Pure Farms, Pure Waters Archives - Waterkeeper

Pure Farms, Pure Waters

Holding Elected Officials Accountable in the United States: 25 Years of Waterkeeper Alliance


At Waterkeeper Alliance, we recently marked a significant milestone, celebrating our 25th anniversary and a quarter-century of protecting the fundamental...

WA Dept. of Ecology Ordered to Rewrite Industrial Dairy Permits to Increase Protections for Water and Public Health


In response to a challenge from community and conservation groups, including Waterkeeper Alliance and Puget Soundkeeper, the Washington State Pollution...

On-the-Ground in North Carolina: Fighting for Clean Water and Environmental Justice


Waterkeeper Alliance’s Advocacy Director, Jacki Esposito, Pure Farms, Pure Waters Campaign Manager, Patience Burke, and Pure Farms, Pure Waters Coordinator...

Waterkeeper Alliance Responds to Outcome of 2024 U.S. Presidential Election


In response to the outcome of the 2024 U.S. presidential election, Waterkeeper Alliance CEO Marc Yaggi calls for strong, scientifically sound action to...

Waterkeeper Alliance Takes to the Hill to Advocate for Biogas Awareness


Last month, Patience Burke of Waterkeeper Alliance and Tonya Bonitatibus of Savannah Riverkeeper traveled to Washington, D.C. for a week to educate decision...

Waterkeeper Alliance Responds to U.S. Supreme Court’s Overturning of the Chevron Doctrine


The Supreme Court issued its opinion today in the case of Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, explicitly overturning the decades-old Chevron doctrine—a...

Catawba College and Waterkeeper Alliance Partner Again on Advocacy Boot Camp 2024


The Catawba College Center for the Environment-Waterkeeper Alliance Clean Water Advocacy Boot Camp recently concluded. This unique and immersive ten day-course...

Waterkeeper Alliance Senior Attorney to Advise EPA on Clean Water Act Improvements for Animal Feeding Operations 


The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has invited Waterkeeper Alliance’s Senior Attorney Kelly Hunter Foster to serve on its new Animal Agriculture...

Waterkeeper Alliance Applauds the Reinstatement of Environmental Review of Financing of Industrial Animal Agriculture Facilities


Waterkeeper Alliance applauds the actions of The White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) to reverse some of the worst impacts of the previous...

Coalition of Groups Submits Comments Urging EPA to Require Industrial Animal Feeding Operations to Report their Dangerous Air Pollution


A coalition of environmental, animal welfare, and community advocacy groups, including Waterkeeper Alliance, submitted comments in response to a request...

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...

EPA Proposes to Exclude Most Slaughterhouses and Rendering Plants from Updated Water Pollution Control Rules


Waterkeeper Alliance and other Clean Water Experts Urge EPA to Require Slaughterhouses and Rendering Plants to Comply with Modern Technology Standards...

EPA Proposes Improved Water Pollution Control Standards for Slaughterhouses and Rendering Facilities



Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed new water pollution control standards for slaughterhouses and rendering facilities in response...

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....

Waterkeeper Alliance Responds to EPA’s Denial of Petition to Better Regulate Pollution From Animal Factories


The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) this week denied a petition from Waterkeeper Alliance and dozens of environmental and community...

Waterkeeper Alliance Calls on NCDEQ To Listen to Public Input, Protect Communities During 2024 General Permitting Process


Waterkeeper Alliance & Partners Will Host the “People’s Hearing” to Increase Access to Public Participation & Ensure that the Final General...

Catawba College and Waterkeeper Alliance Partner on Advocacy Boot Camp


A Profound Learning Experience in Environmental Advocacy Recently, six Catawba College undergraduate students traveled to New Bern, NC to participate in...

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...

Waterkeeper Alliance Fly -In

Waterkeeper Alliance Holds “Fly-Over” in North Carolina to Get Better Look at CAFO Crisis


Recently, Waterkeeper Alliance held a “Fly-Over” in North Carolina. With the help of South Wings, and accompanied by a half dozen other local...

Hogs in a CAFO by the Federal District Court for Eastern NC.

Op-Ed: We Must Shut Down Factory Farms to Protect Clean Water and Environmental Justice


by Gloria Reuben For years, Americans have been served an image of an idyllic family farmer who is responsible for the food that makes its way to our homes....

Waterkeeper Alliance and Other Groups Petition EPA to Improve Oversight of Water Pollution from Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations


WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, a nationwide coalition of 51 citizens’ groups and community advocacy, environmental justice, and environmental advocacy...

North Carolina’s Biogas Permits Are Woefully Inadequate


More Stringent Monitoring and Compliance Protocols Are Needed  Waterkeeper Alliance and Waterkeepers Carolina are severely disappointed with the North...

New Book From Corban Addison Highlights the CAFO Crisis in North Carolina


Wastelands: The True Story of Farm Country on Trial, the latest book from Corban Addison, documents the horrendous, unjust, and often untold story of how...

Waterkeeper Alliance Responds to the Congressional Spending Bill’s Extension of Polluter Loopholes for Industrial Animal Agriculture


Daniel E. Estrin, General Counsel and Advocacy Director of Waterkeeper Alliance, released the following statement: The omnibus spending bill recently signed...

Mexican Court Urged to Rule for Indigenous Mayan Youth in Constitutional Challenge to Massive Industrial Hog Operation on Yucatán Peninsula


Mexico City, Mexico — Conservation groups, scientists, doctors and public-health experts filed a legal brief today supporting constitutional claims...

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...

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,...

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...

Clean Water Act Victory in the Washington State Court of Appeals


Originally published by Puget Soundkeeper, reposted with permission. Soundkeeper and Partners Successful in their Challenge of a Statewide Agricultural...

Washington Appellate Court Rejects State’s Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation Permits, Finds State Failed to Protect Water Quality and Account for Climate Change


Yesterday, as record-setting heat threatened the sustainability of Washington’s water resources, a three-judge panel of the Washington Court of Appeals...