Pollution Northern California

Unocal Corp. was found guilty Tuesday on three criminal pollution charges and ordered to pay $1.5 million for its massive leak of petroleum thinner into the ocean and ground water at its Guadalupe oil field. The court action, based on Unocal's plea of no contest to the three counts, puts an end to the criminal case against the oil company for negligence in discharging up to 8.5 million gallons of the diesel-like liquid and failing to report the spills as required by law.

Reaching a historic decision that aims to force Los Angeles to surrender a large portion of its prized water, an Owens Valley pollution board Wednesday ordered the city to mount an unprecedented, multimillion-dollar project to curtail severe dust storms at Owens Lake.

The California Supreme Court on Monday refused to allow state regulators to block operation of a controversial tourist train planned to transport more than 400,000 visitors annually into Northern California's famed wine country.

Seeking to avoid a long legal battle, top Owens Valley and Los Angeles officials are recommending a deal that would postpone and reevaluate a controversial plan to force the city to mount a multimillion-dollar project to curb severe dust storms at Owens Lake.

Reaching a historic decision that aims to force Los Angeles to surrender a large portion of its prized water, an Owens Valley pollution board Wednesday ordered the city to mount an unprecedented, multimillion-dollar project to curtail severe dust storms at Owens Lake.

Seeking to avoid a long legal battle, top Owens Valley and Los Angeles officials are recommending a deal that would postpone and reevaluate a controversial plan to force the city to mount a multimillion-dollar project to curb severe dust storms at Owens Lake.

Pacific Gas & Electric won approval from the state Public Utilities Commission to shut down its 77-year-old Hunters Point Power Plant in San Francisco by the end of June. Environmentalists have called the 200-megawatt plant the leading stationary source of air pollution the Northern California city. PG&E is a unit of PG&E Corp.

Unocal Corp. was found guilty Tuesday on three criminal pollution charges and ordered to pay $1.5 million for its massive leak of petroleum thinner into the ocean and ground water at its Guadalupe oil field. The court action, based on Unocal's plea of no contest to the three counts, puts an end to the criminal case against the oil company for negligence in discharging up to 8.5 million gallons of the diesel-like liquid and failing to report the spills as required by law.

The California Supreme Court on Monday refused to allow state regulators to block operation of a controversial tourist train planned to transport more than 400,000 visitors annually into Northern California's famed wine country.