District of Columbia
DC Stormwater
a national leader on stormwater?
On October 5, District of Columbia and Environmental Protection Agency representatives proclaimed the release of a new stormwater management permit that could significantly reduce the pollution flowing from storm drains into the creeks and rivers of the nation’s capital. The new permit calls for retaining the first 1.2 inches of rainfall on properties in the District. When enforced, this new standard will reduce the poison runoff that flows from streets, parking lots and other paved surfaces. The permit provides incentives for solutions and environmental design standards that help capture rain water, such as trees, rain gardens and other landscape that soaks in water.
D.C. Strikes Deal for Benning Road Power Plant Cleanup
cleaning the anacostia
The Anacostia is one of the ten most polluted rivers in the nation. For too long we have accepted that a polluted Anacostia has to be a reality for the District. However, under pressure from the EPA, the District Department of the Environment (DDOE) is finally dealing with the six most toxic sites along the Anacostia, one of which is Pepco's Benning Road power plant. On February 2, 2011, DDOE announced that it had reached a "consent decree" with Pepco that it believes will address the legacy of pollution at Benning Road (to learn more click here). The proposal is promising, as there have been six documented releases of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from the site over the years. PCBS are known cuase developmental problems and are carcinogenic in humans and wildlife, for example two-third of all brown bull-head catfish (pictured above) in the Anacostia have tumors.
Protecting and Restoring the Chesapeake
In 1983, 1987 and 2000, Maryland Governors and their counterparts in Virginia, the District of Columbia and other jurisdictions in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed signed formal agreements that set timelines for cleaning up the Bay. The most recent agreement called for deadlines that were to be met by 2010. That deadline will not be met.
Update the Clean Water Act
clean water progress
Under current federal policies many water bodies are vulnerable to pollution and destruction. The Obama Administration has proposed to fix this problem but powerful special interests oppose this clean water progress. Last year, their allies in Congress attempted to block the Administration’s proposals several times last year. With your help we fended off those attacks.
As 2012 begins, we need to remind the White House that people support clean water policies and that they need to keep this process moving.
Letters to Senators
it takes a broad movement
The Barrasso/Heller Amendment to the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (H.R. 2354) is bad news. It would permanently bar the Army Corps of Engineers from restoring longstanding Clean Water Act protections to water bodies throughout the country. This undermines the common-sense protections that Americans expect to ensure clean water for drinking, swimming and fishing. We have to stop it - and we will.
Barrasso - Heller
barrasso-heller: the amendment that would put all water at risk
- Tell the Senate: It's past time to protect all water!
- A Broad Movement: Letters to Key Senators
- The New York Times on Barrasso - Heller
- Putting our water at risk
- Read the amendment
Wetlands and streams are a vital part of our water system. They feed into and clean rivers and lakes throughout the country. The Mississippi and Colorado rivers, San Francisco and Chesapeake Bays and every other body of water relies on small streams and wetlands across the United States. Wetlands also provide vital flood protection for cities, towns, and farmland - an acre of wetland can hold nearly 1 million gallons of floodwaters.
On the Hill
fighting for water on the hill
The Clean Water Act brought Lake Erie back to life, cleaned up rivers like the Cuyahoga and the Potamac, and made drinking water safe for nearly all Americans - we're not done yet. It's been 39 years since the Congress first passed the Clean Water Act. We were making steady progess until nine years ago.
Help us stop the Senate from passing the dirty water amendment today!
Chesapeake Currents - Fall 2011
chesapeake currents
fall 2011 edition
Inside
- We Can't Live Without Clean Water
- Uranium Mining
- Virginia Endorsements
- Winning in Baltimore
- DC - Leading on Stormwater
- Delaware's Senator Takes on Diesel
we can’t live without clean water
It’s that simple. But sometimes, the people we elect seem to forget that. And they’ve been forgetting it a lot lately in Washington, DC and in too many of our state capitals.
Clean Water Action’s job – which we can only do in partnership with you,
our members — is to keep the pressure on the politicians in Washington,
and in their home districts across the country, telling them to protect
our water.
From the Director - Chesapeake
we can’t live without clean water
It’s that simple. But sometimes, the people we elect seem to forget that. And they’ve been forgetting it a lot lately in Washington, DC and in too many of our state capitals.
Coal Ash
undermining public health
Your U.S. Senators need to hear from you that controlling coal ash pollution is a common sense way to protect our health, our water and our communities.
We need you to tell your Senators: Coal ash is too toxic not to regulate
