Wednesday, February 22, 2023
The Mining Journal 7A
State/Nation/World
EPA orders
Norfolk Southern
to clean up toxic
derailment
Putin suspends nuclear arms treaty
WASHINGTON (AP) —
Russian President Vladimir
Putin’s announcement Tues-
day that Moscow is suspend-
ing its participation in the last
remaining U.S.-Russia arms
control treaty will have an
immediate impact on U.S.
visibility into Russian nucle-
ar activities, but the pact was
already on life support.
Congress that Russia was not
complying with the terms of
the agreement by refusing to
allow inspections on its terri-
tory and refusing to agree to
new talks on resuming those
checks.
At the time, the State De-
partment said “Russia has
a clear path for returning to
full compliance” and that all
it needed to do was to agree
to new inspections.
EAST
PALESTINE,
ance.”
The agency said its or-
Putin’s decision to suspend
Russian cooperation with the
treaty’s nuclear warhead and
missile inspections follows
Moscow’s cancellation late
last year of talks that had
been intended to salvage an
agreement that both sides
have accused the other of vi-
olating.
In his state-of-the-nation
address to the Russian peo-
ple, Putin said Russia was
withdrawing from the treaty
because of U.S. support to
Ukraine, and he accused the
U.S. and its NATO allies of
openly working for Russia’s
destruction.
Ohio (AP) — The U.S.
Environmental Protection
Agency ordered Norfolk
Southern on Tuesday to
pay for the cleanup of the
East Palestine, Ohio train
wreck and chemical re-
lease as federal regulators
took charge of long-term
recovery efforts and prom-
ised worried residents they
wouldn’t be forgotten.
Using its authority under
the federal Superfund law,
EPA told Norfolk South-
ern to take all available
measures to clean up con-
taminated air and water,
and also said the company
would be required to reim-
burse the federal govern-
ment for a new program to
provide cleaning services
for impacted residents and
businesses.
“In no way, shape or form
will Norfolk Southern get
off the hook for the mess
they created,” EPA Ad-
ministrator Michael Regan
vowed at a news conference
in East Palestine. “I know
this order cannot undue the
nightmare that families in
this town have been living
with, but it will begin to de-
liver much-needed justice
for the pain that Norfolk
Southern has caused.”
He warned that if Norfolk
Southern fails to comply,
the agency will perform the
work itself and seek triple
damages from the compa-
ny.
der marked the end of the
“emergency” phase of the
Feb. 3 derailment and the
beginning of long-term re-
mediation phase in the East
Palestine area.
EPA’s move to compel
Norfolk Southern to clean
up came nearly three weeks
after more than three dozen
freight cars — including
11 carrying hazardous ma-
terials — derailed on the
outskirts of East Palestine,
near the Pennsylvania state
line, prompting an evacu-
ation as fears grew about
a potential explosion of
smoldering wreckage.
Officials seeking to
avoid the danger of an un-
controlled blast chose to
intentionally release and
burn toxic vinyl chloride
from five rail cars, sending
flames and black smoke
again billowing high into
the sky.
That left people ques-
tioning the potential health
impacts for residents in the
area and beyond, even as
authorities maintained they
were doing their best to
protect people.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine
assured residents that they
will not be left to handle
the aftermath on their own
once the news cameras
leave and public attention
turns elsewhere.
“We understand that it’s
not just about today, it’s
not just about two weeks
from now,” he said. “Peo-
ple have long-term con-
cerns. and we’re going to
do everything we can to
stay at this.”
HOW WILL
BIDEN
ADMINISTRATION
REACT?
Now it will be up to the
Biden administration to de-
cide how to react — whether
to continue to comply with
the treaty.
On Tuesday, Secretary of
State Antony Blinken called
the Russian move “deeply un-
fortunate and irresponsible.”
“We’ll be watching care-
fully to see what Russia ac-
tually does,” he said. “We’ll,
of course, make sure that in
any event we are postured
appropriately for the security
of our own country and that
of our allies.”
Last month, the State De-
partment reported it could
not certify that Russia was
in compliance with New
START because of its refus-
al to allow on-site inspectors
last year. Now that the treaty
has been rejected altogether
by Russia, there’s a risk of an
arms buildup.
“Both the U.S. and Russia
have meticulously planned
their respective nuclear mod-
ernization programs based on
the assumption that neither
country will exceed the force
levels currently dictated by
New START,” the Federation
of American Scientists said in
a February report that looked
at the risks if the two sides
failed to renew the treaty.
Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures as he gives his
annual state of the nation address in Moscow, Russia,Tues-
day. (Dmitry Astakhov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
WHAT WILL THE
SUSPENSION MEAN
FOR NUCLEAR
inside the State Department.
If Russia decides not to
provide the notifications,
“we’re immediately going
to start losing data, to be able
to track exactly how many
strategic weapons they have,
and whether or not they’re
in the place that they’re sup-
posed to be, and whether or
not they’re acting the way
they’re supposed to,” Alber-
que said.
Here is a look at New
START and what Russia’s
announcement means for
keeping U.S. and Russian
nuclear weapons in check:
INSPECTIONS,
INFORMATION
SHARING?
Since New START was
signed, Russia and the U.S.
have allowed each other’s
compliance teams to conduct
328 on-site inspections of
their stockpiles, and impor-
tantly the two nations have
provided data exchanges and
25,311 notifications on the
status of their programs, the
State Department said.
WHAT IS THE
RUSSIA-US NUCLEAR
TREATY?
New START, formally
known as the The Treaty
between the United States
of America and the Russian
Federation on Measures for
the Further Reduction and
Limitation of Strategic Of-
fensive Arms, was signed by
the Obama administration
in 2010 and took effect in
February 2011 as a 10-year
agreement. The treaty ob-
ligated both Russia and the
U.S. to commit to regular
communications on the sta-
tus of their nuclear arsenals,
allow regular on-site inspec-
tions and abide by caps on
the number of deployed and
non-deployed warheads each
would maintain.
WHAT HAPPENED
BEFORE PUTIN’S
ANNOUNCEMENT?
Putin’s announcement and
the subsequent clarification
from the Foreign Ministry
seemed to indicate the in-
spections are on a permanent
suspension — but they left
unclear what data sharing
and notifications might be
continued.
The U.S. will get its first
clues on March 1, the day
both parties are supposed to
exchange data on the aggre-
gate numbers of their nuclear
forces, said Hans Kristensen,
director of the nuclear infor-
mation project at the Feder-
ation of American Scientists.
The U.S and Russia also
have been exchanging daily
messages on movements and
exercises, which has helped
keep both nuclear powers
clear on the other’s actions,
both Kristensen and William
Alberque, director for strat-
egy, technology and arms
control for the International
Institute for Strategic Stud-
ies, said.
Inspections of U.S. and
Russian military sites under
New START were paused
by both sides in March 2020
because of the spread of
coronavirus. The U.S.-Rus-
sia commission overseeing
implementation of the treaty
last met in October 2021, but
Russia then unilaterally sus-
pended its cooperation with
the treaty’s inspection provi-
sions in August 2022 to pro-
test U.S. support for Ukraine.
Those discussions were
supposed to have resumed
in Egypt in late November,
but Russia abruptly canceled
them without offering a spe-
cific reason, according to
U.S. officials.
“Without
a
deal after
EPA planned to release
more details on the clean-
up service for residents
and businesses, which it
said would “provide an
additional layer of reassur-
2026, that assumption im-
mediately disappears; both
sides would likely default to
mutual distrust amid fewer
verifiable data points, and
our discourse would be dom-
inated by worst case thinking
about how both countries’
arsenals would grow in the
future.”
Those
caps
include:
700 deployed intercon-
tinental ballistic missiles
(ICBMs), deployed sub-
marine-launched
ballistic
Esperion Therapeutics
reports loss in Q4
missiles (SLBMs) and de-
ployed nuclear bombers;
1,550 nuclear warheads on
deployed ICBMs, deployed
SLBMs and deployed
bombers; 800 deployed
and non-deployed ICBM
launchers, SLBM launchers
and bombers.
Hours after Putin’s address,
the Russian Foreign Ministry
said Russia would respect
the caps on nuclear weapons,
even though Putin suspended
participation in the pact.
In late January, the Biden
administration reported to
ANN ARBOR, Mich. was for a loss of 87 cents
(AP) — ANN ARBOR, per share.
Mich. (AP) — Esperion
Therapeutics Inc. (ESPR) company posted revenue of
on Tuesday reported
$18.8 million in the period,
loss of $55.5 million in its which fell short of Street
fourth quarter.
forecasts.
On per-share basis,
Six analysts surveyed by
the Ann Arbor, Michi- Zacks expected $20 mil-
gan-based company said it lion.
had a loss of 76 cents.
For the year, the company
The biopharmaceutical
Make your passion
your paycheck!
a
“There are notifications
that come through every sin-
gle day,” Alberque said. On
the U.S. side, those formatted
computer messages are pro-
cessed by a military-civilian
team at the National and Nu-
clear Risk Reduction Center
Growing new and existing business
in Marquette and Baraga Counties
a
(906) 250-9182
Russia also will continue to
exchange information about
test launches of ballistic mis-
siles per earlier agreements
with the United States, the
Foreign Ministry said.
The results exceeded reported that its loss nar-
Wall Street expectations. rowed to $233.7 million,
The average estimate of or $3.52 per share. Reve-
seven analysts surveyed by nue was reported as $75.5
Zacks Investment Research million.
Department of State Police
Forensic Science Division
Administrative Rules for Drunk Driving Equipment and Training Fund
Rule Set 2022-33 SP
Sands Township Board
Meeting Summary
February 14, 2023
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
Tuesday, March 14, 2023
03:00 PM
Meeting called to order at 7:00
PM. Walch, Kerkela, Kallio, Yelle
and Koehn present. None absent.
Items Approved:
Centennial Room
- Closed Session (MCL
15.268, Attorney Opinion re:
Pending Litigation)
- Special Meeting and Public
Hearing to be held February
28
Michigan State Police Headquarters, 7150 Harris Drive,
Dimondale, MI 48221
The Department of State Police will hold a public hearing to receive public
comments on proposed changes to the Drunk Driving Equipment and
Training Fund rule set.
- Consent Agenda – 1/10/23
Minutes, Department
& Committee Reports,
Accounts Payable, Budget
Reports, Recycling &
Transfer Station Staffing
Memo, Information
regarding Carbon Credits
and Forest Management/
Proforestation
The purpose of the rules is to implement the framework for administrating
the drunk driving prevention equipment and training fund pursuant to
MCL 257.625h. That section requires that monies in the fund be used to
administer the fund, purchase and maintain breath alcohol testing
equipment, and provide training to law enforcement personnel in the use
of the testing equipment. The rules are intended to clarify the
department’s authority to place, move, or remove its breath alcohol testing
equipment based on available resources, practical, operational, and
historical needs.
By authority conferred on the department of state police by section 625h
of the Michigan vehicle code, 1949 PA 300, MCL 257.625h.
- Fire Department Purchase
with KBIC grant money
- Quickbooks Payroll Update
- Budget Amendment
- Purchase of New Fire Truck
- SCBA Bottle Bid from Fire
Dept
- Board of Review
Appointments
- Active911 Renewal
The proposed rules will take effect immediately after filing with the
Secretary of State. The proposed rules are published on the State of
of the Michigan Register. Copies of these proposed rules may also be
obtained by mail or electronic mail at the following email address:
Comments on these proposed rules may be made at the hearing, by
mail, or by electronic mail at the following addresses until 3/14/2023 at
05:00PM.
- Fiscal Year ’23 – ’24 Wages
- Salary Resolutions for
Elected Officials
- Resolution to Adopt
Poverty Exemption Income
Guidelines and Asset Test
- Administrative Assistant
Position
Department of State Police Forensic Science Division
Michigan State Police Headquarters, Forensic Science Division
7150 Harris Drive, Dimondale, MI 48221
The public hearing will be conducted in compliance with the
1990 Americans with Disabilities Act. If the hearing is held at a physical
location, the building will be accessible with handicap parking available.
Anyone needing assistance to take part in the hearing due to disability
may call 517-281-6660 to make arrangements.
Meeting adjourned at 8:44 PM.
Carolyn Kerkela, Clerk.
Complete draft minutes
available at
A complete agenda and draft
minutes are available at the
Clerk’s office, 987 S. State
Highway M-553, Gwinn,
(906)249-9169.
Find us online at
www.miningjournal.net
