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Oil and Gas and the Safe Drinking Water Act
By Lynn Thorp, National Programs Director - Follow Lynn on Twitter (@LTCWA) The Infographic - download and share While it is widely recognized that Congress exempted hydraulic fracturing from the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) in the 2005 Energy Policy Act, it is less understood that SDWA still pertains in several ways to fracking and oil and gas exploration, drilling and wastewater disposal. When SDWA first passed in 1974, Congress authorized the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to set up a program to protect underground drinking water from injection practices of various kinds
Recycling the Bulb in RI
By Dave Gerraughty, Program Coordinator When I began thinking about how to create a voluntary program that would get Rhode Island residents to recycle fluorescent lighting, the biggest challenge was how to make it easy for people to get burned-out bulbs from their basements to a recycling firm. Rhode Islanders are notoriously reluctant to travel more than 15 minutes from home for anything. Since Clean Water Fund was providing the service for free, the price was right, but convenience was going to be essential. Following a model that had been successful in Vermont, I decided to shoot for a mail
What Do EPA’s new Coal Ash Disposal Rule and New York State Fracking Ban Have in Common?
By Lynn Thorp, National Campaigns Director - Follow Lynn on Twitter (@LTCWA) Two big things happened in the world of energy policy this week. I don’t think most people connected them. EPA finalized a long overdue framework to regulate our country’s second largest waste stream after household trash – toxic ash from coal plants. New York banned high volume hydraulic fracturing, basically ruling out drilling for Marcellus Shale gas in that state. Two important similarities here. Fossil Fuels are Dirty: Until the infamous Tennessee coal ash spill in 2008, people didn’t realize the mess we leave
Why did Gov. Cuomo Decide to Ban Fracking in New York?
By Myron Arnowitt, Pennsylvania State Director - Follow the Pennsylvania Team on Twitter (@CleanH2OPA) Oil and Gas operations near a home in Armstrong County, PA Why did New York ban fracking? Maybe it was the hundreds of families impacted by the 240 cases of water contamination from gas drilling documented by the state of Pennsylvania. Maybe it was the millions of gallons of toxic wastewater from gas drilling that have been dumped in Pennsylvania rivers. Maybe it was the notices from water utilities sent to 300,000 residents in the Pittsburgh area to not use their drinking water due to
Will EPA Finally #KickCoalAsh?
By Jennifer Peters, National Water Campaigns Coordinator - Follow Jennifer on Twitter (@EarthAvenger) After years of delay, EPA will finalize its coal ash rule on December 19th. Will it be strong enough to protect the hundreds of communities impacted by this toxic waste? Six years after our nation’s largest industrial waste spill – the 2008 Kingston Fossil Plant disaster that dumped over a billion gallons of toxic slurry into two Tennessee rivers and buried several homes – the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will finally issue the first-ever federal coal ash regulation. The Agency is