April 2024 ENews

Legislative Recap: Major Win in Maryland, Hurdles Continue in Virginia

In a major win in Maryland, the Clean Water Justice Act passed the General Assembly. All communities harmed by pollution should have the right to enforce clean water laws, no matter if their local stream or wetland is protected by federal or state law. A person’s zip code should not determine access to justice. This is why the Clean Water Justice Act was a priority of all Maryland Waterkeepers along with a broad coalition of water, conservation, and environmental and social justice organizations.

We also saw passage of bills in both Maryland and Virginia that will identify and address industrial sources of PFAS, the “forever chemical.”

Check out our blog to learn about other clean water legislative wins and continuing challenges. We made some good progress – even passing precedent-setting legislation – and, with your help and support, we’ll continue crafting and passing critical legislation that makes real differences in people’s lives and safeguard our precious water resources.

Make a donation today!

Historic EPA Regulation of PFAS in Drinking Water

The EPA on Wednesday, April 10 set the first-ever federal limits on “forever chemicals” in drinking water, a key step toward protecting Americans from the substances that are linked to serious human health issues. The final rule requires public water systems to reduce levels of per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, which have been found in the tap water of tens of millions of Americans. It’s the first new EPA drinking water standard issued since the 1990s.

The EPA’s new drinking water limits on PFAS chemicals will give tens of millions of people the protection they should have had decades ago. With these new limits, state regulators and water utilities can move forward to remove PFAS from our water resources, including restricting discharges from industrial sources. We need to make every effort to turn off the tap of PFAS at the source, and clean up historic water, sediment and soil contamination. Read more

Farm Bill For All Farmers: Conservation Not Consolidation

The bipartisan Farm Bill negotiations have been stalled by an expensive proposal to take billions away from popular conservation programs to raise commodity subsidies. These subsidies incentivize harmful farming practices that erode soils, pollute waterways and emit greenhouse gasses. It’s risky for farmers and for our planet, and will only get worse.

It’s time to take action. Go to the National Sustainable Agriculture’s action page at https://actnow.io/raSm1yQ to email or call your members of Congress and tell them that the next Farm Bill should invest in conservation programs that stop losses before they happen.

Tragic Collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge

Our hearts are with the people on the Francis Scott Key Bridge during its catastrophic collapse on Tuesday, March 26. Our thoughts are with those who lost their lives, the missing individuals, their loved ones, and the frontline teams working tirelessly to aid those affected, and to recover and rebuild.

In the coming days, weeks and months, the Baltimore Harbor Waterkeeper will need your help. Their team will be monitoring the short and long-term impacts to the water and environment. Please keep an eye out for any changes in the water and report anything you might notice – strange odors, discoloration, oil sheens, dead fish – to Blue Water Baltimore‘s pollution reporting hotline at 443-908-0696 and online at bluewaterbaltimore.org/report-pollution/. During the response, rescue, recovery and clean-up period, please be respectful of the response teams.

Waterkeeper Wins

Following Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper’s lawsuit, on March 25, 2024 the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of PA ordered Modern Landfill of York, PA, to stop hiding the fact that it is sending millions of gallons of concentrated wastes containing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to Harrisburg’s Capital Region Water wastewater treatment plant, where it is discharged without significant further treatment into the Susquehanna River. Read more

Following Blue Water Baltimore’s lawsuit, a settlement agreement was reached with Fleischmann’s Vinegar Company for alleged pollution violations into the Jones Falls. The company will pay more than $1.3M to resolve the case, including $865,000 to fund environmentally beneficial projects to restore the Jones Falls stream, $25,000 in penalties to the U.S. Treasury, as well as funds to reimburse Blue Water Baltimore for fees and costs associated with the case. The lawsuit was filed after the Baltimore Harbor Waterkeeper received a call about a fish kill and conducted subsequent water quality monitoring. Read more

Welcome New Board Members: Staci & David

We’re thrilled to welcome Staci Hartwell and David Hunke to our Board of Directors! Staci Hartwell, an Energy Advisor, has overseen 40MW+ of solar installations on the East coast. She is Chair Emerita for Environmental and Climate Justice at NAACP Maryland State Conference and serves as a MDLCV board member. She is passionate about sustainability and environmental justice, she works to combat climate change and promotes renewable energy in disserved and underserved communities, aiming to safeguard the planet’s future. David is former CEO and Publisher of USA Today with over 40 years of publishing experience is the news and media business. He is very active in environmental issues, serving as a board member to EcoLatinos and Potomac Riverkeeper Network, and volunteering at several community groups. Learn more about Staci and David on our website.

Bay Paddle 2024

It’s not too early to make your summer paddling plans. The Bay Paddle is on Saturday, July 20, hosted at the Kent Island Outrigger Canoe Club. 100% of your registration fee is tax deductible as a charitable donation supporting Waterkeepers Chesapeake, Oyster Recovery Partnership, and Chesapeake Conservancy.

There are 3 exciting paddling options – a 35 mile, solo and team, circumnavigation race, including a OC6 Change Race, a 10 mile, solo only, out and back race, and a 3 mile, solo only, out and back race.

After the race, join us for a post-race celebration featuring a festive luau and refreshing beverages courtesy of the Kent Island Yacht Club.

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Clean Water Act Playbook

We developed the Clean Water Act Playbook for Frontline Communities for communities that have experienced and continue to experience environmental racism. It offers easy online access to the Clean Water Act’s tools and resources to enforce the law when government fails to do so. We invite you to explore the Playbook and share it with groups and communities who could benefit from this open resource.