Media Center

Illinois Will Expand Investments in the State’s Water Infrastructure

May 9, 2014 Press Release

CHICAGO (May 9, 2014) – Illinois took some big steps towards more resilient, cost effective and sustainable water infrastructure today, according to experts with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT).

Supreme Court Allows Major Southern California Water Quality Victory to Stand

May 5, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON (May 5, 2014) – A decision today by the U.S. Supreme Court will protect millions of people living near and visiting Los Angeles rivers and beaches from the harmful effects of water pollution. The Supreme Court declined Los Angeles…

Spring-run Salmon Release Marks Progress in Restoring San Joaquin River

April 17, 2014 Press ReleaseCalifornia

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (April 17, 2014) – Today, for the first time in over 60 years, spring run Chinook salmon returned to the San Joaquin River when the San Joaquin River Restoration Program released 54,000 juvenile into California’s second largest…

Redford Urges Americans to “Join Me in Standing Up to Big Oil”

April 17, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON (April 17, 2014) – In a nationwide appeal, environmental activist Robert Redford today called on the American public to help put the Arctic Ocean off limits to oil industry drilling plans. The Hollywood director and actor singled out Royal…

Court Unanimously Agrees Feds Unlawfully Renewed Unsustainable Water Supply Contracts in the Bay-Delta

April 16, 2014 Press ReleaseCalifornia

SAN FRANCISCO (April 16, 2014) – A unanimous eleven-judge panel of the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals today overturned two earlier court rulings that upheld the federal government’s renewal of several dozen long-term water supply contracts for diversions from…

Water Agencies’ Drought Plan Needs Balance

April 9, 2014 Press ReleaseCalifornia

SACRAMENTO (April 9, 2014) – The California Department of Water Resources and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation today released their proposed 2014 Drought Operations Plan, a proposal that waives key environmental standards to the detriment of the majority of Californians.

Rio Tinto Divests from Pebble Mine

April 7, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON (April 7, 2014) -- In the latest departure from the proposed Pebble Mine in southwest Alaska, British mining giant Rio Tinto announced today that it is divesting its interest in the embattled project by donating its shares to two…

Coast Guard Report on Shell Debacle Underscores Danger of Arctic Drilling

April 4, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON (April 4, 2014) -- The U.S. Coast Guard’s long-awaited report on the 2012 grounding of Shell Oil’s Kulluk drill rig near Kodiak Island, Alaska underscores the serious threats posed by drilling in the Arctic Ocean, the Natural Resources Defense…

Industry Urges Ships to Shush in order to Protect World’s Whales

April 3, 2014 Press ReleaseCalifornia

SAN FRANCISCO (April 3, 2014) — After five years of intensive coalition work, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) today released voluntary guidelines intended to reduce underwater noise from commercial ships globally. Ocean noise has been a growing problem for the…

Near Record-Low California Snowpack Measurement Warns of Greater Water Supply Challenges Ahead

April 1, 2014 Press ReleaseCalifornia

LOS ANGELES (April 1, 2014) – Critically low California snowpack measurement was reported today by the state’s Department of Water Resources (DWR) in its annual April snow survey, revealing the snowpack measurement is at its lowest since 1988 – the…

EPA Rescues Streams, Wetlands from Clean Water Limbo

March 25, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON (March 25, 2014)--The Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers today proposed rules to restore Clean Water Act protections to streams and wetlands whose status had been thrown into question by court rulings and Bush administration…

Court Upholds Key Protections for California Bay-Delta Health

March 13, 2014 Press ReleaseCalifornia

SAN FRANCISCO (March 13, 2014) – The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals today ruled to uphold a federal plan of protection for California’s vital Delta ecosystem. The court sided with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Earthjustice, The Bay…

EPA Takes Next Step Necessary to Protect Bristol Bay

February 28, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON (February 28, 2014) - Responding to public demand to protect Bristol Bay in southwest Alaska from the proposed Pebble Mine, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said today it is taking the first step in a process under the federal…

New Poll: Nearly 75% of California Voters Choose Improving Local Water Supplies as Top Solution to Drought

February 25, 2014 Press ReleaseCalifornia

SAN FRANCISCO (February 25, 2014) – California voters are more concerned about the drought than any other major issue and an overwhelming majority favor strategies to stretch local water supplies, including recycling, rainwater harvesting and efficiency measures, as the top…

NRDC Intervenes in Legal Attack on EPA Stormwater Regulations

May 19, 2000 Press Release

WASHINGTON (May 19, 2000) - The Natural Resources Defense Council today intervened in a lawsuit against new Environmental Protection Agency regulations aimed at reducing stormwater pollution. Those regulations, which the EPA issued in December 1999, have been challenged by two…

NRDC, Labor, Civil Rights Groups Sue Navy Over Vieques Operations

May 17, 2000 Press ReleaseNew York

NEW YORK (May 17, 2000) – Citing environmental hazards as well as high cancer and infant mortality rates on Vieques Island, a coalition of environmental, labor and civil rights groups -- including NRDC -- say they will sue the U.S…

NRDC Sues to Force White House to Release New EPA Standard for Arsenic Levels in Tap Water

May 10, 2000 Press Release

WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 10, 2000) - According to a suit filed today, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has been illegally obstructing a proposed Environmental Protection Agency standard for arsenic in tap water for three months. In…

Environmentalists Win Lawsuit to Protect Summer Flounder

April 26, 2000 Press Release

WASHINGTON D.C. (April 26, 2000) - Siding with four conservation groups, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit yesterday struck down the 1999 federal fishery quota for summer flounder, a commercially and recreationally valuable fish that…

Leonardo DiCaprio Gets Help from Environmentalists to Settle 'Beach' Dispute in Thailand

April 18, 2000 Press ReleaseNew York

NEW YORK (April 18, 2000) - Film actor Leonardo DiCaprio is enlisting the help of two prominent environmental organizations to assist with the restoration and protection of the location for his current film "The Beach" in Thailand.