The top U.S. environmental official has expressed uncertainty about whether the Obama administration and Volkswagen AG will meet an April 21 court deadline to come up with a plan to address excess emissions from 580,000 diesel vehicles sold in the country, according to Reuters.
EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy told reporters that the two sides were in "really robust" ongoing talks but said she did not know if they would agree to a deal by April 21. She declined to say if the administration would accept a partial fix of the polluting vehicles or if it would insist that Volkswagen offer to buy them all back.
Last month, U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer gave VW and U.S. regulators until April 21 to offer a "concrete proposal" for addressing the polluting cars. Both sides must "resolve" what is to happen to the cars by that date, Breyer said.
TVA study backs ash dewatering facility
The Tennessee Valley Authority is taking another step to change the way ash and coal products are stored at Kingston Fossil Plant with the addition of a bottom ash dewatering facility.
TVA said Wednesday an environmental assessment determined the best option for storing bottom ash in ponds at the Kingston plant is to build a dewatering facility and to store the ash on site in a dry landfill. Bottom ash is particles of ash, left from the burning of coal, that are too large to be captured airborne, and are instead collected at the bottom of the steam furnace.
Fly ash and gypsum are already stored dry on site at Kingston. The project supports TVA's plan to discontinue wet storage of coal combustion residuals and move towards dry storage throughout TVA's coal fleet.
The rupture of a storage pond at the Kingston fossil plant seven years ago spilled more than 1 billion gallons of toxic coal ash into the Emory River in Roane County.
Hiring fair set for Finley Stadium
Finley Stadium will conduct hiring fair today from 4-7 p.m. at the St. Elmo Gate to hire more than 40 seasonal employees for the Chattanooga Football Club season and the UTC Mocs football season. Potential employees should bring two forms of ID and be prepared to complete a job application.
Last year, Finley Stadium drew a record high 550,000 visitors for all events.
Justice to block Halliburton merger
The Justice Department is suing to stop Halliburton from buying oilfield-services rival Baker Hughes, the latest effort by the Obama administration to block mergers that it believes enrich corporations but hurt consumers.
The government argues that the $35 billion deal would lead to higher prices and less innovation in the business of helping energy companies drill for oil and gas.
The Justice Department filed a lawsuit Wednesday in federal court in Delaware, charging that the deal would eliminate head-to-head competition in 23 markets for products and services including drill bits, fluids and expertise in drilling horizontal wells. Those and other innovations have helped spur a renaissance in U.S. energy production.
Halliburton Co. is the world's second-biggest services company in the oil business and Baker Hughes Inc. is third. Combining them would create a duopoly with market leader Schlumberger Ltd., the Justice Department said.
Halliburton and Baker Hughes said they would contest the lawsuit. They said that the Justice Department was wrong in how it viewed the deal, especially given the downturn in the oil industry