Media Center

Exposing Even More Gulf Waters to Drilling “is the last thing we need – and the last place we need it.”

September 29, 2023 Press ReleaseWashington, D.C.

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration announced plans to expand the waters available in the Gulf of Mexico to oil and gas drilling, as part of the new five-year leasing plan that will take effect in 2024.

NRDC Digital Tool Tracks Political Opposition to Offshore Drilling

September 21, 2023 Press ReleaseWashington, D.C.

WASHINGTON – NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) is launching an updated digital tool today to help people track where their Members of Congress stand on offshore oil and gas drilling. The Biden administration is expected to release a final five-year plan for federal…

EPA Ensures States, Tribes Can Protect Their Waterways from Harm

September 14, 2023 Press ReleaseWashington, D.C.

WASHINGTON – The Environmental Protection Agency finalized a rule today that restores the ability of states and authorized Tribes to weigh in on federally permitted projects that could pollute or harm their waters, and to limit their adverse impacts. EPA…

Army Corps Considers Continued Operation of Destructive Dakota Access Pipeline

September 8, 2023 Press ReleaseWashington, D.C.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued a draft environmental impact statement today for the operation of the Dakota Access Pipeline, which threatens the lands, water supply, and valuable cultural resources of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.

Biden Administration to Cancel Arctic Refuge Oil and Gas Leases

September 6, 2023 Press ReleaseWashington, D.C.

WASHINGTON – The Biden administration canceled Trump-era leases for oil and gas drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, eliminating an imminent threat to drill within the refuge’s 1.6-million-acre Coastal Plain.

More than 150,000 people called on Biden Administration to Fully Restore Endangered Species Act

August 21, 2023 Press ReleaseWashington, D.C.

More than 150,000 people are calling on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to fully restore the Endangered Species Act (ESA), following proposed regulations that resulted from federal lawsuits challenging harmful regulations…

Feds Propose New Critical Habitat Designation for Endangered Whale 

July 21, 2023 Press ReleaseWashington, D.C.

The National Marine Fisheries Service has submitted a proposed rule designating critical habitat for the highly endangered Rice’s whale. With only approximately 50 whales remaining, Rice’s whales are among the most endangered whales in the world, making this habitat designation essential…

President Biden Declines to Embargo Products from Mexico for Vaquita Violation

July 18, 2023 Press ReleaseWashington, D.C.

President Biden announced yesterday that he will not embargo products from Mexico despite its failure to halt the illegal wildlife trade threatening the critically endangered vaquita porpoise. The decision responds to the Secretary of the Interior’s recent certification under the…

Shooting Weapons into the Potomac: Groups Sue Navy for Failure to Get Clean Water Act Permit

June 21, 2023 Press ReleaseWashington, D.C.

WASHINGTON, DC  – Potomac Riverkeeper Network (PRKN) and NRDC (the Natural Resources Defense Council) filed a lawsuit today against the U.S. Navy in federal court in Maryland over violations of the Clean Water Act.

Agencies Propose Rollbacks of Endangered Species Act Rollbacks

June 21, 2023 Press ReleaseUnited States

In response to a federal lawsuit, the Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service released draft revisions to regulations governing protections under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The updates address Trump Administration efforts in 2019 to undermine…

United States Finds Mexico Is Undermining Wildlife Treaty, May Impose Embargo

May 26, 2023 Press ReleaseWashington, D.C.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced today that Mexico has failed to halt the illegal wildlife trade threatening the critically endangered vaquita porpoise, diminishing the effectiveness of an international wildlife treaty. Under U.S. law, President Biden must now decide…

Supreme Court Dramatically Narrows Scope of Clean Water Act

May 25, 2023 Press ReleaseUnited States

The Supreme Court today stripped out key protections from the Clean Water Act, weakening the law, and narrowing its ability to defend the quality of the nation’s waterways.

NRDC: COVER Act Will Finally Make Cover Crop Benefits Accessible to All Farmers

May 18, 2023 Press ReleaseEast, United States

WASHINGTON —A key bicameral bill to incent the use of cover crops across the country was re-introduced today. The Conservation Opportunity and Voluntary Environment Resilience (COVER) Program Act, which would provide a $5 per acre discount on crop insurance for…

Forest Service Permits Construction on Mountain Valley Pipeline

May 16, 2023 Press ReleaseWashington, D.C.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Forest Service has issued a decision allowing construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline on public land in the Jefferson National Forest.

Marine Mammal Bycatch in Ecuador’s Fisheries Threatens Access to U.S. Seafood Market

May 10, 2023 Press ReleaseWashington, D.C.

A report released today by conservation and animal protection groups finds that Ecuador’s fishing industry does not meet U.S. standards for limiting whale and dolphin bycatch. As a result, Ecuador may lose access to the U.S. seafood import market for…

Reducing Lead in Tap Water Would Yield Billions in Previously Ignored Health and Other Benefits, Far Surpassing Costs

May 10, 2023 Press ReleaseUnited States

WASHINGTON – Cutting lead levels in drinking water would yield at least $9 billion in annual health benefits and other benefits that taken together exceed costs by at least 35-fold, according to a new analysis by researchers at Harvard’s T.H…

Court Rules EPA Must Regulate Perchlorate

May 9, 2023 Press ReleaseUnited States

WASHINGTON – A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, today unanimously ruled that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) decision against regulating the toxic chemical perchlorate in drinking water was illegal.

U.S. to Decide Whether Mexico's Failure to Protect Vaquita Warrants Embargo

April 10, 2023 Press ReleaseNew York

In a settlement filed in court Friday, the U.S. Department of the Interior agreed to determine whether Mexico has failed to stop illegal fishing and trade of totoaba that is driving the vaquita porpoise’s extinction. The determination could result in…

EPA Moves to Cut Toxic Air Pollution from Coal Plants

April 5, 2023 Press ReleaseWashington, D.C.

WASHINGTON – The Environmental Protection Agency today proposed to strengthen its Mercury and Air Toxics Standards to cut pollution from power plants that burn coal and oil, enhancing air quality and better protecting public health. 

Biden Should Veto Clean Water Act CRA

March 29, 2023 Press ReleaseWashington, D.C.

WASHINGTON — Today, 53 Senators attacked the Clean Water Act by passing a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution. The measure would overturn the Biden Administration’s Clean Water Restoration rule and prevent any future administration from issuing similar protections.