A look back at what our unique network accomplished in 2023
Here are 10 examples of how our advocates won positive results for the public and the planet in 2023.
Rivers & lakes
Our country’s lakes, rivers and streams give life to ecosystems and people alike from coast to coast. Now it’s time we protect them as the life-giving resources they are.
The Latest on Rivers & lakes
What You Can Do
Featured Resources
Good intentions, bad outcomes. Six ways impervious surfaces harm our cities and the environment
Safe for Swimming?
Wasting our Waterways
Safe for swimming?
The Latest
Groups urge EPA and Army Corps to restore nation’s clean water protections
Environment America Research & Policy Center’s Clean Water Network delivered support from nearly 100 groups Monday to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Army Corps of Engineers urging federal policymakers to officiallyrescind the Trump administration's Navigable Waters Protection Rule (also known as the ‘Dirty Water Rule’) and restore protections for our nation’s waterways. In addition, Environment America Research & Policy Center and Environmental Action submitted 18,316 comments from their individual members on this issue.
Thousands urge EPA to protect waterways from pollution
Nearly 30,000 people are urging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to end the dumping of PFAS chemicals, and thousands more are telling the agency to dramatically reduce pollution from slaughterhouses. Environment America Research & Policy Center and U.S. PIRG Education Fund submitted comments from these individuals to the EPA Thursday as the agency considers updating pollution control standards, which is required by the Clean Water Act. The groups are also calling on the EPA to strengthen standards for other industrial sources -- including power plants and refineries.
Beach Report Shows Bay Beaches Most Impacted by Bacteria Pollution
With summer in full heat wave mode, water pollution can close New Jersey beaches or put swimmers’ health at risk. In 2020, bacteria levels at New Jersey beaches indicated that water was potentially unsafe for swimming on at least 35 days, according to a new report Safe for Swimming? by Environment New Jersey Research & Policy Center. The report comes as Congress is set to vote today on a set of initiatives on water infrastructure that directly impact run-off and sewage pollution.
Petition Seeks Immediate DRBC Action to Upgrade the Delaware River To Protect Fish & Aquatic Life
A coalition of organizations submitted a petition to the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) to upgrade the regulatory status and protections for the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington reach of the Delaware River. The initiative seeks to ensure that water quality standards governing the river provide full Clean Water Act protections and adequate dissolved oxygen for the survival of fish and other aquatic life.
Ban on Fracking Adopted throughout Delaware River Watershed
The Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) permanently banned fracking throughout the Delaware River Watershed today, affecting four states and water supplies for millions, after eleven years of raging debate and public discourse. The Delaware River Frack Ban Coalition and many members of the public - reported by DRBC to be at 400 during the meeting - joined the virtual DRBC meeting, where a vote on banning fracking in the watershed had been advertised. The DRBC voting members - the Governors of the four states that are part of the Delaware River Watershed (New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Delaware) and a federal representative for President Biden from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - voted to enact the regulations that were pending since the public comment period closed in March 2018. All four states voted to approve the ban; the Army Corps representative abstained.