Media Center

“Staggering” Health Benefits from Replacing Lead Water Pipes Could Save as Much as $6 Billion in California from Avoided Health Impacts

October 25, 2023 Press ReleaseSacramento

Replacing every lead pipe that delivers drinking water to homes in California would yield as much as $6 billion dollars in avoided health costs, according to a new state-by-state analysis released today from NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council). “Getting the…

Governor Newsom Signs Bill to Protect Californians and Pollinators from Dangerous Neurotoxins

October 11, 2023 Press ReleaseSacramento

With the support of Governor Newsom and persistence from the state legislature, California has passed AB 363, which bans over the counter sales of lawn and garden neonicotinoid (neonic) pesticides by 2025, limiting their use to trained professionals. The bill…

Governor Newsom Stands Up to Big Oil, Protecting California Communities and Taxpayers

October 7, 2023 Press ReleaseSacramento

In a strong move to hold oil companies responsible for the economic and public health dangers of oil wells left idle and unplugged, Governor Gavin Newsom has signed AB 1167, the “Orphan Well Prevention Act,” into law. This bill, authored…

California Could Lose Hundreds of Millions of Dollars for Lead Contamination Protections (Again)

September 29, 2023 Press ReleaseSacramento

Public health and environmental organizations urged stronger State leadership in efforts to remove lead from drinking water infrastructure throughout California. In a support letter, the organizations called on the California State Water Resources Control Board to address the state’s disturbing…

Orphan Wells Bill Advances One Step Closer to Governor's Desk

September 14, 2023 Press ReleaseSacramento

California’s senate has approved AB 1167, a bill a by Assemblymember Wendy Carrillo called the Orphan Well Prevention Act, which NRDC and Environment California are sponsoring. The act is designed to intervene before oil wells become “orphaned” without a financially…

Report: An Estimated One in Five New Yorkers May Be Drinking Water from Lead Service Lines

July 18, 2023 Press ReleaseNew York City

According to a new report, No Excuses, NYC: Replace Lead Drinking Water Pipes Now, an estimated one in five New Yorkers, or 21% of the City’s residents, may be drinking water transported through lead service lines.

Civil Rights Complaint Filed Against State of Alabama for Sanitation Inequity in Black Communities

March 6, 2023 Press ReleaseAlabama

The compliant from the Center for Rural Enterprise and Environmental Justice and NRDC (represented by Southern Poverty Law Center) details how Alabama distributes funding for wastewater infrastructure—withholding resources from communities of color lacking proper sanitation access.

Advocates Defend ‘the Birds and the Bees’ with Nation-Leading Legislation

February 27, 2023 Press ReleaseAlbany

A coalition of organizations flocked to Albany to rein in toxic neonic pesticides.

Groups File Lawsuit to Require California to Regulate Pesticide-Treated Seeds 

February 21, 2023 Press ReleaseCalifornia

Legal challenge calls on state Department of Pesticide Regulation to close loophole on unregulated sale, use of pesticides on seeds.

NRDC Statement on Climate Smart CARB Appointments

January 31, 2023 Press ReleaseCalifornia

Governor Gavin Newsom appointed six members to the California Air Resources Board (CARB) late yesterday.

New York City Votes to “Skip the Stuff” in Take-Out Orders

January 19, 2023 Press ReleaseNew York City

NEW YORK, NY – The New York City Council voted (43-7) today in favor of the “Skip the Stuff” bill (Intro 0559), which would prohibit takeout and delivery services from providing plastic utensils, condiments, or napkins unless explicitly requested by…

NRDC Report: Stronger California Heat Stress Rule Can Guide National Worker Protections Against Deadly Heat

September 14, 2022 Press ReleaseCalifornia

WASHINGTON, D.C. – As excessive heat fueled by climate change continues endangering millions of people nationwide, NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) today released a report showing that improvements to California’s 17-year-old outdoor worker heat stress rule—one of the nation’s oldest…

NRDC Statement on Passage of CA Diablo Canyon Extension Bill

September 1, 2022 Press ReleaseCalifornia

SACRAMENTO – The California Legislature sent Senate Bill 846, the Diablo Canyon powerplant: extension of operations bill (Sen Bill Dodd D-3,) to the governor’s desk. NRDC, along with Friends of the Earth and Environment California were lead signatories of the 2016…

Padilla, Chu Join Union Workers in Los Angeles to Push for Federal Heat Stress Protections

August 30, 2022 Press ReleaseLos Angeles

LOS ANGELES, CA — As temperatures soar to triple digits in areas of Southern California, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and Representative Judy Chu (D-Calif.) were in Los Angeles today along with union representatives and workers to advocate for federal…

Buffalo Community Groups Join Map Project To Find and Replace Lead Water Pipes

July 20, 2022 Press ReleaseBuffalo

Community advocates, the water utility, and mapping experts collaborate to document where Buffalo’s lead pipes are located, as records are incomplete or inaccurate

States Cleared to Curb Vehicle Pollution

March 9, 2022 Press ReleaseCalifornia, United States

WASHINGTON – The Environmental Protection Agency today reaffirmed California’s authority to set tailpipe emissions standards to address its public health and air-quality needs, and other states’ authority to adopt and enforce those standards.

Judge Rules to Include Community Group in State Lawsuit to Clean Up Chemical Manufacturing Plant

February 15, 2022 Press ReleaseCalifornia

SAN FRANCISCO – A judge ruled today that Communities for a Better Environment (CBE) can be a plaintiff-intervenor in a new lawsuit aimed at cleaning up a Bay Area chemical manufacturing plant today, brought by the California Department of Toxic…

Southern California Air Board Approves Much-Needed Refinery Rule

November 5, 2021 Press ReleaseCalifornia

LOS ANGELES – The Governing Board of the Southern California’s South Coast Air Quality Management District today unanimously voted for the refinery rule. The rule will require refineries and related facilities to finally install pollution control equipment that reduces harmful air pollutants, such as nitrogen…

Kern County Communities Win Reprieve with Court Ruling on Oil & Gas Permitting

October 7, 2021 Press ReleaseCalifornia

Kern County, CA — The Kern County Superior Court released its decision yesterday ordering Kern County to stop issuing oil and gas permits until the Court determines that the County has fixed the legal problems in the County’s 2015 oil…

California Bans PFAS in Paper-Based Food Packaging

October 5, 2021 Press ReleaseCalifornia

SACRAMENTO – California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill into law today banning the use of the “forever chemicals” known as PFAS in paper-based food packaging and to require disclosure of toxic substances in cookware.