Dive Into Democracy - Waterkeeper

Dive Into Democracy

Dive Into Democracy is an advocacy action series that focuses on legislative, regulatory, and policy developments that impact clean water. It is intended as a tool for concerned community members to better understand how federal decisions can impact their local waterways and provides a platform for the public to engage with elected officials to ensure that all stakeholder voices are represented and heard.

Urge the State Department to Negotiate the Strongest Possible Global Plastics Treaty!


A crucial treaty on plastics and plastic pollution is currently being hammered out at the fifth session of the International Negotiating Committee for...

Urge Secretary Buttigieg to Protect Communities From Gas Pipeline Leaks!


Nearly three million miles of gas pipelines crisscross communities throughout the United States. Unfortunately, many of these pipelines are allowing leaks...

Tell EPA to Protect Our Waterways From These Toxic Plastic Chemicals


The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to designate several chemicals used in making plastic- including vinyl chloride – as “High-Priority...

Tell Your Members of Congress to Protect Waterways From the Dangerous 6PPD Chemical!


A pervasive and harmful chemical called 6PPD is used as a stabilizing additive in rubbers and used in almost all vehicle tires. Over time, this durability...

Urge Your Senators to Adequately Fund PFAS Cleanup!


The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) recently submitted a budget request for the cleanup of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) at military installations....

Urge Congress to Adequately Fund PFAS Cleanup!


The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) recently submitted a budget request for the cleanup of military installations, including those facilities contaminated...

Urge Secretary Buttigieg to Finalize the Gas Pipeline Leak Detection and Repair Rule!


The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline & Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) has proposed an Advanced Leak Detection and...

Tell EPA to Protect Our Communities and Waterways From PFAS!


The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to list nine additional PFAS compounds as hazardous. EPA must use its authority to protect...

Tell EPA to Finalize the Strongest and Most Durable Methane Regulations


Earlier this year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed a new rule that would charge oil and gas companies for excessive climate-harming...

Tell EPA to Stop Exempting Factory Farms From Reporting Hazardous Air Pollution!

  • By: Thomas Hynes
  • News

Once again, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is walking back its commitment to revise or eliminate an illegal rule exempting factory farms...

Tell EPA to Protect American Waterways From Slaughterhouse and Rendering Plant Pollution!


The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced a proposed rule to establish new water pollution control standards for slaughterhouses...

Dive Into Democracy: 2023 Year in Review

  • By: Thomas Hynes
  • News

Through our Dive Into Democracy blog and email series, we informed and engaged our U.S. audience on the most pressing clean water issues of the day. In...

We Must Urge Congress to Pass the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act of 2023!


Representative Jared Huffman (CA) and Senator Jeff Merkley (OR) recently reintroduced the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act, a sweeping but common-sense...

Tell the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality to Stop Enabling the Chaos That CAFOs Create


Farming in North Carolina is not what it used to be. Profit-driven industrial giants have eradicated the traditional “family farm” model of agriculture....

Help Fully Restore the National Environmental Policy Act


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

Tell Congress to Pass the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act!


The Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act, which was first introduced in 2020 and updated in 2021, will soon be reintroduced in both the U.S. House of...

Help Extend Water Quality Protections to Tribal Waters


The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently proposed a new rule that would institute federal baseline water quality standards (WQS)...

Tell Congress to Keep Plastic Out of Our National Parks!

  • By: Thomas Hynes
  • News

Representative Mike Quigley of Illinois recently introduced House Resolution 4561, also known as the Reducing Waste in National Parks Act, for the reduction...

Urge USDOT to Finalize the Strongest Possible Pipeline Leak Detection and Repair Standards


The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT), by way of its Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), recently announced a proposed...

Help Protect American Communities, Air, and Waters From Toxic Power Plant Pollution!


The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to strengthen Clean Air Act (CAA) controls on mercury and other toxic pollution emissions...

Tell President Biden to Protect Environmental and Public Health Safeguards From the Reckless Demands of the Fossil Fuel Industry 


Certain members of Congress are trying to sneak through a dirty deal to undo environmental protections by trading away vital safeguards in exchange for...

Urge EPA to Protect Waterways From Coal-Fired Power Plant Pollution

  • By: Kelly Foster
  • News

In response to decades of advocacy and litigation by Waterkeeper Alliance and our partners, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is now proposing...

Tell EPA to Expand Drinking Water Protections Against PFAS Contamination

  • By: Thomas Hynes
  • News

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed a new rule for regulating PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) in our drinking water....

Help Urge Congress to Pass the Railway Safety Act of 2023

  • By: Thomas Hynes
  • News

Earlier this year, a train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, tragically unleashing several cars worth of hazardous and carcinogenic materials, including...

Tell EPA to Reestablish CAFOs as a National Enforcement and Compliance Initiative


Every four years, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sets national enforcement and compliance priorities to focus its resources on the nation’s...

Tell EPA to Adopt Strongest Possible Methane Regulations


The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently proposed an updated draft rule to cut methane and other harmful pollutants from oil and gas operations...

Dive Into Democracy: 2022 Year In Review


Through our Dive Into Democracy blog and email series, we informed and engaged our U.S. audience on the most pressing clean water issues of the day. In...

EPA Must Use the Clean Water Act to Regulate Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations

  • By: Thomas Hynes
  • News

America’s food systems are today dominated by a handful of multinational corporations that employ industrialized methods to produce most of the meat...

Tell Congress to Pass the Clean Water Standards for PFAS Act!

  • By: Thomas Hynes
  • News

A family of dangerous emerging contaminants, PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, poses a serious risk to human health and the wellbeing of our...

Tell Congress to Reject Manchin’s ‘Dirty Deal’ to Fast-Track Fossil Fuel Projects


In exchange for his vote to help pass the Inflation Reduction Act last month, Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia has demanded a vote on a second bill...