WASHINGTON (Dec. 23, 2015) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will hold three public hearings on the proposed updates to the national air quality standards for ground-level ozone, also known as smog. EPA has proposed to strengthen the standards to a level within a range of 65 to 70 parts per billion (ppb) to better protect Americans’ health and the environment, while taking comment on a level down to 60 ppb.

HELSINKI (Dec. 22, 2014) – Wärtsilä has been contracted to supply power plants for 11 cement factories of EUROCEMENT Group in Russia. The project is part of a modernization program of the factories, which focuses on energy efficiency and environmental upgrading. EUROCEMENT Group, making up almost 40 percent of the Russian cement market, is one of the largest cement producers in the world. The contract was signed in November 2014.

DUBAI (November 2014)—Boosted by a positive upward trend for sales of screw pumps in the Middle East area, Leistritz Pumpen GmbH, a German manufacturer of screw pumps, has opened its office in the UAE, located in the Sharjah Airport International Free Zone (SAIF-Zone). The Middle East area has made a significant contribution to Leistritz Pumps’ growth in the past years and will play a major and strategic role for the next years’ market development.

WASHINGTON (Dec. 19, 2014) — The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the Environmental Defense Center (EDC) announced that they have sued the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to strengthen standards to prevent pollution from stormwater, one of the nation’s most widespread forms of water pollution. More than a decade ago a federal appeals court ordered EPA to strengthen those protections, but the agency has failed to take action.