Pollution

"Transocean Deepwater Inc. was found guilty by a federal judge Thursday of violating the federal Clean Water Act, based on the company's role in causing the uncontrolled release of 4.9 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico from BP's Macondo well after Transocean's Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded and sank in April 2010."

"Alleging violations of the federal Clean Water Act at the Colbert Fossil Plant, a coalition of environmental groups announced plans to file a lawsuit against the Tennessee Valley Authority on Wednesday."

"FIREBAUGH, Calif. -- A $30 million water treatment plant rises slowly over this quiet prairie on the San Joaquin Valley's west side where nature has both blessed and cursed farmers."

"There's a global campaign to force meat producers to rein in their use of antibiotics on pigs, chickens and cattle. European countries, especially Denmark and the Netherlands, have taken the lead. The U.S. is moving, haltingly, toward similar restrictions. Now the concerns about rampant antibiotic use appear to have reached China, where meat production and antibiotic use have been growing fast."

"HOUSTON -- More than 80 environmental groups on Monday demanded a broad investigation into whether the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency behaved improperly when it abruptly dropped enforcement actions against a gas driller it had accused of contaminating water in Texas."

"YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- Backlash over Hard Rock Excavating’s decision to dump thousands of gallons of fracking waste into a storm drain continued Wednesday with sharp criticism of both state law and the oil and gas industry."

"Federal officials vowed Wednesday to conduct an emergency cleanup of a lead-contaminated lot near a Pilsen elementary school, more than six years after authorities first identified the hazards."

"Canada's offshore petroleum boards are not equipped to cope with a major spill, the country's environmental watchdog warned on Tuesday in a report that also said the booming energy sector needed more oversight."

"Greenhouse gas emissions from U.S. power plants fell 4.6 percent in 2011 as more generators were switched to cleaner-burning natural gas and renewable sources from coal, according to new data from the Environmental Protection Agency."