You've probably seen a lot of talk in the news recently about the chemical, Bisphenol A, or BPA. Bans are now in place across the country, including Suffolk County NY, Chicago, IL and in the state of Minnesota. Companies like S.C. Johnson, Gerber, and Sonoco have stopped using the chemical in products intended for children.
"Ensuring that the places our children and pets play are pesticide-free is important to me, and a reflection of our ever-evolving Green Action Plan," said Mayor Bernie Platt.
St. Paul, MN— At a June 22 hearing the Minnesota Pollution Control Board warned Excel Dairy this was their last chance to show good faith and correct the air emissions problem with their dairy operation in Marshall County near Thief River Falls, Minnesota.
A year ago in June the MPCA, the county and the Attorney General filed lawsuits to get the company to bring the toxic air emissions under compliance with Minnesota’s air quality standards for hydrogen sulfide. Excel Dairy had nearly 500 violations last year. Hydrogen sulfide causes many health problems such as headache, nausea, breathing problems, vomiting, diarrhea and extreme fatigue.
Today, Clean Water Action Minnesota applauds passage of the Clean Water Restoration Act in the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee by a party line vote of 12 – 7. Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar played a key role in the smooth passage of the bill.
“This vote is a strong rejection of the last Administration’s ‘No Protection Policy’ that threatened the drinking water sources for at least 110 million people, including over 950,000 Minnesotans,” said Clean Water Action Program Coordinator Darrell Gerber.
"This vote is a strong rejection of the last Administration's "No Protection Policy" that threatened the drinking water sources for at least 110 million people, including 2,882,000 New Jerseyans" said New Jersey Environmental Federation State Director Amy Goldsmith. "We applaud New Jersey's U.S. Senators Lautenberg and Menendez for co-sponsoring and helping move this landmark legislation."
NJ Environmental Federation (NJ Chapter of Clean Water Action, in coordination with the Garden State Alliance for a New Economy (GANE) and Laborers 55, helped co-release two complementary reports today.
Washington, DC - Today, Clean Water Action applauds passage of the Clean Water Restoration Act in the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee by a vote of 12 - 7. Clean Water Action also supports the efforts of the committee to meet the needs of agriculture, while going a long way toward restoring the historic protections of the Clean Water Act.
"This vote is a strong rejection of the Bush Administration's "No Protection Policy" that threatened the drinking water sources for at least 110 million people," said Clean Water Action President John DeCock.
Beginning in early 2003, special interests pressured the Bush Administration to put policies in place that confused and delayed permits under the Clean Water Act and limited enforcement of the Act's programs. These policies, coupled with misinterpretations of U.S. Supreme Court decisions, brought enforcement of the Clean Water Act to a virtual halt and left America's water supplies and public health safeguards at risk.
Providence, RI - Environmental groups gathered at the State House today to release findings from a new report, An Industry Blowing Smoke: 10 Reasons Why Gasification, Pyrolysis & Plasma Incineration are Not "Green Solutions" revealing that new incineration technologies are no better than conventional trash-burning. The report cites consultant reviews, government studies and scientific literature concluding that despite industry claims of advanced pollution control technology, the impacts of incinerating waste remain the same: it is toxic to public health, harmful to the economy, environment and climate, and undermine recycling and waste reduction programs. Clean Water Action, Toxics Action Center, Conservation Law Foundation and other groups stood with Lt. Governor Elizabeth Roberts and legislators in opposition to two bills pending in the legislature that would overturn the state's fifteen year ban on incineration and define trash-burning as renewable energy.
In the past few weeks, Minnesota and Connecticut became the first states in the country to pass laws eliminating bisphenol-a from products intended for use by children, including baby food cans and jars, "sippy" cups, and baby bottles. Connecticut's law stretched even further, protecting a full range of reusable food and beverage containers.
In March, Suffolk County, NY became the first jurisdiction in the country to disallow BPA within county limits. Shortly thereafter, Chicago became the first U.S. city to ban BPA, with a unanimous vote of its city council.
For immediate release: June 8, 2009
GROUPS APPLAUD ARC GROUNDBREAKING; CALL FOR STRONGER FEDERAL COMMITMENT TO THE PROJECT
A broad coalition of environmental, civic, transportation and planning organizations applauded the groundbreaking for the Access to the Region's Core passenger rail tunnel today and urged the federal government to fully fund the project. The project's groundbreaking was held at Tonnelle Ave. this morning.
