On January 21st a federal judge upheld a 2008 decision ruling to cancel over 5,700 acres limestone mining permits adjacent to Everglades National Park in Miami-Dade County.

The mining permits, issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, were found unlawful because they compromised drinking water safety for the interests of private companies and did not comply with federal protections outlined in the National Environmental Policy Act.

Clean Water Action Statement on Water Contamination and U.S. Senate Hearings

Tuesday December 8, 2009 - Today the U.S. Senate's Environment and Public Works Committee held an oversight hearing on federal drinking water protection, against a backdrop of growing public concern and awareness. Recent news such as the New York Times' "Toxic Water" series and reports from the Washington Post and others on "gender-bending" fish in the Potomac River have helped to expose the seriousness of the problem.

These problems are symptomatic of the nation's faltering commitment to clean and safe water. Anemic enforcement efforts and failure to maintain and modernize water infrastructure and treatment plants have had predictable consequences. But tough enforcement and more funding alone are not enough to protect the public's health and deliver the clean water Americans have come to expect. Federal drinking water standards have yet to be developed for several dangerous and ubiquitous contaminants, including perchlorate and hexavalent chromium. The key to protecting drinking water and preventing harmful health impacts is to stop pollution "upstream" before it even has a chance to enter our water. The alternative is costly end-of-pipe measures that leave consumers, water systems and governments mired in a no-win cycle of costly regulation, testing, treatment and cleanup, after the fact.

First ever biomonitoring study detects chemicals on EPA’s priority list

Clean Water Action recently joined with Physician’s for Social Responsibility to release their report “Hazardous Chemicals In Health Care”, detailing the first investigation ever of chemicals found in the bodies of health care professionals. The study found all 20 study participants, including a doctor and nurse from Minnesota, have toxic chemicals in their bodies. Testing shows each participant has at least 24 individual chemicals present. Four of the chemicals found are on the recently released Environmental Protection Agency list of priority chemicals for regulation. These chemicals are all associated with chronic illness and physical disorders.