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.

We need your help again!

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.

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: 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.

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!

virginia elections update

Thanks to our members for re-electing State Senator David Marsden in the 37th District, and electing two bright newcomers to the State Senate, Adam Ebbin in the 30th District, and Barbara Favola in the 31st.  These endorsees won by comfortable margins, aided by strong grassroots efforts, including those of the Clean Water Action field and phone canvass staff.

Unfortunately, we were unable to elect Shawn Mitchell in the 13th Senate District, nor House of Delegates candidate Pamela Danner in the 34th.

More details in the days to come!

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.

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

Oil and gas operations in the U.S. produce significant air pollution – everything from drilling to the production and processing of natural gas affects our air. In fact, the oil and gas industry releases millions of pounds of pollutants like methane, benzene, and sulfur dioxide into our air each year.

Gas Drilling Operations

These toxins pose a threat to our air quality and contribute to serious health problems like asthma, cancer, and neurological issues. Currently more than half of Pennsylvanians live in an area that doesn’t meet federal air quality standards for smog and nearly 800,000 suffer from asthma. 

Federal air pollution standards for drilling are woefully outdated. In July the EPA proposed new safeguards to reduce air pollution from the oil and natural gas industry to get us back on track.