Media Center

Chamber’s Attack on Clean Water Rule Puts Polluters’ Profits First

May 28, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON (May 28, 2014)—The U.S. Chamber of Commerce today attacked a new clean water rule with unsubstantiated charges about excessive costs that hold no water.

Senator Feinstein’s “Emergency Drought Relief Act” Overrides Critical Protections for California Fishing Communities

May 22, 2014 Press ReleaseCalifornia

SACRAMENTO (May 22, 2014) – Today, the U.S. Senate passed S. 2198 (Feinstein), drought legislation that overrides protections for salmon and steelhead in California’s Bay-Delta estuary. The bill will now be negotiated with the House of Representatives, which earlier this…

NRDC Lauds President’s Protection of Spectacular New Mexico Mountains

May 20, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON (May 20, 2014)—President Obama on Wednesday will designate nearly half a million acres of rugged mountain ranges in New Mexico as the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument, preserving the area’s spectacular scenery, ancient petroglyphs, rare flora and fauna and…

New EPA Water Intake Rule Too Weak, Fails to Protect Aquatic Life

May 19, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON (May 19, 2014) -- The Environmental Protection Agency today, following decades of litigation, issued a final rule that falls far short of what’s needed to protect fish and other aquatic life from being killed by the cooling system water…

NRDC and Berkeley Food Institute Announce Winners of the 2014 Growing Green Awards

May 14, 2014 Press ReleaseCalifornia

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (May 14, 2014) – Today, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the Berkeley Food Institute (BFI) celebrate four remarkable leaders who are advancing sustainable food and agriculture at the sixth annual Growing Green Awards. Chosen from…

Conservation Groups, Over 4500 Citizens Call for Public Hearing, Further Environmental Review of Wilmington Port Wood Pellet Project

May 13, 2014 Press Release

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…

Governor Brown’s Executive Order Redoubles Drought Actions; Right Moves at the Right Time

April 25, 2014 Press ReleaseCalifornia

LOS ANGELES (April 25, 2014) – Governor Brown today issued an executive order to strengthen the state’s ability to manage water and environment effectively during the state’s historic drought conditions, calling on all Californians to redouble their efforts to conserve…

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…

Interior Department Adopts a More Balanced Approach toward Land Management

April 10, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON (April 10, 2014) – The Interior Department today unveiled a new, more balanced approach toward managing our public lands, a policy shift that will give equal weight to the protection of our natural resources.

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…

House Votes to Stop the President from Protecting Imperiled Historic, Natural Treasures

March 26, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON (March 26, 2014)--The House of Representatives today passed a bill that would make it harder to protect threatened federal lands and historic sites. The bill would prevent the president from using the Antiquities Act of 1906 to designate national…

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…