News
Exxon wins New York climate change securities fraud case
NPR – December 10
A judge on Tuesday handed Exxon Mobil a victory in only the second climate change lawsuit to reach trial in the United States. In a three-week trial, New York state prosecutors argued that Exxon Mobil had downplayed the financial risks it faces from possible climate regulation in order to make Exxon's assets appear more secure than they really were, thereby affecting its share price and defrauding investors. Justice Barry Ostrager of the New York State Supreme Court held that the attorney general failed to prove that Exxon had violated securities laws with its public statements, but emphasized that his decision did not absolve ExxonMobil from responsibility for contributing to climate change.
California Metal Recyclers Coalition files suit against DTSC
Recycling Today – December 2
The California Metal Recyclers Coalition has filed a complaint against the state’s Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) to challenge that agency's efforts to regulate metal shredding and recycling facilities in California as hazardous waste treatment facilities subject to stringent permitting requirements. The coalition contends that neither federal nor California law has ever classified scrap metal as a “hazardous waste,” and hence that metal recycling facilities have never been considered “hazardous waste” treatment facilities. The organization claims DTSC's action is unlawful and threatens to undermine the scrap metal recycling industry in California by making it infeasible to recycle scrap metal, including junked cars and old appliances.
Decades-long deal will expand recycled water to South Bay communities
KTVU – December 10
Officials with three different South Bay agencies have reached a 76-year deal to provide cleaner drinking water for residents. The Santa Clara Valley Water District (District) board voted to approve a two-part agreement with the cities of Palo Alto and Mountain View, pursuant to which the District will fund $16 million of a $20 million advanced recycled water treatment facility in Palo Alto. Mountain View will be able to use the treated water for irrigation, freeing up between one to three million gallons of drinking water for residents. The second part of the agreement would see about half of Palo Alto’s wastewater transferred to a District advanced water purification center for treatment. That water could then be added to the groundwater table, and eventually be used as drinking water.
BLM approves leasing for new oil drilling in California — again
San Francisco Chronicle – December 12
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) this Thursday approved new oil-drilling leases on federal land in California, mostly around petroleum-rich Bakersfield but also in locations in the Sierra foothills, such as near Yosemite National Park. The move, which covers eight counties in Central California, follows a decision in October to open up parts of the Bay Area and Central Coast to potential drilling. The leases will be the first to be made available on federal land in the region in five years. A lawsuit filed by environmental groups had halted leasing until the impacts of hydraulic fracturing could be better studied. Most new oil and gas development is expected in the Bakersfield and Santa Barbara areas, where significant extraction already occurs.
CVS faces $3.6 million penalty for failing to redeem customers’ cans and bottles
Los Angeles Times – December 9
Seeking to pressure retailers to accept recyclable containers from consumers, California has proposed a $3.6-million penalty against the CVS pharmacy chain after dozens of its stores declined to redeem cans and bottles. An investigation by the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) found that 81 of CVS Pharmacy’s more than 800 locations in California failed to collect empty cans and bottles and to pay the 5-cent and 10-cent redemption fees due to consumers. The stores also did not pay the $100-a-day fee required of retailers that do not offer redemption, CalRecycle announced Monday. The penalty is by far the largest ever proposed by the state agency and comes as California is struggling to provide enough recycling centers to serve residents, following the shrinking of foreign markets for recyclables and the August closure of the state’s biggest recycling redemption operator.
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