Imagine the kind of summer day we New Englanders wait for all year – a light breeze, an azure sky, temps in the low 80s, and, best of all, low humidity. Coolers are stuffed with snacks and sandwiches, beach chairs stacked in trunks, and kids corralled into waiting cars for the traffic-jammed ride to their…
2018
2018
Conservation Matters Summer 2018
The prosperity of future generations of New Englanders depends on the health of our waters and marine resources and the public’s ability to access them.
2018
10 Things You Can Do to Help Protect Our Waters
Nutrient pollution impacts waterways across New England, from Lake Champlain to Narragansett Bay. These waters all carry excess levels of nitrogen or phosphorous – a problem caused by fertilizer running off of farms and lawns and animal waste from confined animal feeding operations. Another major cause is human sewage improperly treated by septic systems or overflowed…
2018
Nitrogen Pollution is Killing Cape Cod’s Bays and Beaches
The Cape is facing a massive pollution problem because of nitrogen pollution from from septic and wastewater treatment systems. In an effort to curb this toxic pollution, CLF has announced our intention to sue the Wychmere Beach Club and Wequassett Resort and Golf Club for violating the Clean Water Act.
2018
Fighting for Clean Water on Cape Cod
“Nitrogen pollution has disastrous effects on the plant and animal life that live in these beautiful waterways,” said Chris Kilian, Vice President of Strategic Litigation at CLF. “This type of pollution is also harmful to the people who flock to Pleasant Bay and Wychmere Harbor for water sports and other recreational activities. It’s time we hold large polluters responsible for their destructive impacts on our environment.”
2018
CLF Working to Fight Against Pruitt’s Continuous Attacks on Clean Water
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt has his sights set on unraveling the Clean Water Act, one of our best tools for protecting our lakes, rivers, and oceans. CLF is working to make sure that the law, which is critical to our work, continues to protect our waters.
2018
Help for Cape Cod’s Pollution Problem
No one would consider swimming, sailing, or fishing in a sewer, but that, in effect, is the choice facing people seeking to use polluted bays around Cape Cod. The Cape’s septic systems cause 85 percent of the nitrogen pollution plaguing our waterways. Every time a toilet flushes into a septic tank, our clean bays, our…
2018
Pruitt on the Clean Water Attack
Once again, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt and the Trump administration are taking aim at one of our most vital and effective environmental laws. On February 20, 2018, the Environmental Protection Agency issued a public notice asking for comments on the Clean Water Act’s coverage of pollution that enters our nation’s lakes, rivers, and oceans via groundwater.
2017
A Rallying Cry for Clean Water
We are faced with a federal administration that wants not only to halt decades of hard-fought progress on clean water but reverse them altogether. But today, the impacts on our public health from blue-green algae outbreaks and chemical pollution are as serious and urgent as ever. We cannot and will not stop fighting for clean water as a fundamental right for all Americans.
2017
Baker Administration Takes Steps to Weaken Water Protections
“EPA’s permitting program has for decades provided important protections for our water,” said CLF attorney Caitlin Peale Sloan. “Proposing inadequate funding from an already-strapped environmental protection budget in order to create a weak program demonstrates a real lack of understanding on behalf of our state leaders. While we certainly have reason to be wary about EPA’s continued ability to perform in the coming years, we cannot allow these near-term fears to push us into making a dangerous, long-term change. Massachusetts legislators should reject the proposal in its current form, and CLF welcomes the opportunity to work with the Baker Administration in finding a solution that actually provides continued protection for our natural resources.”