Air Quality
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Portland oil refinery faces massive fines
A Portland oil refinery must properly dispose of PCB-contaminated oil or pay a federal penalty. Oil Re-Refining Company, or ORRCO, received the Environmental Protection Agency's order this week. ORRCo…
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EcoSpeed, B-line deal helps bikers haul heftier cargo
A Portland cycling specialist and a prominent city delivery service are collaborating on a service that could help move heavy goods around town sustainably. EcoSpeed Inc., which designs and makes electric…
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Poor air quality prompts request for biomass moratorium in two Oregon counties
A spate of air pollution bad enough to be in violation of the Clean Air Act and comparable to the well-known pollution in Beijing has prompted an activist group to request an emergency moratorium on biomass…
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Obama may call for tougher rules on emissions
President Barack Obama in next week’s State of the Union speech will lay out a renewed effort to combat climate change that is expected to include using his authority to curb emissions from existing…
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PUC slaps PacifiCorp for not researching coal alternatives
A late-December ruling by the Oregon Public Utilities Commission found that PacifiCorp fell short in efforts to find alternatives to coal power and ordered the utility, which operates as Pacific Power,…
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DEQ hearing on coal plan to draw 500 opponents
Opponents of a proposed Columbia River coal export terminal said they expect several hundred people to speak out against the project during permit hearings this week before the state Department of Environmental…
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Decision delayed on coal export permit
The Morrow Pacific coal export project was set back last week after the Oregon Department of State Lands delayed its decision on a permit until April. The decision was expected to come in December but…
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Portland Public Schools adds propane buses to fleet
Students at Portland Public Schools are now riding state-of-the-art propane buses thanks to an updated contract with First Student Inc. and a federal grant to CleanFUEL USA. As they hit the streets, those…
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Cap-and-trade credits sell out in California
In California’s first cap-and-trade auction, the price to emit greenhouse gases came in near the minimums established by the California Air Resources Board. State regulators released the results of…
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Air pollution drops at Puget Sound ports
Over the past six years, air pollution from cargo-moving equipment at Puget Sound ports has dropped significantly, according to a report released this week by the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency. The emissions…
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Opponents pack Bellingham coal terminal hearing
Vigorous opposition greeted the first of seven hearings on Saturday on the proposed Pacific Gateway Terminal that is proposed for a waterfront site north of Bellingham, Wash. The terminal, proposed by…
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Research: Diesel officially dirtier than gas
Researchers from the University of California, Berkeley found that diesel exhaust is a bigger source of secondary particles in smog than gasoline. Exhaust from diesel burning vehicles, particularly big…
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Iberdrola's Lakeview biomass plans call for more emissions
Iberdrola Renewables Inc. is looking to more than double the amount of emissions allowed at its planned biomass plant in Lakeview, following word from a supplier that its equipment doesn’t work as well…
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Procter & Gamble making big alternative energy bets
Procter & Gamble Co. is done with diesel in Mehoopany, Pa. At its largest U.S. plant, which makes Bounty paper towels, Charmin toilet tissue and Pampers diapers, P&G has replaced diesel fuel with compressed…
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An open letter to BNSF CEO on coal transport
Editor's note, the following is an excerpt of an open letter to BNSF CEO Matthew Rose. We wanted to thank you for recently visiting the Northwest. We’re sorry that we didn’t have a chance to chat…
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UO study: Cooling coal emissions could lead to cleaner air
An analysis by a team of University of Oregon physicists found that cooling the emissions from coal-fired power plants could significantly drop the levels of dangerous chemicals dispersed into the air. The…
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Plans for Washington coal export terminal shelved
Plans for one of the half-dozen coal export facilities proposed in the Pacific Northwest have been shelved. RailAmerica will no longer pursue construction of a facility that was expected to handle 5 million…
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U.S. power plants polluting less
A new report paints an optimistic picture about the transition of the top 100 U.S. power producers to cleaner energy sources. Drawing on federal data, the report from Ceres, a nonprofit group in Boston,…
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Group names ‘Toxic 20’ states for pollution
Kentucky was the worst and Ohio was the second worst offender in the country in 2010 when it came to pollution from coal-fired power plants, according to a new report. An analysis released Thursday by…
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Army Corps decision could delay coal terminal
Australian coal giant Ambre Energy hopes to open a $250 million Columbia River coal export terminal by late next year. That won’t likely happen if the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers decides to require…
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OhioAmerican closing mine, blames ‘war on coal’
The owners of a Jefferson County Ohio coal mine that will close in the fall are blaming President Barack Obama's administration for the decision. OhioAmerican Energy Inc. blasted the administration in…
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Georgia Power contests coal-fired plant health findings
Georgia Power sent a six-page letter to the state Department of Public Health this week that disputes parts of a recent report about the possible health effects of Plant Scherer in Monroe County, Ga.,…
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National Wildlife Federation report cites coal risks
A National Wildlife Federation report released Tuesday morning outlines risks for both human and wildlife habitats posed by building coal export facilities in the Pacific Northwest. It also makes the case…
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Progress Energy speeding closure of coal-fired plants
Progress Energy Carolinas announced today it is accelerating the retirement of two coal-fired power plants, including the 316-megawatt Cape Fear coal-fired plant in Moncure, N.C. The Cape Fear plant,…
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McDermott proposes tax on N.W. coal shipments
U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Seattle, is proposing a $10-per-ton tax on every ton of mined coal in an effort to offset the cost of rail congestion, coal dust and other impacts of increased coal shipments…
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