Clean Water Defense

We Must Urge Congress to Pass the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act of 2023!
- By: Thomas Hynes
- Clean Water Defense | News
Representative Jared Huffman (CA) and Senator Jeff Merkley (OR) recently reintroduced the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act, a sweeping but common-sense...

Waterkeeper Alliance Urges Lawmakers to Drop Loophole From Clean Water Act of 2023
- By: Waterkeeper Alliance
- Clean Water Defense | News | Press Releases
A Provision Included in the Proposed Legislation Would Allow Future Administrations to Exclude Waters from Federal Protections On October 18th, the 51st...

Advocates to Biden: Federal Oil and Gas Rule Must Meet Climate Imperatives
- By: Waterkeeper Alliance
- Clean Water Defense | Climate And Safe Energy | News | Press Releases
Eleven western U.S. groups have provided the Bureau of Land Management comments imploring the agency to address the climate crisis in its proposal to update...

EPA Restores Authority to States, Territories, and Tribes under CWA 401 Final Rule
- By: Waterkeeper Alliance
- Clean Water Defense | News | Press Releases
Today, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its final 2023 Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 401 Water Quality Certification Improvement Rule,...

Estonian Oil Shale Giant Abandons Federal Oil Shale Lease, Loses Colorado River Basin Water Deal
- By: Waterkeeper Alliance
- Clean Water Defense | Climate And Safe Energy | News | Press Releases
Estonian state-owned oil shale company Enefit American Oil is abandoning its lease to mine oil shale on federal public land in northeastern Utah’s Uinta...

Legal Victory Puts Hellbender Back on Track for Endangered Species Protection
- By: Waterkeeper Alliance
- Clean Water Defense | News | Press Releases
In response to a lawsuit filed by five conservation groups, a federal judge found today that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s 2019 denial of Endangered...

Tell Congress to Pass the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act!
- By: Thomas Hynes
- Clean Water Defense | News
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...

Waterkeeper Alliance Calls on Lawmakers to Step Up After EPA Finalizes Weakened WOTUS Rule
- By: Waterkeeper Alliance
- Clean Water Defense | News | Press Releases
Today, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its final Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule following the Supreme Court’s ruling in...

Waterkeeper Alliance Stands With Groups in the Western U.S Seeking to Avoid the Collapse of the Colorado River Supply System
- By: Waterkeeper Alliance
- Clean Water Defense | News
Colorado Riverkeeper, John Weisheit, drafted detailed scoping comments submitted to the Bureau of Reclamation on August 17, 2023 as a part of that agency’s...

Help Extend Water Quality Protections to Tribal Waters
- By: Thomas Hynes
- Clean Water Defense | News
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently proposed a new rule that would institute federal baseline water quality standards (WQS)...

Urge USDOT to Finalize the Strongest Possible Pipeline Leak Detection and Repair Standards
- By: Thomas Hynes
- Clean Water Defense | Climate And Safe Energy | News
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!
- By: Thomas Hynes
- Clean Water Defense | Climate And Safe Energy | News
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to strengthen Clean Air Act (CAA) controls on mercury and other toxic pollution emissions...

Waterkeeper Alliance Calls on Congress for Safeguards After Supreme Court Delivers Blow to Clean Water Act
- By: Waterkeeper Alliance
- Clean Water Defense | News | Press Releases
Court’s Decision Prioritizes Polluting Industries Over Clean Water and Public Health and Ignores Decades of Legal Precedent, Science, and Clean Water...

What’s Up With WOTUS?
- By: Jen Lomberk
- Clean Water Defense | News
What’s Up With WOTUS? In recent weeks, you may have seen news stories about “WOTUS” or “Waters of the United States.” The argument over what...

Coalition Sues EPA Over Unregulated Water Pollution From Oil Refineries, Plastics Plants, and Other Industries
- By: Waterkeeper Alliance
- Clean Water Defense | News | Press Releases
A coalition of environmental groups, including Waterkeeper Alliance, filed a federal lawsuit today against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)...

Op-Ed: The Climate Crisis is a Water Crisis
- By: Marc Yaggi
- Clean Water Defense | Climate And Safe Energy | News
By Marc Yaggi This week, many of us from around the world—including environmentalists, politicians, corporate leaders, and more— gathered at the United...

Waterkeeper Alliance Delivers Natural Water Systems Declaration to United Nations
- By: Waterkeeper Alliance
- Clean Water Defense | Climate And Safe Energy | News | Press Releases
Today, as part of its participation in the 2023 UN Water Conference, Waterkeeper Alliance delivered a declaration on behalf of a global coalition calling...

Waterkeeper Alliance Applauds EPA’s Plan to Limit PFAS Contamination in Drinking Water
- By: Waterkeeper Alliance
- Clean Water Defense | News
Today, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed a new rule for regulating PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) in drinking water. The agency...

Waterkeeper Alliance Responds to EPA’s Latest Plan for Regulating PFAS Discharges; Points to New Great Lakes Study as Reason for More Urgency
- By: Waterkeeper Alliance
- Clean Water Defense
Waterkeeper Alliance is responding to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) release of its latest plan for controlling PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl...

Dive Into Democracy: 2022 Year In Review
- By: Thomas Hynes
- Clean Water Defense | 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...

New Guidance from EPA will Help States Limit PFAS Pollution at the Source
- By: Waterkeeper Alliance
- Clean Water Defense | Press Releases
This week, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a memorandum to states that provides direction on how to use Clean Water Act discharge permits...

EPA’s Newly Proposed Rule to Enhance Reporting of PFAS Data is a Step in the Right Direction
- By: Waterkeeper Alliance
- Clean Water Defense | Press Releases
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed a new rule to close the minimum loophole from using per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). This...

Monitoring Water Quality With Loreto Coastkeeper
- By: Waterkeeper Alliance
- Clean Water Defense | News
Eco-Alianza de Loreto started Loreto Coastkeeper program in 2012 and began analyzing water quality at recreational sites along the coast of the Loreto...

COP27: Groups warn of severe climate and human rights risk of new hydropower dams and schemes
- By: Waterkeeper Alliance
- Clean Water Defense | Press Releases
Dams and hydropower schemes create major loss and damage, including producing significant amounts of methane, biodiversity loss, and community displacement....

Estero Salado Waterkeeper’s Efforts to Protect Waterway Arrives at COP 27
- By: Daniel Ortega
- Clean Water Defense
Estero Salado Waterkeeper’s efforts to protect and restore the waters of the Estero Salado, the main saltwater estuary running through the city of Guayaquil,...

AP Coverage of Waterkeeper Drone Tactics
- By: Waterkeeper Alliance
- Clean Water Defense | News
Earlier this month at the Waterkeeper Alliance Global Conference, Upper Potomac Riverkeeper Brent Walls led a drone training sessions for interested Waterkeeper...

Otters on the Severn
- By: Severn Riverkeeper
- Clean Water Defense | News
It is hard to believe that otters are happily swimming in the Severn River, only a few miles upstream of Maryland’s State Capital. Several years ago,...

Keeping an eye on stormwater pollution
- By: Lake Pend Oreille Waterkeeper
- Clean Water Defense | News
By Steve Holt. Originally published by Lake Pend Oreille Waterkeeper, republished with permission. Stormwater is one of the most significant threats to...

Tijuana Waterkeeper Works to Improve Some of the Most Contaminated Beaches in the World But They Need Your Help
- By: Rafaela Iturralde
- Clean Water Defense | News
Tijuana Waterkeeper, a program of Proyecto Fronterizo de Educación Ambiental, has been around for quite some time. What started as beach cleanups has...

5 Trends in Water for 2022
- By: Waterkeeper Alliance
- Clean Water Defense | News
As we look ahead to a new year, we asked some of our team to forecast what trends and issues they think will impact water in 2022. Here’s what they had...