Massachusetts

SD PUC fines Massachusetts-based company $15,000

Published

2 years ago

July 19, 2024

SD PUC fines Massachusetts-based company ,000

PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) — A Massachusetts-based company that specializes in buying a specific type of oil seed from farmers now faces a $15,000 civil penalty in South Dakota.

The South Dakota Public Utilities Commission imposed the punishment against Yield10 Bioscience Inc. of Woburn, MA, after an evidentiary hearing on Friday. Yield10 was notified of the complaint and the proceeding but wasn’t represented.

The commission found that Yield10 had failed to provide notification that the company was no longer in compliance with financial conditions required for South Dakota-licensed grain buyers and didn’t provide information within five days that was requested by the commission’s staff.

Each set of violations carried a maximum civil penalty of $20,000, for a possible total amount of $40,000. Commission chair Kristie Fiegen proposed $15,000.

“Our goal at the PUC is to make sure our producers are protected, and we want answers right away,” Fiegen said. “Producers were not impacted, but they could have been.”

Commissioner Chris Nelson asked why she chose $15,000. “I don’t think we should do the maximum, because no one was hurt,” Fiegen explained.

Nelson said he could have gone higher. Fiegen encouraged him to suggest more.

The third commissioner, Gary Hanson, however said he would have suggested $5,000 on each violation for a total of $10,000.

“So it sounds like a sweet spot,” Hanson said about the $15,000.

The commission voted 3-0 for that amount.

Fiegen and Nelson recognized the staff for its work.

“These are not easy,” Nelson said. “You shouldn’t had to have to go through all the work on this.”

During the hearing, grain-warehouse division manager Cody Chambliss presented information about the staff’s interactions with Yield10, including their exchanges of emails and correspondence.

Chambliss said the company buys camelina, an oil seed that is rarely grown in South Dakota. He said the company claimed it never purchased camelina from South Dakota producers.

A news release issued by Yield10 on Wednesday night said the company’s assets were being purchased by the seed technologies platform of Nufarm Limited, an Australia-based company.

Nelson said the commission asked the Legislature for the two statutes in 2013 after “the Anderson Seed fiasco” in 2012 that saw a sunflower buyer go bankrupt.

Chambliss said the statutes had been used to levy a civil penalty once since then. That matter involved H&I Grain in 2017. When asked for his recommendation, Chambliss said a minimum of $5,000 for each of the two violations and upward to $10,000 for each.

“We’re fortunate here there weren’t any producer losses,” Chambliss said. He said it’s “very rare” that a company can suffer a financial loss and not have losses incurred by producers.

Source link

Massachusetts

How will the Iran war impact gas prices in Massachusetts?

Published

3 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

How will the Iran war impact gas prices in Massachusetts?

With a widening conflict in the Middle East after the American and Israeli attack on Iran Saturday, global markets are bracing for a shakeup in the energy supply chain.

So, here at home, what can consumers expect at the gas pump?

An increase in oil prices is almost always followed by an increase in gas prices. And the oil market has already reacted to the war. NBC News reported on Sunday that U.S. crude oil initially spiked more than 10%, while Brent, the international oil benchmark, rose as much as 13%.

Early Monday morning, reports were coming in of black smoke rising from the U.S. embassy in Kuwait City.

While Iran’s oil reserves supply less than an estimated 5% of global production, the main concern is the Strait of Hormuz. This maritime passageway borders Iran at the bottleneck of the Persian Gulf, and more than 20% of the world’s oil passes through. If Iran closes or restricts Hormuz, the oil market could face severe disruptions.

Gas prices rise about 2.5 cents for every dollar increase in crude oil prices. As of Sunday, U.S. crude oil prices had already increased by nearly $5 a barrel.

“I fully expect that by Monday night, you could credibly say that gas prices are being impacted by oil prices having gone up,” GasBuddy analyst Patrick De Haan told NBC News.

GasBuddy characterizes their expectations for price increases as “incremental” rather than “explosive”. The group said to anticipate a potential 10-15 cent increase over the next couple of weeks.

Source link

Massachusetts

Body camera video shows Massachusetts police officer save 78-year-old man from burning truck – East Idaho News

Published

15 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Body camera video shows Massachusetts police officer save 78-year-old man from burning truck – East Idaho News

EASTON, Mass. (WBZ) — Police body camera video shows an Easton, Massachusetts, officer rescuing a 78-year-old Raynham man from a burning car on Friday morning.

A Mack dump truck was experiencing problems on the side of Turnpike Street just after 2 a.m. when a Ford pickup truck struck the back of it, according to police.

The pickup truck then became stuck under the dump truck, trapping the driver, Francis Leverone, inside. A Toyota Camry then hit the back of the pickup truck and caught fire, police said.

Easton police officer Dean Soucie arrived at the crash and saw that the two vehicles were on fire. Video shows Soucie rushing over before breaking the driver’s side window and then, with the help of the two witnesses, freeing Leverone from the pickup truck. Soucie said he was confused but conscious.

“As I reached inside the vehicle, one of the passersby — he actually jumped into the cab of the truck, and he helped me free the individual,” Soucie said.

They then carried the driver to safety.

Leverone was taken to a nearby hospital before being transferred to a Boston hospital. He received serious but non-life-threatening injuries.

No one else was injured in the crash.

Dee Leverone told WBZ her husband is doing OK. “I’m just thankful for the people that got him out,” she said. “Very thankful.”

After watching the police body-cam video on the news she said, “I was shocked, I was like ‘Oh my God!’ I just couldn’t believe it. His truck is like melted.”

She says she realized that something was wrong last night when her husband never made it home from work.

“I kept trying to call him and call him, and I finally got a hold of him at like 4:30 a.m., and he was at (Good Samaritan Hospital) and he told me he’s gotten in an accident,” Dee said.

She says he’s recovering at the Boston Medical Center and being treated for a dislocated hip.

“He’s a trooper,” Dee said. “He’s a strong man — and you know he’s 78, but you know he’s a toughie. He definitely is a toughie.”

Soucie commended the help of the two witnesses and said that before he arrived at the crash, they had attempted to put out the flames with a fire extinguisher and removed a gasoline tank from the pickup truck before it could ignite.

“They jumped into action like it was nothing,” Soucie said. “Those two individuals were absolutely awesome.”

Easton Police Chief Keith Boone said that he is “extremely proud” of Soucie and the witnesses.

“He saved a life last night,” Chief Boone said. “He is an exemplary police officer and this is just one example. I think he’s a hero.”

Turnpike Street was closed for several hours following the crash. Easton Police are investigating.