Water Pollution

tallying toxic threats

Congressional watchdog issues update on coal ash regulation efforts 0
Posted 2 weeks, 1 day ago The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency still does not know the exact number of coal ash dumps at the nation's power plants, but it's moving ahead with plans to regulate them.
Loo and Behold

As Philadelphia goes, so goes the nation 1
Posted 1 month, 3 weeks ago The City of Brotherly Love has sent the EPA a $1.6 billion proposal for using green roofs, rain barrels, and other eco-tools to prevent the sewage overflow that results from big storms. Will the feds let Philly go with the flow?
EPA revamping rules for toxic releases from coal plants 0
Posted 2 months ago
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced on Tuesday that it plans to revise the existing standards for wastewater discharges from coal-fired power plants. The news came one day after three environmental groups announced they intend to sue the agency for failing to properly regulate such discharges.
Coal slurry smiles

NY Times nails Clean Water Act crimes and (lack of) punishment 0
Posted 2 months ago
Readers of the New York Times probably dropped their jaws in amazement at the lead story on Sunday: Seven-year-old Ryan Massey, of Prenter, West Virginia, smiled back with capped teeth, the enamel devoured by toxic tap water. His brother sported scabs and rashes, courtesy of the heavy metals--including lead, nickel--in their bath water.
EPA’s failure to publicize drinking water data prompts rethinking in agency, Congress 1
Posted 2 months, 2 weeks ago
There is some evidence that Congress -- and the Environmental Protection Agency -- are rethinking their policies on a commonly used weed-killer after disclosures that the EPA failed to notify the public about high levels of the herbicide in drinking water.
Herbicide maker asks that lobbying be excluded from class action lawsuit 0
Posted 2 months, 2 weeks ago
Lawyers representing the maker of the herbicide atrazine are asking that documents related to the company's lobbying and trade association activities be excluded from a class action lawsuit being filed by some Illinois water utilities.
WTFrack?!

EPA: Chemicals found in Wyo. drinking water might be from fracking 0
Posted 2 months, 3 weeks ago
Federal environment officials investigating drinking water contamination near the ranching town of Pavillion, Wyo., have found that at least three water wells contain a chemical used in the natural gas drilling process of hydraulic fracturing.
Gulp!

EPA fails to inform public about weed-killer in drinking water 1
Posted 2 months, 4 weeks ago
One of the nation's most widely used herbicides has been found to exceed federal safety limits in drinking water in four states, but water customers have not been told and the Environmental Protection Agency has not published the results.
The Age of Resin

Ask Umbra on turpentine disposal 4
Posted 4 months, 1 week ago
A reader thinks twice before rinsing turpentine down the drain, and Umbra layers on the praise -- as well as helping him brush up on a few alternative solutions.
smoke in the water

Coal ash contamination imperils July 4 festival goers in Tennessee 0
Posted 4 months, 2 weeks ago
Candid Cameron

Cameron Diaz films eco-documentary, takes on role as planet’s publicist 1
Posted 5 months ago
Catch a sneak peek at Cameron Diaz's new film about the pollutants that plague neighborhoods across the country -- and the people who are willing to stand up and fight.
Crude Behavior

‘Sweet Crude’ documents oil exploitation in the Niger River Delta 1
Posted 5 months, 2 weeks ago
In 'Sweet Crude,' filmmaker Sandy Cioffi takes us to Nigeria to show the dark side of oil production.
Virginia OKs uranium mining study 29
Posted 6 months ago
A proposal to mine uranium in south-central Virginia advanced this week when a key state body approved a study of the matter. Virginia has banned uranium mining for the past 25 years.
Insanitation

Reports highlight need to support clean water projects in poor countries 0
Posted 6 months, 1 week ago
The failure of governments in both rich and poor countries to prioritize basic sanitation is killing thousands of children every day, according to two reports released today by international aid agencies WaterAid and PATH. And a third report released yesterday suggests that the global economic crisis may increase the death rate, at least in Africa.
Poop + Marketing = Biosolids

Sludge, farmer’s friend or toxic slime? 18
Posted 6 months, 2 weeks ago
Eat, crap, fertilize, and eat again. For thousands of years, this arrangement worked just fine. So what's so controversial about applying our poop to the farms of America?
The Sludge Report

Regulating biosolids 0
Posted 6 months, 2 weeks ago
The federal regulations governing what you can do with sludge are so complicated that the EPA had to issue a "plain English" description. Here's what you need to know.
From ProPublica

Officials in three states pin water woes on gas drilling 1
Posted 6 months, 4 weeks ago
A string of documented cases of gas escaping into drinking water across North America is raising new concerns about the hidden costs of this economic tide and strengthening arguments across the country that drilling can put drinking water at risk.
Sound the alarm

Frontline explores “Poisoned Waters” of Puget Sound, Chesapeake Bay 2
Posted 7 months ago
PBS' Frontline tomorrow night reflects on the state of the nation's waterways some three decades after the Clean Water Act. "Poisoned Waters" airs April 21 at 9 p.m.
The Bay vs. The Bag 1
Posted 7 months, 1 week ago
'Simple' sanitation

In India, leading a lavatory revolution 0
Posted 7 months, 3 weeks ago
There's a lot to learn at the Sulabh International Museum of Toilets -- for starters, how one man improved the lives of millions.