Water & Health Advisory Council’s Post

💧 Water Wednesday 💧 Did you know this year celebrates 50 years of The Safe Drinking Water Act?! The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) was originally passed by Congress in 1974 to protect public health by regulating the nation’s public drinking water supply. The law was amended in 1986 and 1996 and requires many actions to protect drinking water and its sources—rivers, lakes, reservoirs, springs, and ground water wells. (SDWA does not regulate private wells which serve fewer than 25 individuals.) SDWA authorizes the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) to set national health-based standards for drinking water to protect against both naturally-occurring and man-made contaminants that may be found in drinking water. US EPA, states, and water systems then work together to make sure that these standards are met. Cheers to 50 Years and many more of protecting our most precious natural resource 🍻 Read more about the SDWA here 👇 👇 👇 https://lnkd.in/g5ZcfAVS

📰News to Us: Safe Drinking Water Act turns 50 The Safe Drinking Water Act was signed into law 50 years ago and remains a cornerstone of U.S. environmental protection. This legislation safeguards public health and ensures that Americans receive high-quality drinking water. Despite many successes over the Act’s 50-year history, challenges remain. Over 2 million Americans are still without running water or indoor plumbing and there is growing distrust of public drinking water following failures in Flint, Michigan and Jackson, Mississippi. The Act’s anniversary highlights both its achievements and the ongoing need for improvements in water infrastructure and regulation. Read the full article: https://lnkd.in/gpZTKvhr Read more News to Us: https://lnkd.in/gy7gcxyf

The Biden-Harris Administration has racked up the most impressive list of environmental justice achievements in our nation’s history. But one major priority – finalizing the Lead and Copper Rule – still has not made it across the White House finish line. It’s urgent that EPA submit the rule for review by the Office of Budget and Management and for that Office to clear it ASAP to meet the pending October deadline.  Making the federal government more just? Check. Advancing equity by providing resources to change conditions on the ground? You bet. Going after toxic pollution to make air cleaner in EJ communities? Absolutely. Ensuring that we have safe drinking water free of lead? Well…almost. And almost doesn’t count. Read my full blog below to learn just how close we are and what more needs to be done to finish the job. #EnvironmentalJustice #GetTheLeadOut

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized the first-ever national drinking water standards for polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Low amounts of PFAS in drinking water have been linked to serious health concerns, like suppression of the immune system, elevated risk of cancers, and reproductive and developmental harms. Here's what we think: "Today’s groundbreaking federal standards will address concerns for over 200 million Americans, raising the bar for state and local water boards to determine what is acceptable for clean drinking water. This move is crucial given the health risks, especially to vulnerable groups like children and pregnant women, and the disproportionate impact on communities of color. Recognizing drinking water as a major source of PFAS exposure marks a significant step in protecting public health and the environment. President Biden’s commitment to cleaner water and accountability for polluters will ensure safer communities and a healthier future for all." - Aaron McCall Federal Advocacy Coordinator, EnviroVoters https://bit.ly/3UddUkE

NEW: The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today finalized revisions to the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) regulation meant to reduce lead in drinking water. The Lead and Copper Rule Improvements includes a requirement for full replacement of all lead service lines in regulated drinking water systems. “We have consistently urged EPA to take decisive action to put lead service lines behind us - both to eliminate this largest source of lead in drinking water where lead service lines are present and to avoid a disproportionate impact on our most vulnerable communities,” said Lynn Thorp, Clean Water’s National Campaigns Director. “Today’s action on lead in drinking water is a major step in fulfilling the commitments to reduce lead hazards and protect public health in the Biden-Harris Lead Pipe and Paint Action Plan.” #GetTheLeadOut #SDWA #DrinkingWater #LCR https://lnkd.in/eFSYBgKc

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. https://lnkd.in/ertsTjSa

All the chat about red tape and green tape. Costs of consenting and compliance for consent holders at the forefront. Here is the brutal reality of what communities face when things go wrong. If we are going to talk about costs and effectiveness of regulation, then lets get real and expand the sphere of questions we are looking to answer, and problems we are needing to solve: - What about the immense costs to councils and communities for investigating catastrophic environmental incidents?? - What about the penalties for environmental offending?? - What about the overall approach to deterrence?? - What about the enforcement tools available for councils to deal with environmental offending?? There was an immense amount of work done on these issues in the previous RM reform programme. The baby got chucked out with the bathwater late last year. This work all needs to be picked up and added into the mix for the next suite of changes to the RMA. All the best to Environment Southland and their compliance team with their ongoing investigation. #compliance #environment #wecandobetter #rmreform #localgovernment https://lnkd.in/gS5mFPte

NEWS: Streams that supply drinking water in danger following 2023 Supreme Court decision that stripped wetlands protections: Federal safeguards for wetlands under the #CleanWaterAct were rolled back. "A #SupremeCourt decision that stripped protections from America's #wetlands will have reverberating impacts on rivers that supply drinking water all over the U.S., according to a new report. The rivers of New Mexico are among the waterways that will be affected most by the May 2023 Supreme Court decision in Sackett v. US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which rolled back decades of federal safeguards under the Clean Water Act for about half of the nation's wetlands and up to four million miles of streams that supply #drinkingwater for up to four million people, according to the report, titled "America's Most Endangered Rivers of 2024." Read the full story here: https://lnkd.in/e46gTK25 #climatechange #environmentalscience https://lnkd.in/e46gTK25

We understand that treating PFAS can be challenging...and expensive. That's why we take a #CommunityFirst approach to help identify funding sources that will fit your situation, and then support you through the complexities of managing those funds. We're here for you. #WeAreMerrick

From Heather Cox Richardson's morning update: December 16th, 2024 is the fiftieth anniversary of the Safe Drinking Water Act, signed into law on December 16, 1974, by President Gerald R. Ford, a Republican. The measure required the Environmental Protection Agency to set maximum contaminant levels for drinking water and required states to comply with them. It protected the underground sources of drinking water and called for emergency measures to protect public health if a dangerous contaminant either was in or was likely to enter a public water system. To conduct research on clean drinking water and provide grants for states to clean up their systems, Congress authorized appropriations of $15 million in 1975, $25 million in 1976, and $35 million in 1977. The Safe Drinking Water Act was one of the many laws passed in the 1970s after the environmental movement, sparked after Rachel Carson’s 1962 book Silent Spring explored the effect of toxic chemicals on living organisms, had made Americans aware of the dangers of pollution in the environment. That awareness had turned to anger by 1969, when in January a massive oil spill off Santa Barbara, California, poured between 80,000 and 100,000 barrels of oil into the Pacific, fouling 35 miles of California beaches and killing seabirds, dolphins, sea lions, and elephant seals. Then, in June, the chemical contaminants that had been dumped into Cleveland’s Cuyahoga River caught fire. ------------- My comment: Safe Drinking Water Act. Part of those pesky environmental regulations Trump and his MAGA minions believe should be repealed. After all, expanding corporate profits, regardless of the damage that happens as a result, is what really matters to Trump and his minions.