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Articles by Jon Devine
Army Corps Reissues Fast‑Track Permits That Endanger Streams and Wetlands
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers published a final rule reissuing numerous permits nationwide for activities that alter, fill in, or destroy federally protected waters with minimal oversight. Among them, the Corps renewed a general permit that allows oil and gas pipelines to be built.
New Report Reveals Massive Loss of Wetland Protections After Supreme Court’s Sackett Decision
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A new report by NRDC exposes the catastrophic loss of federal protections for wetlands across the United States following the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision in Sackett v. EPA. Using cutting-edge Geographic Information System (GIS) modeling, Mapping Destruction: Using GIS Modeling to Show the Disastrous Impacts of Sackett v.
New Ways to Protect Water After Supreme Court Disaster
October 18th is the 52nd anniversary of the passage of the Clean Water Act, so it’s a good moment to reflect on where we stand on clean water nationally. The headline: not so hot. But that doesn't mean we should despair—clean water advocates across the country are fighting hard, and we know what we need to do.
New Ways to Protect Water After Supreme Court Disaster
October 18th is the 52nd anniversary of the passage of the Clean Water Act, so it’s a good moment to reflect on where we stand on clean water nationally. The headline: not so hot. But that doesn't mean we should despair—clean water advocates across the country are fighting hard, and we know what we need to do.
The global apparel industry is a significant yet overlooked source of plastic leakage - Nature Communications
Abstract Plastic pollution is a global environmental threat with potentially irreversible impacts on aquatic life, ecosystems, and human health. This study is a comprehensive assessment of the global apparel industry’s contribution to plastic pollution. It includes plastic leakage of packaging and end-of-life apparel waste in addition to fiber emissions during apparel production and use.
Colorado Shows How States and the Nation Can Restore Wetlands Protections After Sackett Decision
Primary tabs View(active tab) Track Submitted by NRDC on Wed, 05/29/2024 - 17:08 DENVER – Colorado Gov. Jared Polis today signed HB24-1379 , bipartisan legislation making Colorado the first state in the nation to restore protections for tens of thousands of acres of wetlands and streams put at risk by a Supreme Court ruling a year ago in Sackett v. EPA that removed their Clean Water Act protections nationwide. Media Contact DENVER – Colorado Gov.
One Year Later: Responding to the Supreme Court’s Attack on Clean Water
This weekend marks one year since the U.S. Supreme Court decided Sackett v. EPA, the worst judicial rollback of environmental protections ever. That ruling said that the federal Clean Water Act does not ordinarily protect wetlands, even though they are critically important by themselves and for the health of all kinds of other waterbodies. The Court also limited the law's ability to protect many other waters.
World Wetlands Day: A Call to Action for U.S. Wetlands Preservation
The Enormous Value of Wetlands Wetlands are among the most productive and diverse ecosystems on Earth, akin to rainforests and coral reefs. They serve as natural buffers against floods and droughts, purify our water, and are crucial habitats for many species. The economic value of these services is staggering, with wetlands' estimated ecosystem services globally valued at more than $47 trillion annually.
Why fabricated metals manufacturers must integrate business processes
The fabricated metals industry manages intricate production processes and diverse material requirements, and it services customers with high expectations of suppliers. Manufacturers grapple with unique challenges but they can also seize the potential for remarkable improvements through enhanced integration of business processes.
The Supreme Court Gets Clean Water Supremely Wrong
This case is not only hugely disappointing because of the threats it unleashes to our communities and the environment: it’s also an embarrassment. Justice Alito’s majority opinion completely disregards why we have (or, more accurately, had) a robust Clean Water Act, presents the facts in a misleading way, distorts or ignores relevant legal authority, and is so poorly reasoned that I would have been reluctant to submit it as a paper when I was a first-year law student.
NRDC: Biden Stood up for Clean Water
WASHINGTON — President Biden vetoed a Congressional Review Act resolution that would have weakened protections under the Clean Water Act and tied the hands of future presidents trying to rectify the damage. Jon Devine, director of Federal Water Policy at NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council), made the following statement: “With this veto, President Biden stood up for the streams and wetlands that feed into countless waterways nationwide.
Wetlands Are Imperiled-But the Clean Water Act Can Protect Them
Happy World Water Day! On this day and all the rest, I am grateful for wetlands—marshes, bogs, swamps, and other areas—because they are critical elements of aquatic ecosystems. As a recent survey and synthesis of the scientific literature—developed by NRDC and Point Blue Conservation Science—summarizes, wetlands provide numerous benefits to people and the environment.
Analysis Shows Threat to Our Waters from Supreme Court Case
The year 1972 was pretty awesome. Stevie Wonder released “Talking Book,” my sister was born, and Congress adopted the Clean Water Act—the law that for five decades has helped to protect our rivers, lakes, wetlands, and other water bodies from pollution and destruction. Fifty years later, however, the Clean Water Act faces a grave threat—a case before the Supreme Court called Sackett v. EPA.
Congress Should Reject Any Dirty Permitting Proposal
When President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act, he proudly proclaimed that the new law will reduce pollution, make clean energy more affordable, and prioritize environmental justice. The new law also provides more than $1 billion for federal agency staffing and resources to facilitate environmental reviews of infrastructure projects.
Will the Supreme Court go after clean water next?
In 2022, there are dolphins swimming in the waters around New York City. The Potomac Riverkeeper Network has a plan to open the Potomac River in Washington D.C. for swimming for the first time in decades. Ohio’s Cuyahoga River, which famously caught fire multiple times in the ‘50s and ‘60s, has been declared safe for fishing.
How can industrial manufacturers pave the road to economic recovery? With value-added services
(© Kichigin - Shutterstock) For many industrial manufacturers, the road to post-pandemic recovery may seem distant and blurry. Global volatility, lingering gaps in the supply chain, and prolonged disruption of normal buying channels continue to create a chaotic picture, especially for those with dwindling cash reserves. The longer the disruption continues, the more pressing the need to kick-start positive cash flow becomes.
Cotton: Interesting Times
Reasons for upward trend in cotton prices and future outlook not entirely clear. By Jon Devine To say the least, it has been an interesting couple of years for the cotton market. With COVID, an initial effect was a large overhang in supply. Before the pandemic, the expectation was that cotton production and mill demand would be virtually even in the 2019-20 crop year. When the virus shuttered spinning mills around the world, it caused a yawning surplus.
What’s New in Clean Water
In the 49-year history of the Clean Water Act, no federal administration has done more to weaken that law and allow increased water pollution than the Trump administration. That ugly period left behind a series of pro-polluter rollbacks which hobbled effective enforcement of the law. And this dirty water legacy didn’t just disappear on January 20th. Instead, the Biden administration needed to take action to reverse the Trump carnage. This post checks in on how that’s going.
President’s Conservation Plan: Making It Happen for Wetlands
Happy American Wetlands Month! Our nation’s wetlands – marshes, bogs, fens, and swamps (and many other types you may never have heard of) – are unique, dynamic, and critically important water bodies. They perform multiple functions that improve people’s lives and the environment. Among other things, wetlands filter pollution, prevent flooding, provide wildlife habitat, and trap global warming pollution in soils.
President Biden's Climate Order and Clean Water
As many of my colleagues have written over the last several days, there is much to like in President Biden’s January 27th executive order titled “Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad.” I’d like to highlight a few provisions that signal good things to come with respect to our streams, ponds, wetlands, and other important waters.
COVID, trade disputes & the global cotton market
COVID-19 is the macro event of our lifetimes, affecting the life and business of virtually everyone on the planet. For the global economy, the speed and depth of the pandemic’s effects represented an unprecedented shock. Global impact In their report released near the end of January, the International Monetary Fund was predicting 2020 would be a year of accelerated growth relative to 2019 (from +2.9% real GDP growth in 2019 to +3.3% in 2020).
Trump Administration Takes Another Swing at Dismantling Clean Water Protections
The Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers today proposed a rule that would strip Clean Water Act protections from the vast majority of the country’s wetlands and streams. The proposal would generally protect only waters that flow every day of the year and wetlands that are permanently flooded. NRDC performed GIS analysis of a variety of scenarios the Trump administration has considered.
NRDC and Partners Sue to Stop the Dirty Water Rule
The Trump administration’s Navigable Waters Protection Rule ignores scientific evidence and endangers the health of our water bodies. A section of the Gulf Branch stream, a tributary to the Potomac River Jon Devine for NRDC UPDATE: On June 9, 2021, the Biden administration announced it plans to propose to repeal the Dirty Water Rule. While that’s good news, every day that the rule stays in effect, America’s waterways remain at risk.
EPA Science Board Directive Defeated - DTN
A federal court has set aside an EPA directive banning scientists from serving on scientific advisory boards if they hold agency grants. The ruling leaves attorneys on both sides of the case questioning the next steps. On Feb. 10, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled the agency policy changed by EPA when Scott Pruitt was administrator violated the Administrative Procedure Act.
Letter to the Editor: Reversing clean water rules could mean more pollution
Children Kids learn about the water cycle in fifth grade science class and understand that pollutants spilled into wetlands or small streams can accumulate in great quantities in our most treasured water bodies like the Everglades. Sadly, Andrew Wheeler, who as administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency is supposed to be protecting our air and water, has argued, in his Jan.
Trump’s Dirty Water Rule: EPA Ignorance is Polluters’ Bliss
On January 23, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers unveiled a regulation that dramatically restricts what kinds of water bodies the Clean Water Act protects. The rule excludes rain-dependent streams and countless wetlands and ponds from a variety of pollution prevention, control, and cleanup requirements in the law. These exclusions make the law weaker than it has been in several decades.
EPA Flunks Science 101 With Its Dirty Water Rule
The Trump administration’s rollback of the Clean Water Act introduces substantial new risks to human and environmental health—and ignores piles of scientific evidence. Booms are used to prevent an oil spill in Citico Creek from reaching the Tennessee River in 2019.
How the U.S.-China trade dispute is affecting cotton markets worldwide
As has been the case in many financial markets, the global cotton supply chain has been distorted by the U.S.-China trade dispute. At the fiber level, the dispute has interfered with flows between the world’s largest exporter and the world’s largest importer. Since July 2018, U.S. cotton fiber exports to China have been hit with a 25 percentage point increases in tariffs. Those increases are scheduled to rise to 30 points in December.
How the Clean Water Act Can Combat Harmful Algal Blooms
NRDC just released two analyses that look at how state water pollution control and public health officials deal with one of the most significant causes of nitrogen and phosphorus pollution and one of the most important effects of nitrogen and phosphorus pollution. Both of these analyses have a lot to teach us about how the Clean Water Act works now (spoiler alert – for this pollution, not good) and how it ought to be implemented in the future.
Fifty Years After 1969: How Far Have We Come?
Nineteen sixty-nine was a pretty big year. This week in 1969, Apollo 11 astronauts traveled to and walked on the moon. That same year, the Stonewall Uprising galvanized a civil rights movement that continues today. President Nixon was inaugurated. The first episode of “Sesame Street” aired. It was such a momentous year that me being born in a Battle Creek, Michigan, hospital (Mom says she could smell the Froot Loops from the delivery room!) surprisingly doesn’t make the year’s Wikipedia page.
What Are People Saying About Trump’s Dirty Water Rule?
Recently, the Trump administration stopped taking public comment (after an absurdly short period of time) on a proposed regulation that would dramatically weaken the Clean Water Act. The Act is the country’s principal law protecting lakes, rivers, and other water bodies from destruction and pollution.
Trump Budget Short-Changes Water Safeguards
The White House released its proposed federal government budget this week and it’s a plan only water polluters can love. If followed, it would mean more polluted drinking water supplies, make restoring the fisheries of the Chesapeake Bay and other waters harder, delay needed fixes to failing sewer systems, stop work to monitor beach water quality and warn beach-goers about conditions that can make them sick, and starve state pollution control programs.
Standing Up For Clean Water
I’m posting this from Kansas City, Kansas, where the Trump administration is holding its one and only public hearing on its plan to radically roll back the safeguards of the Clean Water Act for critical streams and for wetlands that filter pollution, prevent flooding, and are nurseries for lots of wildlife. To learn a little more about that scheme, you can read more here.
Let’s not make Lake Washington into ‘Lake Stinko’ again
The Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers proposed rules that would scale back the scope of, and weaken, the Clean Water Act, a move that represents the biggest rollback of clean-water protections in five decades. Water flows downhill — that’s gravity. Just as the Trump administration denies the science of climate change, its most recent move to gut environmental protections relies on ignoring the basic fact of gravity.
The lowdown on Trump's lowdown Dirty Water Rule
Earlier this month, the Trump administration unveiled its long-threatened scheme to radically restrict the Clean Water Act, the country’s key safeguard against pollution of our lakes, rivers, and wetlands. If they follow through on this proposal, it’ll be the most severe weakening of clean water protections since the Clean Water Act passed in 1972. This post summarizes the proposal and highlights some central problems with the Trump Dirty Water Rule.
Let’s not go back to the bad ol’ days for our waterways
While President Trump Donald John TrumpThe Guardian slams Trump over comments about assault on reporter Five takeaways from the first North Dakota Senate debate Watchdog org: Tillerson used million in taxpayer funds to fly throughout US MORE has promised to Make America Great Again, he certainly couldn’t have meant a return to the way our nation treated its waterways and wetlands five decades ago. And yet, it appears that’s just what the administration aims to do.
EPA Ignores Lessons from Chemical Spills in Hurricane Harvey
This post was written by my colleague Jared Knicley About a year ago, Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Texas. The category 4 storm brought damaging winds and devastating storm surges, and then stalled over southeast Texas, dumping torrential rains for days in the areas surrounding Houston. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration estimates that Harvey had total cost of $125 billion, making it the second-costliest hurricane on record.
EPA Plans to Gut Its Ability to Curb Water Pollution
Did you think that EPA buying “Tactical Pants” was the silliest thing you’d hear about Administrator Scott Pruitt this month? Hold on -- there’s a new entry. EPA put out a press release announcing that Pruitt signed a memo to other EPA officials, ordering them to start drafting a proposed rule that would curb EPA’s ability to protect waterways from extreme harm. This is the second time in a few weeks that Pruitt announced a ho-hum action with great fanfare.
Trump’s Immoral Budget Ignores America’s Clean Water Needs
There’s a common saying in Washington: “A budget is a moral document.” Seen through that lens, the Trump administration’s budget is a deeply immoral plan for national water policy. This proposal would make radical and deep cuts to numerous critical water initiatives. I suppose this should not be surprising, in light of the dirty water agenda President Trump and EPA Administrator (and first-class-loving world-traveler) Scott Pruitt have recklessly pursued for the past year, but it’s no less sad.
Clean Water Act at 45: Despite Success, It's Under Attack
Today is the 45th anniversary of the adoption of the Clean Water Act. This post takes a quick look at where we were, where we’ve been, where we are, and where we’re going on clean water policy. The Bad Old Days Before 1972 Congress enacted the law in response to rampant contamination of waterways and brought about important improvements across the nation. By the 1960s, pollution brought numerous water bodies to the brink of death.
The Truth Behind Trump's Brazen Attempt to Kill the Clean Water Rule
The president's scheme is unlawful and reckless—and we're doing everything we can to stop it. I thought I’d seen it all. I began my career in environmental policy in 1991. Since then I’ve worked for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, state government, and a nonprofit citizen advocacy group. I’ve seen hundreds of federal regulatory actions over the years. But until this summer, I’d never seen anything as unlawful and reckless as the Trump administration’s scheme to repeal the Clean Water Rule.
EPA's Latest Water Attack: Protecting Polluting Power Plants
Are you interested in what the Environmental Protection Agency is doing about air and water contamination and the pollution that causes climate change? Here's an easy way to know what's up: (1) name an issue; and (2) if the prior administration did something to curb these threats, you can bet that the current EPA, headed by long-time EPA opponent Scott Pruitt, has a scheme to delay, undo, weaken, or repeal those safeguards.
Trump's Attack on Clean Water: What You Need to Know
At a budget hearing this morning Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt announced that the Trump administration would issue a proposed rulemaking action today. If this is finalized, it will throw away the Clean Water Rule, a signature achievement by the prior administration that helps protect water bodies around the country. This post discusses the Rule and the Trump administration's rollback scheme.
UPDATED: Trump Budget Would Still Increase Water Pollution
The Trump administration released its more detailed budget proposal yesterday, following up on an outline that it announced in March. Even though its initial proposal appalled people across the political spectrum as a cruel attack on essential programs, the administration didn’t pay any attention. Yesterday’s version is just a more specific run-down of how comprehensively the administration wants to do away with initiatives that improve people’s health and well-being.
EPA Head Pruitt Claims to Address Ethics, Raises Concerns
Scott Pruitt, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, sure has been busy since he took over the agency. He’s spent most of his time cancelling, stalling, or starting the deconstruction of numerous public protection actions that the Obama administration took, and plenty of time promoting himself. None of this is actually protecting the environment, mind you.
Please Stand Up for Clean Water Now!
The Environmental Protection Agency implements the Clean Water Act, the Nation’s primary tool to prevent pollution of our waterways and to clean up ones that are too polluted. Consequently, those of us who swim, fish, drink water, or use products manufactured using water – in other words, every one of us – have a lot to lose if the Clean Water Act isn’t appropriately enforced.
Proposed Budget Would Increase Water Pollution
President Trump announced his proposed budget on Thursday. If it were to be adopted by Congress, it would threaten public health and our natural resources enormously. Although this budget is so radical that it has no chance of enactment, it still bears close examination for a couple reasons. First, it provides a window into the values that the Trump administration holds (or, based on this document, lacks).
President Twists Truth About the Clean Water Rule
President Trump may have set some kind of record on Tuesday making eight false statements about a single rule in the span of just a few minutes. While signing an executive order he said was aimed at “the elimination” of the Clean Water Rule—which protects wetlands and streams that feed drinking water sources for 117 million Americans—Trump made one assertion after another that is demonstrably false. False Claim #1 – Trump said the rule “has truly run amok” and is hurting farmers and ranchers.
President Trump Attacks Clean Water
Today, President Trump signed an executive order directing the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers to begin repealing the Clean Water Rule, a landmark measure many years in the making. Likewise, new EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt recently told Fox News that he plans to go “full speed ahead” to attack the rule.
A Close Read of Scott Pruitt's Case for Leading EPA
Today, President-Elect Donald Trump’s nominee to head the Environmental Protection Agency, Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, will appear before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, which will consider his nomination. I read his opening statement, and it is a masterwork—he’s clearly a clever lawyer.
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