News & Updates - Waterkeeper

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COP26 – Fighting for protection of the world’s waters and a hospitable planet under an intensifying call to action for all humankind

  • By: Chris Wilke
  • News

It was an honor to represent the Waterkeeper Movement at COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland. It was an intense two weeks of collective advocacy, learning, networking,...

Week of Action: Transition to a More Sustainable and Equitable Food System


This action notice is updated from a notice originally shared in September 2020. We require farms and food systems that are resilient, healthy, and fair...

250+ Organizations Plea With President Biden to Cancel Unprecedented Oil and Gas Megasale in Gulf of Mexico


As international climate talks continue, a coalition of 267 organizations – including 36 representing Gulf of Mexico communities – delivered...

COP26: UN human rights experts highlight continued human rights impacts of dams


Calls mount for UN climate financing mechanisms to exclude hydropower As negotiators convened at COP26 in Glasgow attempt to break the deadlock on emissions...

Biden Makes Climate Pledge at Glasgow While Pushing Oil, Gas Leasing in U.S.


U.S. climate groups slammed the Biden administration today for ignoring climate impacts and refusing to stop oil and gas leasing on public lands despite...

methane flame

Waterkeeper Alliance Responds to EPA’s Major New Rules To Cut Oil and Gas Methane Emissions


Agency Promises More In the Future to Address Flaring and Marginal Wells President Biden announced at the UN Climate Summit today the U.S. Environmental...

It’s Time to Fully Restore the Cornerstone of Environmental Law

  • By: Thomas Hynes
  • News

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), passed in 1970, requires federal agencies to assess any significant environmental impacts a federal action...

Who is Waterkeeper: Alberto Guillén, La Paz Waterkeeper

  • By: Thomas Hynes
  • News

The Bay of La Paz in Baja California, Mexico is a stunningly biodiverse body of water situated within the Gulf of California at the southern end of the...

FERC releases DEIS for Jordan Cove LNG export in southern Oregon

Challengers to Jordan Cove LNG get their day in Federal Court


Oral argument for lawsuit challenging the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s approval of the Jordan Cove LNG export terminal and Pacific Connector...

Marc Yaggi quote reading "Waterkeepers have scientific and technical expertise, as well as unique perspectives and knowledge about regional water issues and associated impacts to their communities and ecosystems, that make them an invaluable resource for EPA."

Waterkeeper Alliance Works to Align Local Waterkeepers with Regional EPA Administrators


As the U.S. celebrates the 49th anniversary of the landmark Clean Water Act (CWA) legislation, Waterkeeper Alliance—a global movement that connects and...

Jeff Currie the Lumber Riverkeeper is pointing his finger. He is wearing a red shirt and there are green trees behind him.

Who is Waterkeeper: Jefferson Currie II, Lumber Riverkeeper

  • By: Thomas Hynes
  • News

Jeff Currie had only been on the job as Lumber Riverkeeper for a few weeks in 2018 when Hurricane Florence came barreling through North Carolina. The devastating...

International Coalition Petitions Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to Investigate Factory-Farm Abuses


The coalition includes advocates in Argentina, Mexico, Chile, Ecuador, United States, and the request is supported by 127 organizations and 151 academics,...

Help Keep Dangerous ‘Forever Chemicals’ Out of Our Water


One of the most dangerous and persistent threats to our nation’s waters is the group of emerging contaminants known as PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl...

A gas drilling rig for fracking with a sunset in the background.

Objections Target Biden’s Oil Leasing Plan Amid Climate “Code Red”


Conservation groups filed formal objections today to the Biden administration’s plans to offer 734,000 acres of public lands for oil and gas leasing...

Hydropower dam from above.

300 organizations from 69 countries call on governments to not use climate funding for so-called “sustainable” hydropower schemes


300 organizations from 69 countries today launched a Rivers for Climate Global Declaration calling on governments and leaders attending COP26 to protect...

Press Conference: Hydropower – A False Climate Solution


Over 280 organizations from 69 countries call for climate funding to exclude so-called “sustainable” hydropower schemes. WHEN: 21 September 2021 |...

Motion to Protect Amazon Rivers Approved at the World Conservation Congress in Marseille


By Derecho, Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (DAR). Republished with permission. The Members’ Assembly of the International Union for Conservation of...

Chubb is the 16th insurer to cut ties with the Trans Mountain tar sands pipeline


“Chubb does not provide insurance coverage for any tar sands projects,” a Chubb spokesperson told the Financial Times today. The announcement was...

Help Ensure All Americans Have Safe Drinking Water

  • By: Thomas Hynes
  • News

Reliably clean and safe drinking water is something most people expect as a given. That trust was earned through protections like those afforded under...

In Response to Lawsuit, EPA Pledges to Strengthen Standards for Slaughterhouse Water Pollution


In a victory for clean water, EPA announced yesterday that it will update water pollution control standards for the slaughterhouse industry following a...

Upper Missouri Waterkeeper Guy Alsentzer stands in knee deep water in a river with trees in the background.

Who is Waterkeeper: Guy Alsentzer, Upper Missouri Waterkeeper

  • By: Thomas Hynes
  • News

There’s an old expression in Montana: “Whiskey’s for drinking, and water’s for fighting.” Leading that fight as Upper Missouri Waterkeeper is...

Open Letter Calls on Insurers to Cut Ties with Trans Mountain, as Key Pipeline Insurance Policy Expires


Fifteen insurers have ruled out Trans Mountain already; coalition pledges to continue pressuring the remaining companies Today, Indigenous, environmental,...

Ocean view of the Bahamas

Coalition Reacts to UN Climate Report, Renews call for Nationwide Ban on Oil Drilling in The Bahamas


IPCC 6th Report: Scientists articulate dire warnings and extreme costs of societal inaction The Our Islands Our Future coalition today renewed its call...

We Must Urgently Restore Clean Water Protections


 In 2020, the Trump administration issued an unprecedented new regulation that dramatically eliminated federal Clean Water Act protections for rivers,...

methane flame

Waterkeeper Alliance Responds to Dire IPCC Report on Climate Crisis


The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report released earlier today brings a dire warning: climate change is accelerating and aggressive...

A river flows through Big Sky Montana

Wealth Before Health: State Regulators Ignoring Big Sky’s Big Pollution Problem


Wealthy Developers Get Categorical Exclusions; Ignoring Cumulative Impacts Polluting Gallatin River Watershed Originally posted by Upper Missouri Waterkeeper....

Casco Baykeeper Ivy Frignoca takes a water sample from a boat.

Who is Waterkeeper: Ivy Frignoca, Casco Baykeeper

  • By: Thomas Hynes
  • News

When the Casco Baykeeper position opened up six years ago, Ivy Frignoca jumped at the opportunity. Frignoca is a lawyer and environmental advocate, whose...

Plastic water bottles float in water

Plastic Free July: Thinking beyond litter, landfills, and recycling rates


Plastic Free July is a global movement for cleaner streets, oceans, and communities. Waterkeeper Alliance salutes our partners and all those fighting back...

500+ Organizations Call on US and Canadian Leaders to Reject Carbon Capture and Storage as a False Solution to Climate Crisis


It’s Time to End the Carbon Capture of Climate Policy In an open letter sent today to leaders in the United States and Canada, more than 500 US, Canadian,...

Support the Environmental Justice Legacy Pollution Cleanup Act

  • By: Thomas Hynes
  • News

The Environmental Justice Legacy Pollution Cleanup Act is proposed legislation from Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Representative A. Donald McEachin (VA-04)....

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