Sees Central Role for Groups Like Prairie Rivers Network

by Kim Knowles, Water Resources Specialist

Lisa Jackson; Photo credit: EPA

The times they are a-changin’. At least in word, we’ve come a long way from the days when W’s EPA refused to recognize carbon dioxide as a pollutant and issued rules that made it easier to mine coal by blasting off mountain tops and filling streams and valleys with the refuse. In a breath of fresh air, US EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson publicly admitted last summer that the EPA is not doing enough to deliver clean and safe water to our communities. Administrator Jackson directed her staff to boost enforcement actions against serious violators and to provide more information on the EPA web site in a form that is easily understood and useable. {Continue Reading »}

Point Source Pollution (photo credit: www.flickr.com/photos/thoth-god/)

Prairie Rivers Network, in partnership with the Sierra Club and the Environmental Law and Policy Center, has filed a notice of intent to sue Freeman United Coal Mining Company, regarding repeated and excessive violations of the Clean Water Act.

The Industry Mine, near Macomb, has over 300 documented exceedances of their NPDES permit since July, 2003. You can read the press release here and review the violations here. {Continue Reading »}

If you haven’t yet read the New York Times article entitled “Toxic Waters: Clean Water Laws Neglected, at a Cost in Suffering“ that appeared Sunday, September 13, I encourage you to do so now.

The article paints a stark picture of health threats posed by pollution in our nation’s waters. Pollution found in our drinking water is making people sick and has been linked to cancer and damage to the kidneys and nervous system. The Environmental Protection Agency and state regulatory agencies are charged with carrying out the Clean Water Act and the Safe Water Drinking Act in order to ensure clean, safe drinking water. However, between a “culture of transgression and apathy” and a doubling in the number of regulated facilities in the last ten years, the agencies responsible for making sure the laws are enforced are not getting the job done. {Continue Reading »}

Large numbers of Franklin County residents are expected to appear at this Thursday’s Illinois Environmental Protection Agency’s hearing to voice their concerns about Sugar Camp Energy’s proposed mine. Issues related to the proposed underground mine range from insufficient mitigation for loss of streams and wetlands to negative impacts to water quality. We need your help to let IEPA know they cannot grant a permit for this mine unless these issues are addressed as required by the Clean Water Act. {Continue Reading »}

Prairie Rivers Network needs you to call Senator Burris during the week of July 27-31 as part of our Burris Blast for clean water!  Ask him to vote FOR the Clean Water Restoration Act, Senate Bill 787.  Your call is important because the opposition (e.g., Farm Bureau, National Homebuilders Association, National Mining Association) is strong.

This Act will restore protections to isolated wetlands and ephemeral waters no longer covered by the Clean Water Act because of recent Supreme Court decisions that weakened the protections that have been in place since 1972. Senate Bill 787 recognizes that all natural waters are important, not just the permanent waters big enough to be navigable.

You can call Senator Burris’ office in Washington, D.C. (202-224-2854) or Chicago (312-886-3506). Tell the person who answers the phone:

1. Your name and where you live.
2. That you support the Clean Water Restoration Act, Senate Bill 787, and you think it is important for Senator Burris to vote in favor of it. 

It’s that simple!

Sources of More Information:

Prairie Rivers Network’s letter to Senator Burris.

Prairie Rivers Network’s press release.

Clean Water Restoration Act Bill.

National Wildlife Federation’s CWRA information page.

7/28/09 Updated CWRA link

For Immediate Release: July 14, 2009

Prairie Rivers Network is asking Senator Roland Burris to vote for the Baucus-Klobuchar-Boxer Amendment to the Clean Water Restoration Act. This Act would reinstate protections for wetlands and streams that have been compromised over the past eight years. Before adjourning for the 4th of July recess, the Environment and Public Works Committee voted 12-7 to send the measure on to the full Senate. The Act already has the support of Senator Durbin.  {Continue Reading »}