“Bernhardt’s nomination is more of the same from the Trump administration: Another lobbyist who cares only about enriching the fossil fuel industry,” said CLF President Bradley Campbell. “Bernhardt will undoubtedly open our oceans to offshore drilling and cause irreparable harm to our lands and waters. The senators who voted to confirm him ought to be ashamed.”
Coal plants pollute our air and waterways, and one of the last remaining coal plants in New England – Merrimack Station in Bow, New Hampshire – is doing just that. That’s why CLF and Sierra Club have joined together to sue the plant in federal court, to end its ongoing harm to the Merrimack River.
Clean water belongs to all of us, but we simply won’t have clean water without long-term investment in this shared resource. We are halfway through this legislative session and there is still no clear path for clean water funding. The governor’s proposal falls short on the amount needed to clean up our waters because it relies on existing revenues that are needed for other important state programs. The Legislature has yet to put forth a serious plan to raise the necessary revenue.
The Pease Development Authority has a Sept. 20 deadline to complete some terms of a settlement agreement with the Conservation Law Foundation that, if completed, will dismiss a federal lawsuit alleging stormwater from Pease international Tradeport pollutes area waterways.
CLF’s lawsuit, among other things, accuses Exxon of failing to adequately protect the property from potential floods caused by storms and rising sea waters that could sweep pollutants off the site. The closely-watched lawsuit could have ripple effects that influence the broader oil industry and how it prepares for future storms.
In a move welcomed by advocates for safe and clean drinking water, Governor Janet Mills has established a task force to assess the scope of PFAS exposure and contamination in Maine.
Weber said accountability and monitoring are particularly important because the job ahead is so huge. “We need to remove around 213 metric tons of phosphorus from Lake Champlain,” Weber said. “That’s just Lake Champlain. There are other obligations in other watersheds. We’re not near that goal.”
“With the federal government dragging its feet, it’s up to Vermont to take action to protect communities from toxic PFAS chemicals,” said Jen Duggan, Vice President and Director of CLF Vermont. “Today, the Senate demonstrated that we are up to the task. This bill is a significant step forward to protect our drinking water from these dangerous forever chemicals.”
“Exxon has put vulnerable communities and the harbor at risk as part of its pattern and practice of deceiving regulators and the public about the risks of climate change,” said CLF President Bradley Campbell. “Exxon has known about these risks and its ongoing spills for years and is failing its most important duty under the law: to avoid spills of oil and hazardous substances that threaten public health and the environment.”
“With the EPA’s national PFAS plan falling far short, it’s up to the states to protect us from these toxic chemicals,” Amy Moses, vice president and director of the Conservation Law Foundation in Rhode Island, said in a statement Tuesday.
