Release Date: 04/12/2012Contact Information: Sternberg, 215-814-5548, sternberg.david@epa.gov

(PHILADELPHIA – April 12, 2012) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced a settlement with ST Products resolving alleged Clean Water Act violations at the company’s metal tube fabrication facility in Duncansville, Blair County, Pa.

ST Products agreed to pay a $75,000 penalty for allegedly exceeding permit limits when discharging industrial wastewater pollutants to the wastewater treatment plant operated by the Borough of Hollidaysburg (BOH) in Frankston Township, Blair County, Pa. The BOH wastewater treatment plant discharges treated wastewater to the Juniata River which flows into the Susquehanna and ultimately the Chesapeake Bay.

EPA’s complaint alleged that ST Products exceeded its pretreatment permit discharge limits for the pollutants oil and grease, zinc, lead, and copper over a 34-month period. As part of the settlement, ST Products did not admit liability for the alleged violations, but has certified that it is now in compliance with applicable Clean Water Act requirements.

The Clean Water Act requires companies discharging pollutants to Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTWs) to obtain a permit from the POTW limiting the amount of pollution that may be discharged to the plant. This usually requires some type of pretreatment by the discharging facility.

Under a pretreatment permit, limits for pollutants are established in order to prevent impairment of waterways, either as a result of pollutants passing through the POTW, or interference with the functioning of the treatment plant.

For more information about pretreatment requirements visit: http://cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/home.cfm?program_id=3.

Receive our News Releases Automatically by Email

Search this collection of releases | or search all news releases

Get email when we issue news releases

View selected historical press releases from 1970 to 1998 in the EPA History website.

BERLIN/FRANKFURT (Reuters) – The European Central Bank has stopped providing liquidity to some Greek banks as they have not been successfully recapitalized, the ECB said on Wednesday, confirming news earlier reported exclusively by Reuters.

The news sent the euro lower against the dollar, fanning concerns among investors and in Greece that the country may have to leave the euro zone.

The development highlights the weak state of the banking sector in Greece, where Greeks are pulling euros out of the banks in fear that their country may exit the European single currency despite the declared determination of EU powers Germany and France to keep Athens in the monetary union.

“As recapitalization wasn’t in place, the ECB stopped monetary policy operations,” a euro zone central bank source told Reuters, declining to be identified. “They are now in the ELA of the Greek central bank.”

The ECB only conducts its refinancing operations with solvent banks. Banks which fail to meet strict ECB rules but are deemed solvent by the national central bank (NCB) concerned can nonetheless go to their NCB for emergency liquidity assistance (ELA).

The sources did not name the banks concerned.

An ECB official later added: “Pending the recapitalization of Greek banks that are severely undercapitalized as a result of the recent PSI (debt restructuring) operation, some of the Greek banks have been moved to Emergency Liquidity Assistance.”

“Once the recapitalization process is finalized, and we expect this to be finalized soon, the banks will regain access to standard Eurosystem refinancing operations,” the official added. “The ECB/Eurosystem (of euro zone central banks) continues to support Greek banks.”

It was unclear exactly how many lenders were affected but the development marked a increase in the number of Greek banks depending on emergency borrowing from the Bank of Greece.

One person familiar with the matter said four Greek banks’ capital was so depleted they were operating with negative equity capital. According to its own rules, the ECB cannot provide liquidity to banks in such a situation.

ECB policymaker Luc Coene told the Financial Times in an interview released earlier this week Greek banks on ELA were still solvent.

Greece’s cabinet on April 27 agreed a state bank support fund (HFSF) would provide the country’s four big banks with 18 billion euros worth of European bonds as an interim solution until they are recapitalized later in the year.

The fund will allocate the 18 billion euros by next week to the country’s four biggest lenders as an interim recapitalization, its chief said on Wednesday.

“Procedures to allocate the funds should be concluded by next week,” the head of the Hellenic Financial Stability Fund (HFSF), Panagiotis Thomopoulos, told Reuters.

Athens is working with EU/IMF officials on technical aspects of a recapitalization plan for its banks, likely to be unveiled after the national election.

About 50 billion euros ($66 billion) have been earmarked in Greece’s second bailout to prop up its struggling banking sector.

ECB President Mario Draghi said earlier the central bank wanted Greece to remain in the currency bloc.

“I want to state that our strong preference is that Greece will continue to stay in the euro zone,” he said in a speech, adding: “Since the treaty does not foresee anything on exit (from euro), this is not a matter for the ECB to decide.”

(Reporting by Annika Breidthardt and Andreas Framke; Writing by Paul Carrel; Editing by Noah Barkin/Jeremy Gaunt)

Jason Njoku studied chemistry at university and would probably be working as a scientist had he not thought of a magic formula that he has translated into a huge success: Nigerian films plus online distribution equals big money.

Currently the firm has more than 3,000 Nollywood titles in its library and, according to its website, it is Africa's largest content partner on YouTube and Dailymotion.

The low-budget films, often involving love-triangles and/ or witchcraft, are hugely popular across the continent.

"I wake up every single day super-excited about just being in control of my own time, and about having a real impact and change the world, in my little own way," he said.

African Dream is broadcast on the BBC Network Africa programme every Monday morning.

Every week, one successful business man or woman will explain how they started off and what others could learn from them.

The world's largest democracy and second most populous country emerged as a major power in the 1990s. It is militarily strong, has major cultural influence and a fast-growing and powerful economy.

A peace process, which started in 2004, stayed on track despite tension over Kashmir and several high-profile bombings until the Mumbai attacks of November 2008, which police blamed on Pakistani militants. India announced that the process was on pause the following month.

With its many languages, cultures and religions, India is highly diverse. This is also reflected in its federal political system, whereby power is shared between the central government and 28 states.

However, communal, caste and regional tensions continue to haunt Indian politics, sometimes threatening its long-standing democratic and secular ethos.

In 1984 Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was gunned down by her Sikh bodyguards after ordering troops to flush out Sikh militants from the Golden Temple in Amritsar.

And in 1992, widespread Hindu-Muslim violence erupted after Hindu extremists demolished the Babri mosque at Ayodhya.

Independent India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, dreamed of a socialist society and created a vast public infrastructure, much of which became a burden on the state.

From the late 1980s India began to open up to the outside world, encouraging economic reform and foreign investment. It is now courted by the world's leading economic and political powers, including its one-time foe China.

The country has a burgeoning urban middle class and has made great strides in fields such as information technology. Its large, skilled workforce makes it a popular choice for international companies seeking to outsource work.

But the vast mass of the rural population remains impoverished.

Their lives continue to be influenced by the ancient Hindu caste system, which assigns each person a place in the social hierarchy. Discrimination on the basis of caste is now illegal and various measures have been introduced to empower disadvantaged groups and give them easier access to opportunities – such as education and work.

Poverty alleviation and literacy campaigns are ongoing.

Nuclear tests carried out by India in May 1998 and similar tests by Pakistan just weeks later provoked international condemnation and concern over the stability of the region.

The US quickly imposed sanctions on India, but more recently the two countries have improved their ties, and even agreed to share nuclear technology.

India launches its own satellites and in 2008 sent its first spacecraft to the moon. It also boasts a massive cinema industry, the products of which are among the most widely-watched films in the world.

In a step that takes innovations to new levels, Samsonite Group, the worldwide specialist in travel solutions over the last 100 years, has implemented the revolutionary Augmented Reality Interactive display concept, in select Samsonite Classic Stores in the UAE and Middle East.

The Augmented Reality concept has been introduced at Samsonite’s exquisite showroom at Dubai Mall. Augmented Reality is a concept involving computer-generated imagery in live video streams where a person interacts with the objects on screen, giving the perception of being part of that reality.

The introduction of Augmented Reality concept further reinforces Samsonite Middle East’s commitment to innovation, not only in their world-class products and services, but also in the way they communicate and display the products at their stores in the region.

The new concept involves an Interactive TV on the store window, where customers watching the video imagery will feel transposed and step in to appear in the video, interacting and becoming a part of the reality. Samsonite ME also announced that the concept will soon also be introduced at other selected stores across the UAE and the Middle East.

In his comments on the new interactive concept, Subrata Dutta, Managing Director – South Asia and Middle East for Samsonite, said, “By bringing in the concept of Augmented Reality into the region – the first time such an interactive display has been introduced in our category across the region, our aim is to give an exciting and innovative new avenue for our customers to feel the Samsonite experience with us. We are proud to pioneer this type of virtual reality and window display in the region, on this scale.”

He added, “This is a compelling initiative to engage with our customers and make it an interactive fun exercise. We will look at introducing the same at our other stores across the Middle East very soon. The concept is integral to our overarching campaign to strengthen our brand visibility and commitment to innovation across the region and beyond. Moreover, this gives a whole new meaning to the concept of window shopping in the Middle East!”

Samsonite has always been at the forefront for business and casual luggage, as well as travel accessories since 1910. Today, Samsonite is the worldwide leader in superior travel bags, luggage and accessories, combining notable style with the latest design technology and the utmost attention to quality and durability.

Utilizing top designer expertise from around the globe, Samsonite has created unparalleled products that fulfill the travel and lifestyle needs of the sophisticated traveler.

Published May 9th, 2012 – 07:35 GMT

Egyptian election commission announced it was suspending its preparations for the presidential vote later this month after feeling “insulted” by MPs during a parliamentary session Monday. The commission said in a statement it would not meet as planned Tuesday with candidates and representatives of the press waiting for “better conditions”.

It is unclear at this stage, if the decision may have an impact on the elections, whose first round is scheduled on 23 and 24 May.

The commission accuses MPs of insulting its members, whose legitimacy is disputed by some Egyptians. They feel the commission tends to compromise with the old regime of Hosni Mubarak.

The decision aroused wide reactions in Egypt’s political arena. Some accused the Islamist Party of Freedom and Justice in attempts to disrupt the work of the election process.

On his part, presidential candidate Amr Moussa has expressed his surprise by the decision. In a statement issued on Tuesday, Musa stressed “the need to protect democracy” and not to take any action that would influence its track. 

Dubai: The Dubai Municipality has started work on developing Dubai Safari in Al Warqa area.

The project, which took about three months of planning, has been given a go-ahead by His Highness Shaikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

The municipality has already started leveling the site and the Safari will have animals from other countries.

Animals from the existing Dubai Zoo will be shifted to the new Safari, said Hussain Nasser Lootah, Director General of Dubai Municipality.

Article continues below