janet_yellen_official_federal_reserve_portrait

Federal Reserve Chairman Janet Yellen

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

  • An airport has been identified by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection as a possible cause of the contamination of the city of Hyannis’ soil and groundwater.
  • Homes in Bridgeton, Missouri, will soon be by the EPA. The homes are near a World War II-era landfill that is filled with nuclear waste.
  • The interest rate could soon be headed higher, according to Federal Reserve Chairman Janet Yellen. She said the economy was doing well enough that an interest rate increase would not negatively affect it.
  • The Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund has plans to expand its investment capacity, and it is putting its plan into action by appointing personnel to positions key to the PIF’s success.
  • The Louisiana coastline suffered massive land loss due to the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Maps from NASA and the United States Geological Survey show the shoreline receded by as much as 13 feet following the spill.
  • A Pennsylvania property owner was awarded $6,000 for an easement for a natural gas pipeline located along the edge of the property.
  • Repairs to an apartment complex in Denver ended up releasing asbestos in the air, according to federal officials. The management company as well as one of its executives are facing federal charges.
  • A recent decision by the Missouri Supreme Court could affect how owners of leaking underground storage tanks collect cleanup costs from a storage tank insurance fund.
  • An Alabama utility plans to close a dozen of its coal ash ponds. The ponds will be covered instead of being excavated. Environmental groups want the coal ash removed and transported to landfills with protective linings.