KHARGONE: 12-YEAR-OLD BOY ASKED TO PAY RS 2.9 LAKH FOR PROPERTY DAMAGE

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A 12-year-old boy and his father in Madhya Pradesh’s Khargone has received a notice to pay Rs 2.9 lakh for allegedly damaging public property during the Ram Navami violence that took place in April this year.

Madhya Pradesh Prevention and Recovery of Damages to Public Property Act, which came into effect in January, allows the government to seek compensation from offenders who damage public and private properties during agitations. Their neighbors claim that the 12-year-old boy and his father, Kalu Khan, robbed and vandalized their home when violence broke out in Khargone on 10 April.

Though a plea seeking relief was moved by Khan’s lawyer before the Indore bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, the court rejected the petition and asked Khan’s family to approach the tribunal. The tribunal also subsequently denied the plea on vague grounds of civil procedure.

DEALING WITH DIRT PROBLEMS CAUSED BY HURRICANE IAN: DEBRIS AND DAMAGED STRUCTURES

CBS17.com

Hurricane Ian resulted in massive property damages in Florida. Removal of debris and waste will be the first of many efforts by residents and businesses to begin to recover from the storm.

Cleanup may include debris that contains hazardous materials. These materials include asbestos containing materials including shingles, siding, and insulation, automotive/marine batteries, tires, fuel and oil, pesticides, solvents and paint thinners, compressed gas containers, household white goods such as refrigerators, washers/dryers and stoves, electronics such as televisions, radios, stereos, VCRs, computers, and microwaves, PCBS electrical equipment such as transformers and capacitors, preserved wood etc.

Florida Emergency Management teams are creating Disaster Debris Management Sites (DDMS) at strategic locations to potentially expedite the cleanup process. These management teams have outlined initial considerations for the removal of hazardous debris. Class I waste, which includes household garbage, hazardous waste, “putrescible” (likely to decay) waste, and asbestos-containing material or mixed waste should be taken to specific landfills.

NORTH CAROLINA SUES OVER 'FOREVER CHEMICAL' CONTAMINATION

www.NorthCarolinaHealthNews.org

Two new lawsuits were filed by Attorney General Josh Stein against manufacturers of a firefighting foam, alleging that so-called “forever chemicals” in the foam led to contamination at two military facilities and at Piedmont Triad International Airport (“PTI”). Groundwater samples at PTI have shown concentrations of PFOS reaching 8,000 parts per trillion.

Samples from Camp Lejeune and Marine Corps Air Station New River showed PFOA contamination over 25,000 ppt. The EPA is working to publish a proposed national drinking water regulation for PFOA and PFOS by the end of this year.

NEW STUDY FINDS OVER 57,000 ADDITIONAL SUSPECTED DISCHARGERS OF TOXIC ‘FOREVER CHEMICALS’

www.CommonDreams.org

A new study published today in Environmental Science & Technology Letters identifies at least 57,000 sites potentially contaminated with the toxic “forever chemicals” known as PFAS. The potentially contaminated sites included places where PFAS-laden firefighting foam was likely released; certain industrial facilities; sites related to PFAS-containing waste; military sites and airports.

In addition, the Environmental Working Group (“EWG”) published a paper last year in the American Water Works Association’s journal Water Science identifying 41,862 potential dischargers of PFAS.

The Environmental Protection Agency proposed in June a new lifetime health advisory for the PFAS chemicals PFOA, PFOS, PFBS and Gen-X . Dr. Andrews of EWG stated that “As PFAS are found to be harmful at lower and lower levels, it is critically important to identify sources of potential contamination and take steps to protect downstream communities who may be unwittingly exposed.”

FLORIDA'S PROPERTY INSURANCE MARKET WAS ALREADY UNDER STRESS AND HURRICANE IAN COULD MAKE IT WORSE

www.CarrierManagement.com

Over the first nine months of 2022 the U.S. experienced 15 disasters that each caused at least $1 billion in damage. Hurricane Ian is taking the largest toll of these disasters by far – but the extent of the damage could take years to calculate with any precision. Preliminary property damage estimates for Ian so far range from $42 billion to as much as $258 billion, with some landing in the middle. One way to reduce disaster losses is to buy out properties from homeowners residing in flood-prone areas.

FLORIDA'S PROPERTY INSURANCE MARKET WAS ALREADY UNDER STRESS AND HURRICANE IAN COULD MAKE IT WORSE

JOE RAEDLE / GETTY IMAGES

ven before Hurricane Ian made landfall in Florida last week, the state's property insurance market was already in its own state of disaster. According to the Insurance Information Institute, Florida homeowners pay nearly three times the national average for property insurance with premiums rising about 33% each year compared to the typical American’s annual increase of 9%.

Another contributing factor to the problem is that according to the state's insurance regulator, nearly 80% of all homeowners' insurance lawsuits in the U.S. come from Florida. By contrast, the state accounts for only 9% of all homeowner claims. Insurance companies operating in Florida say they have been forced to raise rates to cover the costs of handling lawsuits.

In addition, as storms have grown more destructive, reinsurance costs have grown significantly. Some reinsurers are pulling back from Florida. Others are raising rates — reinsurance costs for Florida insurers rose by as much as 50% this year, according to a report.

Even as damage estimates rise, officials have expressed confidence that insurers will be able to pay out Hurricane Ian claims. However, state legislator Brandes said if rates continue to rise by 30% or more, as they have done for many Floridians in recent years, some Florida homeowners may end up paying more for insurance than they do for their mortgage.  

WIND OR WATER MAY DECIDE WHO PAYS FOR FLORIDA REBUILD

www.Aljazeera.com

Court fight looms between property owners, insurance firms as most do not cover flood damage.

Only about a third of the Florida homes in the two coastal counties devastated by Hurricane Ian have insurance policies covering flood damage. Flood damage is usually excluded from standard homeowners’ policies throughout the US.

The Wall Street Journal reported that in some of the inland counties that also suffered severe flooding from Ian, only a handful out of every 100 homes that were destroyed have specific flood coverage.

PG&E FACES SECOND LAWSUIT IN CONNECTION WITH MOSQUITO FIRE

Fortune.com

Pacific Gas & Electric Co. faces a second lawsuit in connection with a wildfire that destroyed homes and forced thousands in Placer and El Dorado counties to evacuate. The lawsuit, filed by Frantz Law Group, is on behalf of residents who suffered property losses and damages due to the Mosquito Fire.

The first lawsuit alleged that PG&E’s “poorly maintained utility infrastructure” is responsible for starting the Mosquito Fire. The wildfire has burned 76,788 acres, according to the U.S. Forest Service. Cal Fire said 78 structures were destroyed and 13 more damaged.

It’s still unclear how the Mosquito Fire started. However, PG&E filed a report with the state’s public utility commission for a pole near where the fire started.

CORELOGIC ESTIMATES $41 BILLION TO $70 BILLION IN INSURED AND UNINSURED WIND AND FLOOD LOSSES FROM HURRICANE IAN

www.FoxBusiness.com

CoreLogic announced its damage estimates from Hurricane Ian totaling between $41 billion and $70 billion, which includes wind loss, insured and uninsured storm surge loss and inland flood loss for residential and commercial properties.

Hurricane Ian’s large wind field and landfall path caused wind and coastal storm surge damage along the densely populated Florida coast. Florida had been a popular destination during 2020 and 2021 due to the state’s lack of income tax and housing with lower cost per square foot than homes in other coastal metros. According to CoreLogic, nearly 66,000 pending mortgage applications worth nearly $22.5 billion are currently in progress in Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina and are at risk from Hurricane Ian damages.

SOUTH PORTLAND, MAINE ATTORNEY TO LEAD STATE’S EFFORTS TO HELP FARMERS HURT BY PFAS

SpectrumLocalNews.com

South Portland recently appointed Elizabeth Fuller Valentine, an attorney in Portland, Maine as the state’s new PFAS Fund Director. Valentine will lead efforts to provide $60 million in relief to Maine farmers affected by the costs associated with PFAS contamination. Those costs may include support for lost income, medical testing, and research that could identify remediation systems for soil and water affected by the contamination.

PFAS has been found in sludge and drinking water on some farms in Maine. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, exposure to high levels of PFAS, known as “forever chemicals” -- because they don’t break down in the environment -- can lead to an increased risk of some cancers.

THE ‘HURRICANE TAX’: HOW IAN IS PUSHING FLORIDA’S HOME INSURANCE MARKET TOWARD COLLAPSE

www.Route-Fifty.com

When Hurricane Ian pummeled Florida in early October 2022, it left a trail of physical destruction in its wake. Entire neighborhoods were submerged in water, cities were damaged by 150-mile-per-hour winds, and thousands of people lost their homes overnight.

The fallout from Hurricane Ian will be both physical and financial. Wind damage is typically covered by standard homeowner’s insurance, and the reimbursements required by Hurricane Ian’s extensive loss are potentially accelerating the collapse of the state’s homeowner’s insurance industry.

Home insurance costs are positioned to increase for Florida residents. The state will be forced to impose new taxes and penalties as it tries to keep the insurance market functioning. While homeowner’s insurance nationwide averages around $1,500 annually, Floridians pay almost three times as much. Hurricane Ian has the potential to make life in Florida more expensive for everyone in the state that owns a home or a car.

CLEANUP PLANNED FOR DECADES-LONG CONTAMINATION IMPACTING NE WICHITA NEIGHBORHOOD

www.KMUW.org

A nearly $14 million project is planned to clean up a contaminant that dates to the early 1990s in the NE Wichita neighborhood of Millair. The contaminant, trichloroethylene, commonly used to degrease metals has been traced back to the Union Pacific railyard by the City of Wichita and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE).

The contaminant can cause health problems, including kidney cancer. The toxic groundwater and soil run 2.9 miles across northeast Wichita and are sitting on the football field at Gordon Park. The KDHE is seeking input on the cleanup.

VERSAILLES MEGA MANSION SUFFERS $10M IN HURRICANE IAN DAMAGES

News.Yahoo.com

The 90,000-square-foot Versailles mansion from the 2012 documentary “Queen of Versailles” endured $10 million in damages due to Hurricane Ian. The storm flooded several floors of Jackie Siegel’s home at 6121 Kirkstone Lane in Windermere, Florida. Jackie Siegel and her husband David Siegel recently installed 24-karat crown molding that is now crumbling to their living room floor. The 13-bedroom, 23-bathroom mansion spans three floors and sits on a 10.1-acre lot. The former model anticipates a cost of around $100,000 just to pump out the water.

WHAT HURRICANE IAN DESTROYED IN A FLORIDA BEACH TOWN

www.Boston.com

Fort Myers Beach, Florida, acts as a barrier island on the southwestern side of Florida. Fort Myers sustained extensive damage after Hurricane Ian made landfall on September 28th. Boats were washed up into neighborhoods and some buildings were gone entirely. The buildings that did remain standing had their entire first floor destroyed. The Ney York times was able to identify 400 buildings as visibly damaged through a survey of photographs and videos of the Hurricane Ian's aftermath. The damage identified is just a fraction of the destruction brought by the storm across all of Fort Myers Beach and the swath of the central Florida coast. The main commercial area, nicknamed “Times Square,” was almost completely leveled.

A LOOK AT THE CONTAMINATION AND CLEANUP OF NORTHWEST TERRITORIES GIANT MINE

www.CBC.ca

The Giant Mine in the Northwest Territories, near Yellowknife, Canada, estimated to be the biggest environmental clean-up in Canadian history. The mine operated from 1948 to 2005 and produced 220 tons of gold. It covers 900 hectares just outside Yellowknife along the shores of Great Slave Lake. There are about 100 buildings, 25 large piles of junk and rusting machinery, 30 kilometers of road, eight open mine pits, six tailings’ ponds, and 13 underground chambers still exist on the site.

13.5 million tons of arsenic-contaminated soil is on the surface; 237,000 tons of arsenic trioxide is in underground chambers; and an unknown amount of asbestos is in buildings on the site. The plan is to freeze underground arsenic in perpetuity, pump and treat seepage from mine in perpetuity, and attempt to destroy the hazardous waste. The aim is to remediate parts of the site to residential standards and others to industrial standards. The goal is to be completed by 2031.

SEA IN DANGER, CONTAMINATED BY HUMAN AND INDUSTRIAL WASTE

www.FirstPost.com

The Republic of Tunisia's 1,300-kilometer coastline is being threatened by pollution. The Ministry of Health publishes a list every year of beaches where swimming is prohibited due to water analyses indicating the significant levels of fecal matter in the sea. The Tunisia government’s laissez-faire policies offer no solution for industrial facilities to limit the pollutants they release into the environment. Residents continuously complain about the odor coming from the ocean and the visible streams of brownish water running from factories straight into the ocean.

SILVER STRAND SHORELINE CLOSED DUE TO SEWAGE CONTAMINATION

www.SanDiegounionTribune.com

San Diego County Health Officials closed the Silver Strand Shoreline on September 24th due to sewage contamination in the water. The beach has been closed to swimmers, surfers, and other users after flows from the Tijuana River and northerly ocean currents swept untreated wastewater into the area. The beach will remain closed until samplings from the ocean conclude that the water is no longer dangerous to contact. Silver Strand Shoreline, Tijuana Slough, and Imperial Beach Shoreline have been closed due to the sewage contamination. Tidelands Park in Coronado, Shelter Island, La Jolla Cove, Campland in Mission Bay, and Children’s Pool in La Jolla are under an ongoing water quality advisory.

KING COUNTY MOVES TOWARD $5 MILLION SETTLEMENT WITH SUQUAMISH TRIBE OVER SEWAGE OVERFLOWS

www.SeattleTimes.com

King County, Washington, is prepared to pay over $5 million to settle a threatened lawsuit from the Suquamish Tribe. The threatened lawsuit regarded the millions of gallons of sewage spills that have overflowed from county treatment plants into Puget Sound, Washington. The settlement also sets timelines for an estimated $600 million in improvements over the next decade to the county's West Point Treatment Plant in Seattle, Washington's Discovery Park. The settlement includes a $40,000 penalty for missed deadlines and $10,000 for each additional month of delay. Half of the proposed $5 million settlement would go into a mitigation fund, controlled by the tribe. The other half would go toward a new environmental project of the county’s choosing and must be completed within five years.

WELLS FARGO TO PAY $94M TO SETTLE MORTGAGE FORBEARANCE SUIT

FairShake.com

A class-action lawsuit filed against Wells Fargo argued that they sent more than 200,000 mortgage borrowers into forbearance during the pandemic unlawfully and without their consent. Wells Fargo agreed to pay $94 Million in order to settle the lawsuit. This decision by Wells Fargo damaged borrowers’ credit scores, making it more difficult for them to refinance their mortgages when rates were at their lowest levels in history and violated the CARES Act. Wells Fargo has denied any wrongdoing and said its underwriting practices are consistently applied regardless of the customer.

FOUR COMPANIES IN $437K SETTLEMENT OVER RYE BROOK MERCURY CONTAMINATION CASE

WestFairOnline.com

American Iron & Metal Co., Culp Industries, Paramount Global, and Public Service Company of New Hampshire have agreed to a $437,255 settlement with the federal government for their role in contaminating the Village of Rye Brook, New York, with thousands of pounds of mercury. The contamination occurred at Port Refinery; a mercury refining business bordered by private residences. A ruling by the EPA has determined that Port Refinery took close to no environmental precautions or safety measures during its mercury refinement process between the 1970s and 1990s. The contamination resulted in two separate EPA remediation projects involving more than 9,300 tons of contaminated soil.