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TRENTON, N.J. (AP) -- New Jersey has warned squirrel hunters near a toxic waste dump about consuming the critters because they could be contaminated with lead. It is the first time the state has cautioned Ringwood residents - many who are members of the Ramapough Mountain Indian tribe who hunt and fish in the area - about their squirrel intake, said Tom Slater, a spokesman for the Department of Health and Senior Services. A lead-contaminated squirrel was found in the area two months ago, prompting the agency, along with the state Department of Environmental Protection, to send out letters advising...

Environmental rollbacks from the Bush administration "in the dead of the night" are history, the Senate's incoming environment chairwoman said Tuesday. "That's over. We are going to bring these things into the light. " Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., said in a wide-ranging interview laying out her agenda with The Associated Press. She cited concerns about a host of new Bush administration rules on air, land and water quality. "Some of the things are so outrageous that when they hit the light of day, you'll see people back off," she said. "And that's something I do, and I will do. The...

Kaiser-Hill Co. officials on Thursday said they have completed the $7 billion Rocky Flats cleanup - a major milestone in the former nuclear- trigger plant's transformation into a public wildlife refuge. The cleanup is the largest completed on a U.S. Department of Energy or federal Superfund toxic-waste site, project managers said. More than 21 tons of weapons- grade nuclear material was removed, enough radioactive waste to fill a string of rail cars 90 miles long.

NORMALLY, ONE wouldn't expect a small environmental magazine in Canada to discover a shocking reality of the New Orleans hurricane disaster that seems to have escaped notice. It seems that a toxic landfill site on which housing was built in central New Orleans is now under floodwaters with the potential to pollute and contaminate portions of the Gulf Coast. Despite the overwhelming international coverage of Hurricane Katrina's lethal attack on southern U.S. states, it is the current issue of Solid Waste & Recycling magazine that unearthed an environmental hazard that has the potential of being an underwater Love Canal. CNN...

The Supreme Court on Monday put restrictions on companies that want to voluntarily clean up their polluted land and sue former owners to share the costs. The court ruled 7-2 against a company that in 1981 bought land in Texas that had been used for aircraft engine maintenance businesses and then went to court to recover some of the $5 million it spent cleaning up pollution there. The justices said the company improperly tried to use the Superfund law to sue because the government had not demanded that the cleanup be done. However, the court left open the possibility that...

In Defense of the President's Environmental Record By Max Borders While the environment remains at the bottom of the priority list for US voters, a number of factions continue nevertheless to flail wildly at the President on his green record -- claiming that his administration's work on the environment is poor, or worse: The League of Conservation Voters -- gave President George W. Bush an 'F' on the organization's 2003 Report Card The Children's Environmental Health Network -- gave the Bush Administration an 'F' for "how well it has protected children from environmental threats…" The National Park Conservation Association --...

Enviros Exploit Mother's Day With Mercury Scare Friday, May 07, 2004 By Steven Milloy As many wish their mothers a "Happy Mother's Day" this week, environmental activists have a different message — "one in six moms needs to be worried about toxic mercury." That holiday message was part of the enviros' "Mother's Day Stroller Brigade to Stop Mercury Poisoning," (search) a rally held Thursday at Lafayette Park near the White House.The rally was organized by the National Environmental Trust, the U.S. Public Interest Research Group and the Clean Air Task Force. "Join other mothers and parents from across the country to urge the Bush...

Friday, March 5, 2004 GE wins appeal of Superfund cleanup law By Dan Shapley Poughkeepsie Journal General Electric Co.'s challenge to Superfund law was revived this week, when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit overturned a year-old district court decision that had dismissed the case. GE argues the Environmental Protection Agency's ability to impose unilateral orders on private companies to clean up Superfund sites is unconstitutional under the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment. The case does not challenge any particular EPA order, but rather the law itself. The 12-page decision came down Tuesday,...

Fernald releases uranium into river CROSBY TWP. - More than 2.2 million gallons of uranium-tainted rainwater was discharged into the Great Miami River from the Fernald nuclear clean-up site during three days last week, a report indicated. The dirty water was blended with clean water before being dumped into the river, according to the report filed by Fluor Daniel, the company responsible for the Fernald cleanup. Still, the uranium levels were at least double, and sometimes triple, the amount allowable in drinking water, even after being blended. The discharges are permitted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and thus allowable...

NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. -- Twenty-five years ago an underground cauldron of chemical soup bubbled into local back yards and basements from an abandoned canal, forcing the relocation of 800 families and demolition of 300 homes. The discovery ignited fears of cancer and birth defects, gave rise to the Superfund law governing environmental cleanups and forever linked one name to toxic disasters: Love Canal. Today, parts of Love Canal are thriving. Pristine houses sit behind manicured lawns and pots of bright red geraniums. And in June the state agency charged with revitalizing the area officially disbanded. Still, the debate over whether...

WASHINGTON, DC, August 7, 2003 (ENS) -- The federal government is failing to fully fund the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (news - web sites)'s (EPA) Superfund program and 42 percent of Superfund clean up efforts could be slowed down or stopped as a result, environmentalists say. • Public Interest Research Groups • Sierra Club • OneWorld on Pollution Supported byCable & Wireless A new report released today by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) blames the Bush administration for cuts to the Superfund budget and Congress for shifting the burden of clean up from polluters to the American taxpayer....

EPA and GM Agree to Cleanup In Bedford, Indiana 7/31/03 12:00:00 PM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To: National Desk and Environmental Reporter Contact: Karen Thompson of the Environmental Protection Agency Region 5, 312-353-8547 CHICAGO, July 31 /U.S. Newswire/ -- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 and General Motors Corp. have signed an order under which GM will dig up and remove PCB-contaminated soil and sediment from residential and other areas affected by the GM plant at 105 GM Dr., Bedford, Ind. The EPA-managed Superfund cleanup will include stream sediment and floodplain soil along Bailey's Branch and Pleasant Run creeks and various tributaries....

Robert Torricelli is back on the federal payroll. Less than six months after Torricelli left the U.S. Senate, a federal judge named him as Special Master to oversee Honeywell International Inc.'s cleanup of a chromium-contaminated site on the banks of the Hackensack River in Jersey City. The order by U.S. District Judge Dennis Cavanaugh does not say how much Torricelli will earn, only that he and people he hires "will receive reasonable compensation for their time and expenses," and that Honeywell will pick up the tab. The appointment comes less than a week after Cavanaugh ordered Morris Township-based Honeywell to...

<p>STRAFFORD, Vt. -Stuart and Susan Rogers wear beepers because the toxic waste dump two miles from their home might collapse and let loose a toxic mudslide.</p> <p>Acid waste from the nearby Elizabeth copper mine was killing part of the Ompompanoosuc River, so the Environmental Protection Agency drafted a $15 million cleanup plan under the Superfund program. The EPA, however, provided no money for the work.</p>

<p>LYLES, Tenn. — Bill Goodreau thought he had found the retirement spot he was looking for — 40 acres in the country, peaceful, secluded, overgrown and with a natural spring.</p> <p>Today, Goodreau has realized his country getaway is all that and more: it's peaceful, secluded, and it's next door to a Superfund site.</p>

Wed Jul 24, 5:43 PM ET Former President Bill Clinton talks to reporters at the construction site of the William J. Clinton Presidential Center and Park Wednesday, July 24, 2002, near downtown Little Rock, Ark. Clinton said the library complex will be a landmark for Little Rock. (AP Photo/Danny Johnston)

Fouling Our Own Nest By BOB HERBERT Do you remember the character Pig-Pen in the "Peanuts" cartoons? He was always covered with dirt and grime. He was cute, but he was a walking sludge heap, filthy and proud of it. He once told Charlie Brown, "I have affixed to me the dirt and dust of countless ages. Who am I to disturb history?" For me, Pig-Pen's attitude embodies President Bush's approach to the environment. We've been trashing, soiling, even destroying the wonders of nature for countless ages. Why stop now? Who is Mr. Bush to step in and curb this...

EPA Says Cleanups May Be Cut Back WASHINGTON (AP) - Cleanup work at toxic waste sites in 18 states will be severely curtailed or in some cases halted under a Bush administration plan to reduce spending for the nation's Superfund program, according to an Environmental Protection Agency ( news - web sites) analysis. EPA Administrator Christie Whitman previously announced planned cutbacks, but an EPA inspector general's report, made public Monday, for the first time indicated which sites would be affected. The IG report, released by two Democratic congressmen, said 33 Superfund sites in 18 states would no longer get money,...