Media Center

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…

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…

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…

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…

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 Administration Issues Visionary Conservation Measures

March 21, 2023 Press ReleaseWashington, D.C.

WASHINGTON — As part of a larger package of land and ocean conservation measures, the Biden administration today announced the first Ocean Climate Action Plan, which includes a host of initiatives relating to responsible offshore wind, marine protected areas to enhance biodiversity…

Judge Approves Multi-Million Dollar Clean-Up for Penobscot River

October 11, 2022 Press ReleaseMaine

BANGOR, ME — Today, a Federal District Court in Maine approved a settlement that requires Mallinckrodt US LLC to pay for mercury remediation in the Penobscot River Estuary, concluding a more than two decade long legal fight led by Maine…

Community & Advocacy Groups Support GenX Health Advisory by Moving to Intervene In Chemours Case Against EPA

August 12, 2022 Press ReleaseNorth Carolina

WILMINGTON, NC – A coalition of community, public health, and environmental justice groups and Southeastern North Carolina residents has moved to intervene in a legal challenge by chemical manufacturer Chemours to the drinking water health advisory recently issued by the…

South Fork Wind and Leading Environmental Organizations Sign Agreement to Further Enhance Protections for North Atlantic Right Whales

June 27, 2022 Press ReleaseEast

BOSTON – South Fork Wind, a joint venture offshore wind project developed by Ørsted and Eversource, announced today it has signed an agreement with leading environmental organizations to further enhance measures designed to protect the North Atlantic right whale during…

Recertification of Lobster Fishery Would Harm Right Whales, Mislead Consumers

June 27, 2022 Press ReleaseEast

NEW YORK – Conservation groups acted today to protect the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale by formally objecting to a determination that the Gulf of Maine lobster fishery should be recertified to the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) sustainability standard…

Congressional Leaders Introduce Bill to Save the North Atlantic Right Whale

February 16, 2022 Press ReleaseEast

Washington – Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Tom Carper (D-DE), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA) today introduced the “Right Whale Coexistence Act,” formerly known as the SAVE right whales act. This important legislation aims…

Governor Murphy Signs Bill that Addresses Threat to Pollinators

January 18, 2022 Press ReleaseNew Jersey

TRENTON, NJ – New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed into law A2070 (Calabrese)/S1016 (Smith) today, which prohibits most outdoor non-agricultural uses of harmful neonicotinoid pesticides. An outpouring of scientific evidence points to neonics as a leading cause of bee losses…

Groups Challenge Seismic Oil and Gas Testing in the Gulf of Mexico

July 22, 2021 Press ReleaseEast

GREENBELT, MD – NRDC and partner groups Healthy Gulf, Center for Biological Diversity, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, and the Surfrider Foundation sued the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) today over a Trump administration decision to allow extensive seismic…

31,974 Lead Pipes May Deliver Water to Homes in D.C.

July 20, 2021 Press ReleaseWashington, D.C.

Washington D.C. ranks eighth in nation with the most lead pipes per 100,000 people

360,000 Lead Pipes May Deliver Water to Homes in New York

July 19, 2021 Press ReleaseNew York

New York, NY – New York has 360,000 lead pipes delivering water to people’s homes statewide, the fourth highest number of any state in the nation, according to a new survey from NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council). New York State has committed, although not entirely allocated, $5 billion in…

Lead Found at Exceedingly High Levels in West Virginia Drinking Water

July 15, 2021 Press ReleaseVirginia

Clarksburg’s shocking example demonstrates urgent need to remove lead pipes and update EPA’s lead in water rules

Gulf of Maine Lobster Fishery Temporarily Loses Sustainable Seafood Certification

August 5, 2020 Press ReleaseNew York

New York— The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) has suspended its certification of the Gulf of Maine lobster fishery after determining that the fishery was potentially jeopardizing the survival of the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale.