EcoGreenU

Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Monday, April 11, 2011

New Jersey Solid Waste Management Facility Pleads Guilty to Illegal Dumping in Upstate New York Eagle Recycling Defrauded the United States and Violated Clean Water and Wire Fraud Laws WASHINGTON – Lieze Associates, dba Eagle Recycling of New Jersey, pleaded guilty today in federal court in Utica, N.Y., for conspiring to violate the Clean Water Act and to defraud the United States, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York and the U.S. Justice Department Environment and Natural Resources Division announced today. Eagle Recycling pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Hurd for the Northern District of New York to one criminal felony count for conspiring to violate the Clean Water Act’s prohibition on filling wetlands and committing wire fraud to conduct that filling.

According to the charges, Eagle Recycling and other coconspirators, engaged in a multi-year scheme to illegally dump 8,100 tons of pulverized construction and demolition debris that was processed at Eagle Recycling’s North Bergen, N.J., solid waste management facility and then transported to a farmer’s property in Frankfort, N.Y.  According to court documents, Eagle Recycling and other conspirators concealed the illegal dumping by fabricating a New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) permit and forged the name of a DEC official on the fraudulent permit. 

JOINT EPA/FDA STATEMENT: Update on Ongoing MonitoringRelease date: 03/30/2011 - Contact Information: EPA Press Office, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it / FDA Press Office, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  

As a result of the incident with the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan, several EPA air monitors have detected very low levels of radioactive material in the United States consistent with estimates from the damaged nuclear reactors. These detections were expected and the levels detected are far below levels of public-health concern.

Elevated levels of radioactive material in rainwater have been expected as a result of the nuclear incident after the events in Japan since radiation is known to travel in the atmosphere - precipitation samples collected by EPA in the states of California, Idaho and Minnesota have seen very slightly elevated levels of radiation.

WASHINGTON – In response to the ongoing situation in Japan, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has taken steps to increase the level of nationwide monitoring of milk, precipitation, drinking water, and other potential exposure routes.

Researchers at Johns Hopkins found a direct correlation between increasing concentrations of particulate matter (PM) in indoor air and increased asthma symptoms in preschool children. Funded in part by a grant from EPA’s Science to Achieve Results program and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), the study, published in the February issue of Environmental Health Perspectives, evaluated 150 inner city children with asthma in the Baltimore metropolitan area.Researchers monitored the concentrations of both fine (2.5 microns or less) and coarse (2.5-10 microns) PM in each child’s bedroom. Samples were taken for three days at the start of the study and at 3 and 6 months. The health of each child was assessed through caregiver reports. Researchers found that a significant increase in asthma symptoms was associated with higher indoor air concentrations of both coarse and fine PM.

The Grants Program sponsored by EPA's Environmental Education Division (EED), Office of Children's Health Protection and Environmental Education, supports environmental education projects that enhance the public's awareness, knowledge, and skills to help people make informed decisions that affect environmental quality. EPA awards grants each year based on funding appropriated by Congress. Annual funding for the program ranges between $2 and $3 million. Most grants will be in the $15,000 to $25,000 range.