Media Center

Obama Vetoes GOP bid to Kill Clean Water Rule

January 20, 2016 Press Release

WASHINGTON (January 20, 2016) — President Obama has acted promptly to veto a measure passed by the Republican-led Congress designed to kill the Clean Water Rule.

House Resolution Against Clean Water Protections Puts Polluters Before People

January 13, 2016 Press Release

WASHINGTON (January 13, 2016) — House Republicans today passed legislation attacking clean water protections. Today’s action—a resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act –-blocks the Clean Water Rule, the Obama administration’s landmark action adopted last year. Because the Senate…

Coalition Files Lawsuit to Safeguard Kern Communities from Flawed Oil & Gas Drilling Amendment

December 10, 2015 Press ReleaseCalifornia

Bakersfield, CA — A broad coalition of community and conservation groups sued Kern County today for passing a new local law intended to bypass environmental review for oil and gas projects. The new county ordinance, sponsored by the oil industry…

Residents of Flint, Michigan, to Sue City, State over Lead in Drinking Water

November 16, 2015 Press Release

CHICAGO – Residents of Flint, Mich., together with the ACLU of Michigan and the Natural Resources Defense Council, today announced their intention to sue state and city officials for ongoing violations of the federal Safe Drinking Water Act amid the…

Northern Gateway No More - Controversial Tar Sands Pipeline Denied

November 13, 2015 Press Release

WASHINGTON (November 13, 2015) – Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s federal government is following through on an election promise to ban crude oil tanker traffic off the coast of northern British Columbia. This announcement will effectively kill the Northern Gateway…

Illegal Diversion of Water Threatens to End Chinook Salmon Survival in California

November 10, 2015 Press ReleaseCalifornia

SAN FRANCISCO (November 10, 2015) – Environmental groups filed a request yesterday to supplement their complaint against the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and growers who flood irrigate rice in the Sacramento Valley for mismanaging water supplies that should have been…

Clean Water Rule Decision Delays Enforcement but Reinforces Need for Protections

October 9, 2015 Press Release

WASHINGTON (October 9, 2015) – A federal court decision handed down today temporarily delays enforcement of the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Clean Water Rule, which guarantees pollution protections for tens of millions of acres…

Report: Revitalizing Chicago’s Waterways Could Enrich Communities and Rebuff Invasive Species

September 23, 2015 Press Release

CHICAGO (September 23, 2015) – A new report by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) highlights the need for investment in the Chicago Area Waterway System (CAWS) to revitalize its economic value, enrich communities and rebuff the advance of invasive…

Senate Resolution against Clean Water Protections Puts Polluters before People

September 18, 2015 Press Release

WASHINGTON (September 18, 2015) — Senate Republicans have launched a concerted effort to repeal the Clean Water Rule, introducing a resolution under the Congressional Review Act, which allows faster consideration of Congressional efforts to block regulations. The Clean Water Rule…

Environmental Groups Petition EPA to Make Polluters Pay for LA Water Contamination

September 18, 2015 Press Release

LOS ANGELES (September 17, 2015) — American Rivers, Natural Resources Defense Council, and Los Angeles Waterkeeper petitioned the Environmental Protection Agency today to make polluters accountable for stormwater runoff contamination of two Los Angeles waterways: the Dominguez Channel and the…

EPA Agrees to Revisit Rules for Polluted Runoff by Next Year

September 16, 2015 Press Release

WASHINGTON (September 16, 2015) — A federal court has approved a settlement in which the Environmental Protection Agency will update its national regulations for stormwater runoff, one of the nation’s largest sources of water pollution, by November 2016. The EPA…

Bill to Manage Utility Water Leaks Sent to Governor Brown for his Signature

September 4, 2015 Press ReleaseCalifornia

SACRAMENTO (September 4, 2015) – The State Senate today sent a water bill to the Governor’s desk that would help manage water losses by utilities. Nearly a million acre-feet of treated drinking water is lost to leakage each year; about…

One-year anniversary of Toledo’s Water System Shutdown due to Lake Erie’s Algae Bloom; “We are all Toledo”

July 31, 2015 Press Release

CHICAGO (July 31, 2015) One year ago, the city of Toledo, Ohio, was forced to issue a two-day ban on drinking or cooking tap water for more than 400,000 residents (as well as 30,000 residents of southeast Michigan) due to…

Groups Sue EPA for Failure to Protect Communities from Hazardous Spills from Storage Facilities

July 21, 2015 Press Release

WASHINGTON (July 21, 2015) – The Environmental Justice Health Alliance for Chemical Policy Reform (EJHA) and People Concerned About Chemical Safety (PCACS), joined by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), sued the Environmental Protection Agency today, citing its decades-long failure…

Court Rejects Green Groups’ Effort to Stop Bad-Deal Settlement Between ExxonMobil and Christie Administration Over Pollution

July 13, 2015 Press Release

MOUNT HOLLY, N.J. (July 13, 2015) – A New Jersey court today rejected environmental groups’ motion to intervene in litigation brought by the State of New Jersey against ExxonMobil Corporation over damages due for decades of toxic soil and water…

Independent Scientific Study Released on California Fracking and Oil Well Stimulation

July 9, 2015 Press ReleaseCalifornia

LOS ANGELES (July 9, 2015) – The California Council on Science & Technology today released its independent scientific assessment on the health and environmental impacts of fracking and oil and gas well stimulation in California. The report, produced in collaboration…

City Exiles More of Chicago's Petcoke Piles

June 24, 2015 Press Release

CHICAGO (June 24, 2015) – The City of Chicago recently informed a company storing massive mounds of oil refining waste on Chicago’s Southeast Side that no more of the material can ever move through one of its sites. The decision…

Groups Seek to Intervene in New Jersey Lawsuit Against Exxon Over Decades of Toxic Pollution

June 9, 2015 Press Release

TRENTON, N.J. (June 10, 2015) – Environmental groups today filed a motion to intervene in litigation brought by the State of New Jersey against ExxonMobil Corporation over damages due for decades of toxic soil and water contamination in the northern…

NRDC Statement on EPA Draft Study of Fracking & Drinking Water Risks

June 4, 2015 Press Release

WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 4, 2015) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today released its long-awaited draft study of the potential impacts of fracking on drinking water supplies around the country.

Obama Administration Restores Clean Water Protections for 117 Million Americans

May 27, 2015 Press Release

WASHINGTON (May 27, 2015) – The Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers today unveiled a Clean Water rule that will restore pollution protections for tens of millions of acres of wetlands and thousands of streams all…