Category: Risk Management

The History Channel has a program they are showing about Americas crumbling infrastructure. I recommend watching if you work with governments, contractors, utilities, manufacturers, transporters, aviation…. Just a few points that caught my attention on the not so obvious environmental exposures due to the Crumbling of America. Each year there are 240,000 water main breaks…

Crap Happens Three hundred million Americans head to the restroom multiple times a day. The amount of sludge produced staggers the mine—7 million dry tons per year and counting. And it’s not even just crap—it contains residues from everything else we put down the drain, from the detergent in your dishwasher to the chemicals used at the industrial…

ERMI has seen a tremendous rise in the number of construction projects requiring Contractors Pollution Liability (CPL) insurance. For larger construction projects requiring CPL coverage, we feel the best CPL risk transfer strategy is for the project owner to purchase an Owner Controlled Contractors Pollution Liability (OCCPL) policy versus individual contractors purchasing CPL policies. With…

The Seventh Circuit recently ruled that a pre-petition cleanup obligation under RCRA § 7003 cannot be discharged in bankruptcy. The decision significantly weakens the “fresh start” afforded by the Bankruptcy Code. Companies that have emerged from bankruptcy should reassess their risk of future environmental liability from pre-bankruptcy activities, and may expect EPA, states and other…

Recent news reports have alerted many in Florida, particularly South Florida, of a phenomenon involving imported drywall from China and its unbecoming side effect: sulfur gas. The story begins during the post-Katrina rebuilding efforts and the lack of domestically- manufactured drywall as a result of a (then) strong construction boom compounded by the Gulf Coast…

CARE (http://www.epa.gov/care/) is a competitive grant program that offers an innovative way for a community to organize and take action to reduce toxic pollution in its local environment. Through CARE, a community creates a partnership that implements solutions to reduce releases of toxic pollutants and minimize people’s exposure to them. By providing financial and technical assistance,…

CHICAGO – August 24 – A widely used pesticide known to impact wildlife development and, potentially, human health has contaminated watersheds and drinking water throughout much of the United States, according to a new report released today by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). Banned by the European Union, atrazine is the most commonly detected…

Financial Times, 13 February 2009 – In the wake of the deepening economic crisis, many commentators are warning of the demise of corporate sustainability, the practice of balancing profit with the social and environmental impact of doing business. Companies obsessed with their own short-term survival, they suggest, cannot possibly support long-term, “feel-good” initiatives to protect…

environmental Strategist, between the line: The EPA ECHO web site is a great source to generate new business leads. I can assure you companies and municipalities that are listed on the EPA ECHO web site will want to talk to you about pollution liability insurance. If you go to http://www.epa-echo.gov/echo/ you will be able to…

by Ron Fonger | The Flint Journal Thursday September 03, 2009 FLINT — The city says vandalism appears to be behind a 14,000-gallon sewage spill into Swartz Creek Monday. Dawn Jones, a spokeswoman for Flint Mayor Dayne Walling, said today that city utility officials believe a person or persons took off a manhole cover from…