2 small fires break out at Aliso Canyon facility in Porter Ranch, CA

Firefighters extinguish a fire that broke out in a storage container at the Aliso Canyon gas storage facility in Porter Ranch on Thursday, June 9, 2016. (KABC)




Updated 19 mins ago
PORTER RANCH, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Firefighters put out two small fires at the Aliso Canyon gas storage facility in Porter Ranch Thursday.

The first fire broke out around 1:30 a.m. in the 12800 block of Tampa Avenue and the second around 7:30 p.m. Both fires were quickly put out. The cause of the fires was under investigation, but arson was not suspected.

One of the fires was found in a drum near a construction trailer. The second fire erupted in a shipping container.

The Aliso Canyon facility came under fire after a months-long gas leak that displaced hundreds of residents. Many said the fumes caused them to fall ill and suffer from headaches and nosebleeds.

City News Service contributed to this report.

BICYCLIST DEATHS/INJURIES ON THE RISE: Bicyclist fatally struck by SUV in crosswalk in Mount Prospect, IL

Friday, June 10, 2016 07:52AM

MOUNT PROSPECT, Ill. (WLS) -- A woman was struck and killed while riding her bike in northwest suburban Mount Prospect.

Joni Beaudry, 55, of Mount Prospect, was struck by a black, Lexus SUV on Weller Lane as she tried to cross Central Road just after 9:40 a.m. Thursday, police said.

Investigators said Beaudry was heading north on Weller, activated the crossing signal at Central and started to cross the street once the eastbound cars had stopped.

The SUV, which was heading east on Central in the middle lane, did not stop at the intersection and hit Beaudry, police said. She was rushed to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, where she later died.

Police said the 56-year-old woman from northwest suburban Elk Grove Village who was driving the SUV stayed on the scene after the collision. She was cited for failure to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk and failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident.

A Lake County sheriff's officer was injured when a vehicle struck his squad car in northwest Indiana

Officer responding to drunk driving call injured in Hammond crash






Updated 1 hr 33 mins ago
HAMMOND, Ind. (WLS) -- A Lake County sheriff's officer was injured when a vehicle struck his squad car in northwest Indiana Friday morning.

A spokesperson for the Lake County Sheriff's Department said the officer was responding to a drunk driving call when the other vehicle struck his car near Columbia Avenue and Gostlin Street in Hammond, Indiana.

The officer was taken to the hospital, where his condition stabilized.

Officials said no other injuries were reported.

The crash is under investigation

The Houston Police Department released a list of the 10 most reported stolen vehicles in April 2016

HPD: Top 10 vehicles stolen in April 2016

The new 2015 Chevrolet Colorado pickup truck (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Updated 56 mins ago

HOUSTON (KTRK) --

The Houston Police Department released a list of the 10 most reported stolen vehicles in April 2016. Did your vehicle make the list?

1. Chevrolet Trucks 192


2. Ford Trucks 172


3. Chevrolet Cars, Dodge Trucks 53


4. Honda Cars 52


5. GMC Trucks 46


6. Nissan Cars, Toyota Cars 40


7. Dodge Cars 22


8. Toyota Trucks 20


9. Chrysler Cars, Jeep Trucks, Nissan Trucks 17

Northstar Casteel Products agrees to second EPA settlement in four years over federal Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) violations

06/09/2016
Contact Information:
Mark MacIntyre (macintyre.mark@epa.gov)
206-553-7302

(Seattle, WA – June 8, 2016) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has settled with North Star Casteel Products, Inc. (North Star), a foundry located in Seattle, Washington for violations of the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) chemical reporting requirements of the Emergency Planning and Community-Right-To-Know Act. As part of today’s agreement, North Star will pay a $133,900 penalty.

North Star is a foundry that manufactures metal castings to meet customer alloy and shape specifications. According to the Company, Northstar sells products to “manufacturers and end users seeking strong, ductile, heat resistant, and wear-resistant ferrous castings.” The facility is located next to the I-5 freeway, just south of downtown, in Seattle’s Georgetown neighborhood.

North Star is required to submit TRI reports to EPA every year by July 1. The TRI reports document the quantity of toxic chemicals released during the previous calendar year. The Toxics Release Inventory is an important tool for community members and others to use to get data about pollutants in their communities. By failing to report pollution releases to the Inventory, North Star deprived community members of timely and accurate data about the environmental health of their community.

According to Ed Kowalski, director of EPA’s Office of Compliance and Enforcement in Seattle, the facility’s compliance track record is less-than-stellar. Following a facility inspection in April, 2011, EPA and North Star agreed to settle in July 2012, for North Star’s failure to report chemical releases for the previous five years for which the facility paid an $87,000 penalty. Despite the settlement and EPA’s repeated emails and phone calls, the facility again failed to report for toxic chemicals released in 2012.

EPA then issued a Notice-of-Violation (NOV) to the company in 2014 - ahead of the July 1 reporting deadline - but the facility failed to report for releases in 2012 and 2013. EPA inspected the facility on March 10, 2015, in advance of the July 1, 2015 deadline, but the facility failed to report releases that occurred in 2014 as well. Only after EPA informed North Star of its intention to file an Administrative Complaint did the company file the delinquent reports.

“This facility resisted all of EPA’s efforts to bring them back into compliance. A large penalty was the only way to get their attention,” said EPA’s Kowalski “This case also is the object of increased EPA scrutiny because it borders some economically-challenged communities with existing environmental concerns.”

EPA enforcement personnel used the Agency’s new EJ SCREEN tool to evaluate the environmental burdens borne by the surrounding south Seattle communities and to understand the potential impacts of this facility on the community. This tool complements the Toxics Release Inventory.

The Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act created the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI). It requires facilities that manufacture, process, or use toxic chemicals over certain threshold quantities to file annual reports estimating the amounts released to the environment, treated or recycled on-site, or transferred off-site for waste management. Failure to report emergency chemical releases and to submit complete and accurate TRI forms are violations of the law.

For more information:
EPA's TRI Program
EPA’s EJ SCREEN Tool