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.
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Wasting our Waterways
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A Path to Cleaner Water
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.
New report: 328 beaches nationwide were potentially unsafe for swimming on at least a quarter of days tested
With millions of Americans returning to the beach this summer, a new report warns that more work is needed to ensure that all waters are safe for swimming.
New report delivers national infrastructure path to cleaner water
Bold investment can stop sewage overflows and help make America’s waterways safe again, according to a new report from Environment America Research & Policy Center. Entitled A Path to Cleaner Water, the study comes out as Congress negotiates water infrastructure funding for the coming fiscal year as part of the federal budget.
Toxic Chemicals Found in New York Waterways
Industrial facilities continue to dump millions of pounds of toxic chemicals into America’s rivers, streams, lakes, and oceans each year – threatening both the environment and human health. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), industrial facilities dumped more than 5,303,190 lbs of toxic chemicals into New York Waterways in 2012 alone.