77°
Topics
Environmental Pollution
L.A. is working on major zoning code revamp
Los Angeles passed a law last year requiring bicycle racks within 50 feet of the front door of many new buildings. But a problem surfaced immediately: The federal Americans With Disabilities Act requires handicapped parking spaces with an easy path to the door clear of things like bikes. The conflicting requirements — one in the city's building code, the other in its zoning code — left developers in a quandary, said Craig Lawson, a land use consultant who's seen several clients stumble on the rule. They could redesign the entryway of their building — no small task — or seek a variance to put the bike parking elsewhere, a costly process that can take months...
Related "Environmental Pollution" Articles
L.A. is working on major zoning code revamp
Los Angeles passed a law last year requiring bicycle racks within 50 feet of the front door of many new buildings. But a problem surfaced immediately: The federal Americans With Disabilities Act requires handicapped parking spaces with an easy path...
Congressional watchdog urges EPA to step up actions on fracking
The Government Accountability Office is calling on the federal Environmental Protection Agency to step up enforcement of water contamination and seismic activity associated with fracking, the high-pressure injection of fluids into wells to extract...
Vernon battery recycler is allowed to reopen, with conditions
Air quality officials are giving a battery recycling plant in Vernon another chance to prove it can operate without putting nearby residents at risk. Despite demands from community groups calling for permanent closure of the Exide...
Obama to order major expansion of ocean sanctuary in Pacific
President Obama announced a series of measures Tuesday to protect parts of the world’s oceans, including the creation of a marine sanctuary that would close a large swath of the central Pacific to fishing and energy development. The...
Exide's hazardous waste permit application deficient, California says
A Vernon battery recycler, under fire for polluting the air with excessive amounts of lead and arsenic, has been given 30 days to correct shortcomings in its application for a permit to handle hazardous waste.
Regulators propose agreement to limit pollution from Exide plant
Air quality regulators have reached an agreement with Exide Technologies that would bar its battery recycling plant in Vernon from resuming operations until it installs new controls on arsenic emissions that pose a health...
Intersex fish found in Pennsylvania rivers spur search for chemicals
Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental Protection has begun an extensive sampling of chemical contaminants in response to the discovery of intersex fish in three of the state's rivers, a department spokeswoman said. Male fish carrying...
State moves to improve safety in transporting oil by rail
A year after rail tanker cars carrying crude oil in Canada exploded and killed 47 people, California is stepping up efforts to prevent a similar disaster on tracks crisscrossing the state. In recent weeks, the state began pumping more money...
Southern California port truck drivers loading up on wage-theft cases
After years of complaining about working conditions, truck drivers who move goods at Southern California's sprawling ports appear to be making headway. Drivers have filed lawsuits and have flooded the state with hundreds of claims alleging that...
Supreme Court conservatives are playing a long game
The Supreme Court led by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. showed again this year that it is playing a long game, writing opinions that move the law in small but steady steps in a conservative direction. At first glance, many of its decisions...
Sen. Kevin de León angers the Central Valley with 'tumbleweed' remark
As a former resident of Bakersfield, I cringed when I read state Sen. Kevin de León’s comments about the decision to start building the bullet train in the Central Valley – a place he described as “the middle of...
Finally, L.A. blows away the ghastly plastic bag
Not only can you fight City Hall, sometimes City Hall can fight itself and win — defeating civic inertia and civic politics. So, good job, Los Angeles! As of Tuesday, the city’s January ban on single-use plastic bags for many big...
Congress shouldn't muddy the waters on the EPA's Clean Water Act rule
The Clean Water Act, which has been on the books since 1972,, has slowed the degradation of the nation's lakes, rivers and streams by blocking polluters from using waterways as sewers. Careful oversight by the Environmental Protection Agency has...
Activists say California fighting pollution globally but not locally
In the Bay Area oil port city of Martinez, where a colossal Shell refinery has long tainted the air, the landmark California law that requires polluters to ease their carbon footprint seemed to some to promise new relief. But one big move by...
Critics say climate program would create 'hidden gas tax'
California's latest move to combat global warming will either siphon dollars from motorists' wallets or save them big money on their gasoline bills. Those are the starkly different predictions being bandied about the Capitol by critics and fans...
EPA science advisors urge stricter limits on lung-damaging ozone
A committee of scientific advisors has urged the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to adopt a tougher federal standard for ozone, saying current limits on the lung-damaging pollutant fail to protect public health.
U.S. envoy Max Baucus to China: More business ties, less cyber-theft
In his first public address on the U.S.-China relationship since taking up the post of U.S. ambassador, Max Baucus said Wednesday that “the U.S. welcomes China’s rise” and that his priorities include pushing for a bilateral investment...
Albertsons to pay $3.4 million to settle illegal disposal case
The Albertsons company was ordered Tuesday to pay more than $3 million to settle a lawsuit accusing the grocery chain of illegal disposal, transportation, storage and mismanagement of hazardous waste at its 188 California locations. The...
Long overdue: Malibu elitists who impede public access now face fines
Since summertime is upon us, here is a modest proposal for Malibu: Stop enforcing any “no parking” signs on Pacific Coast Highway. Most of them are probably fake anyway.
James Pitts dies at 93; his research led to cleaner air in California
James Pitts, an influential smog researcher whose work was used to craft California's pioneering air quality regulations, has died. He was 93. Pitts died in his sleep of natural causes at his Irvine home on June 19, according to his wife,...
Loading