Pollutants (toxins, pharmaceuticals, etc.)
Registration Open for CWN Regional Caucus on Oil, Mining & Gas Water Pollution in the Lower Mississippi River Basin
The Clean Water Network is excited to announce its next regional caucus, "Oil, Mining and Gas (OMG) Water Pollution in the Lower Mississippi River Basin." The caucus, scheduled for September 15-16, 2010, will take place in Little Rock, Arkansas. This interactive event will explore water pollution issues relating to a wide range of mining and drilling practices including hydraulic fracturing. The caucus will also feature a timely session on the Gulf spill disaster, to update participants on specific issues related to clean up and recovery.
CWN Holds Successful Capitol Hill Briefing on March 15th --The Mississippi River: The River Left Behind
The Clean Water Network's Capitol Hill briefing explored pollution problems and solutions in the Mississippi River Basin. The March 15 briefing took place in Room 122 of the Cannon House Office Building. The briefing focused on why the Mississippi River Basin lags behind in funding and resources compared to other Great Waters in the United States (Chesapeake Bay, Great Lakes, Everglades, etc.). One purpose of the briefing was to identify lessons learned from other regions and spotlight what is happening on the ground in the region.
Clean Water Network Groups Call on EPA to Take Away Alabama's Authority Over Water Permitting Program
Fourteen Alabama environmental groups led by the Alabama Rivers Alliance have officially filed a petition with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to withdraw Alabama's authority over the water pollution permitting program because it does not meet the minimum requirements of the Clean Water Act. The petition was preceded by a report detailing the inadequacies and underperformance of the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) in managing and enforcing the NPDES program in Alabama that was funded through the Clean Water Network's State Assistance Fund.
Board Minutes from September 2010 Call (draft)
Clean Water Network
Board of Directors call
September 8, 2010
By Keith Dimoff, Secretary, CWN
Present on the call:
New Study Shows Potomac River Healthier Now than in '50s
According to a recent Washignton Post article, a new study released on Tuesday, September 7th, shows that the Potomac River is cleaner now than it has been since the mid twentieth century. Much of the improvement in the river's health has been attributed to large scale upgrades at the Blue Plains sewage treatment plant which handles waste from the District and parts of Montgomery, Prince George's Fairfax, Loudon and Arlington counties.
EPA Holding Public Hearings on Coal Ash Regulation
Vermont Urges Dismissal of Conservation Law Foundation Lawsuit on Phosphorous Pollution
On Tuesday, lawyers for the state of Vermont urged a federal judge to throw out a lawsuit brought by the Conservation Law Foundation that says the state of Vermont and the federal government aren't doing enough to protect Lake Champlain from phosphorous pollution. The suite, which was filed in 2008, names the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as a defendant and says the phosphorous pollution limits set in 2002 for Vermont were not stringent enough and did not take into account any effects of global climate change. The suit seeks to force EPA to reconsider the limits they approved 8 years ago.
New Great Lakes Sewage Report Released
On Monday, August 9th, the Healing Our Waters-Great lakes Coalition and the Sierra Club released a new report "Turning the Tide: Investing in Wastewater Infrastructure to Create Jobs and Solve the Sewage Crisis in the Great Lakes." The report highlights the increasing wastewater infrastructure gap occurring in this country due to insufficient federal investments, how local communities are responding to this problem with innovative green solutions and what economic benefits can be derived from wastewater infrastructure investments. Below is the official press release from August 9th.