource and need to be protected to ensure that they continue to provide agricultural, recreation and ecological benefits.
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