The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Monday proposed dropping limits for four cancer-linked “forever chemicals” in drinking water established during the Biden administration, saying the changes were rushed and not in compliance with federal law. At the same time, the EPA said it is earmarking nearly $1 billion in grant funding for communities to tackle per- and polyfluoroalkyl…
Source
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case that could determine the future of a beach with cultural and ecological importance to the Indigenous CHamoru people of Guam. The case is an appeal from the U.S. Air Force, which wants to continue the open detonation of obsolete munitions on Tarague Beach in northern Guam — a site located directly above the sole-source aquifer providing 80 percent of…
Source
A recent report from the Texas Civil Rights Project reveals widespread and longstanding failures in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice’s (TDCJ) provision of safe drinking water to those incarcerated in state prisons. People are forced to drink and bathe with water they describe as over-chlorinated, slimy, and foul-smelling. The only source of water within most of their cells is a small sink…
Source
Since the beginning of the Israeli genocide and the imposition of a total blockade on the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, water desalination plants have almost completely shut down due to severe fuel shortages. According to Gaza’s Government Media Office, more than 90 percent of water and desalination facilities have gone out of service. As infrastructure systems collapse…
Source
The Trump Administration on Tuesday proposed a new rule aimed at speeding up and streamlining the permitting process for large energy and infrastructure projects, including oil and gas pipelines and facilities tied to artificial intelligence. The rule, which does not require action by Congress, includes a suite of procedural changes to section 401 of the Clean Water Act — a law enacted in the…
Source
This article originally appeared on Inside Climate News, a nonprofit, non-partisan news organization that covers climate, energy and the environment. Sign up for their newsletter here. The 31 national monuments designated since the Clinton administration, which could be downsized as the Trump administration pushes to open more public lands to extractive industries, safeguard clean water for…
Source