Media Center

Supreme Court Reaffirms EPA Authority to Curb Power Plant Carbon Pollution

June 23, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON (June 23, 2014) — Building on two prior decisions affirming the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to set carbon pollution standards like those recently proposed for power plants, the Supreme Court today upheld the core of EPA’s associated permitting requirements…

Chile to Deliver Final Ruling on Patagonia Dam Project, HidroAysén

June 5, 2014 Press Release

On June 10, Chile’s highest administrative authority is expected to deliver a final ruling on the future of the mega-dam project, HidroAysén – a project that would have irreversible impacts on Patagonia’s communities and wilderness. The fight over HidroAysén has…

New Report Shows Decline in Carbon Dioxide and Other Pollutants from U.S. Power Plants, but State and Power Company Emissions Vary Widely

May 28, 2014 Press Release

BOSTON (May 28, 2014) A new report on U.S. power plant emissions from the country’s top 100 electric power producers shows a downward trend in nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur dioxides (SO2), mercury and carbon dioxide (CO2) since 2000, with CO2…

Chamber’s Attack on Clean Water Rule Puts Polluters’ Profits First

May 28, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON (May 28, 2014)—The U.S. Chamber of Commerce today attacked a new clean water rule with unsubstantiated charges about excessive costs that hold no water.

New EPA Water Intake Rule Too Weak, Fails to Protect Aquatic Life

May 19, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON (May 19, 2014) -- The Environmental Protection Agency today, following decades of litigation, issued a final rule that falls far short of what’s needed to protect fish and other aquatic life from being killed by the cooling system water…

Illinois Will Expand Investments in the State’s Water Infrastructure

May 9, 2014 Press Release

CHICAGO (May 9, 2014) – Illinois took some big steps towards more resilient, cost effective and sustainable water infrastructure today, according to experts with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT).

Appeals Court Rules in Favor of Strong Health Standards for Soot Emissions

May 9, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON (May 9, 2014)—A federal appeals court today unanimously upheld EPA’s latest health-based clean air standards for fine particulate matter, or soot. Inhaling soot pollution can have serious health consequences, ranging from increased asthma attacks, to heart attacks and premature…

Supreme Court Allows Major Southern California Water Quality Victory to Stand

May 5, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON (May 5, 2014) – A decision today by the U.S. Supreme Court will protect millions of people living near and visiting Los Angeles rivers and beaches from the harmful effects of water pollution. The Supreme Court declined Los Angeles…

Supreme Court Ruling Protects Millions from Air Pollution

April 29, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON (April 29, 2014) -- The Supreme Court today upheld, by a 6-2 vote, the cross-state air pollution rule, one of the most significant health standards ever adopted by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Spring-run Salmon Release Marks Progress in Restoring San Joaquin River

April 17, 2014 Press ReleaseCalifornia

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (April 17, 2014) – Today, for the first time in over 60 years, spring run Chinook salmon returned to the San Joaquin River when the San Joaquin River Restoration Program released 54,000 juvenile into California’s second largest…

Court Unanimously Agrees Feds Unlawfully Renewed Unsustainable Water Supply Contracts in the Bay-Delta

April 16, 2014 Press ReleaseCalifornia

SAN FRANCISCO (April 16, 2014) – A unanimous eleven-judge panel of the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals today overturned two earlier court rulings that upheld the federal government’s renewal of several dozen long-term water supply contracts for diversions from…

Water Agencies’ Drought Plan Needs Balance

April 9, 2014 Press ReleaseCalifornia

SACRAMENTO (April 9, 2014) – The California Department of Water Resources and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation today released their proposed 2014 Drought Operations Plan, a proposal that waives key environmental standards to the detriment of the majority of Californians.

Rio Tinto Divests from Pebble Mine

April 7, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON (April 7, 2014) -- In the latest departure from the proposed Pebble Mine in southwest Alaska, British mining giant Rio Tinto announced today that it is divesting its interest in the embattled project by donating its shares to two…

Near Record-Low California Snowpack Measurement Warns of Greater Water Supply Challenges Ahead

April 1, 2014 Press ReleaseCalifornia

LOS ANGELES (April 1, 2014) – Critically low California snowpack measurement was reported today by the state’s Department of Water Resources (DWR) in its annual April snow survey, revealing the snowpack measurement is at its lowest since 1988 – the…

EPA Rescues Streams, Wetlands from Clean Water Limbo

March 25, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON (March 25, 2014)--The Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers today proposed rules to restore Clean Water Act protections to streams and wetlands whose status had been thrown into question by court rulings and Bush administration…

Court Upholds Key Protections for California Bay-Delta Health

March 13, 2014 Press ReleaseCalifornia

SAN FRANCISCO (March 13, 2014) – The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals today ruled to uphold a federal plan of protection for California’s vital Delta ecosystem. The court sided with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Earthjustice, The Bay…

New Poll: Nearly 75% of California Voters Choose Improving Local Water Supplies as Top Solution to Drought

February 25, 2014 Press ReleaseCalifornia

SAN FRANCISCO (February 25, 2014) – California voters are more concerned about the drought than any other major issue and an overwhelming majority favor strategies to stretch local water supplies, including recycling, rainwater harvesting and efficiency measures, as the top…

NRDC Intervenes in Legal Attack on EPA Stormwater Regulations

May 19, 2000 Press Release

WASHINGTON (May 19, 2000) - The Natural Resources Defense Council today intervened in a lawsuit against new Environmental Protection Agency regulations aimed at reducing stormwater pollution. Those regulations, which the EPA issued in December 1999, have been challenged by two…

NRDC Sues to Force White House to Release New EPA Standard for Arsenic Levels in Tap Water

May 10, 2000 Press Release

WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 10, 2000) - According to a suit filed today, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has been illegally obstructing a proposed Environmental Protection Agency standard for arsenic in tap water for three months. In…