The Yellowstone River near Glendive, Montana, as seen from Interstate 90. By Tim Evanson [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

The Yellowstone River near Glendive, Montana, as seen from Interstate 90. By Tim Evanson [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

These are some of the stories we’ve been following this week.

  • A former movie theater in the South Fayette Township in Pennsylvania that is for sale will be under contract for a while longer as the potential buyer decides on a course of action to make sure the property meets all environmental standards.
  • Officials are taking soil samples at Peterson Air Force Base in an effort to find out if firefighting foam used at the base might have contaminated the groundwater.
  • The Department of the Interior is working with officials in Helena, Montana to recover damages stemming from a 2015 oil spill that sent 30,000 gallons of oil into the Yellowstone River.
  • An oil company’s response to an oil spill earlier this year will cost it $90 million. Husky Energy worked to clean up the more than 59,000 gallons that ended up in the Saskatchewan River.
  • Counties around Portland, Oregon now allow a partial property tax exemption for spouses of police officers and firefighters who are killed in the line of duty. Washington County is the latest county to provide the exemption.
  • Methane gas from a landfill in Idaho could soon be turned into electricity. The Milner Butte landfill was given approval to move forward with a plan to convert the gas with construction to begin next year.
  • A federal judge advised two Pennsylvania property owners to agree on the property value of land used for a pipeline so that a jury of strangers doesn’t have to make the determination.
  • Monsanto Company’s request to have a contamination lawsuit against it dismissed was denied. The lawsuit alleges the company knew that it was manufacturing harmful chemicals, and that Monsanto should be required to clean up any contamination.