Environmental Activists Push to Cancel July 4th Fireworks Shows

Multiple fireworks shows slated for July 4th along Los Angeles’ coastline have been canceled in the wake of a county mandate that was initially spurred by environmental activists, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The L.A. Regional Water Quality Control Board implemented a firework permit rule in an effort to clamp down on pollutants from firework displays, which reportedly affect nearby water sources, the LA Times reported. The Coastal Environmental Rights Foundation (CERF) brought a lawsuit against Long Beach’s Big Bang on the Bay, alleging that a firework show in 2022 violated the Clean Water Act.

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Environmental Groups File Suit Against the Navy over Naval Surface Warfare Center in Virginia

Two environmental groups have filed a federal lawsuit alleging the Naval Surface Warfare Center at Dahlgren, Virginia, violated the Clean Water Act through munitions testing in and over the Potomac.

The Potomac Riverkeeper Network and the Natural Resources Defense Council filed suit in the U.S. District Court in Baltimore, alleging NSWC Dahlgren has discharged over 33 million pounds of munitions into the Potomac containing toxic metals, solvents, explosives and other potentially harmful constituents.

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Supreme Court Rolls Back Biden EPA’s Expansive Water Regulation

The Supreme Court rolled back the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) authority to regulate under the Clean Water Act (CWA) in a unanimous decision Thursday.

Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency, brought by a couple prevented by the EPA from building a home on their own land near Priest Lake, Idaho because it contained wetlands, considered the scope of the agency’s “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) rule, which defines what “navigable waters” can be regulated under the CWA. Plaintiffs Chantell and Mike Sackett, who have spent 15 years fighting the agency’s rule in court, allege the EPA has overstepped the authority it was granted when Congress enacted the CWA in 1972—forcing them to stop construction on their land or face fines.

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House Votes to Overturn ‘Overreaching’ Biden Water Rule

The House of Representatives voted 227-198 Thursday to overturn the Biden administration’s “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) rule, which has been heavily criticized for broadening the definition of what are considered “navigable waters” subject to federal regulation under the Clean Water Act.

Republicans say the rule places a costly burden on landowners, ranchers, and farmers by claiming regulatory control over lands containing small streams and wetlands. All but one Republican, Pennsylvania Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, voted to overturn the rule, with nine Democrats joining.

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Ohio Think Tank Asks Court to Let States Deal with Water Pollution

On Friday, a Columbus, Ohio-based think tank submitted a brief to the U.S. Supreme Court asking justices to allow states to enforce against water pollution, pursuant to the federal Clean Water Act (CWA). 

The 1972 law set up a permitting system for corporate or infrastructural projects that result in the discharge of pollutant materials into rivers, streams or other bodies of water. Under the act, states may undertake their own permitting programs. But last July, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit issued a ruling that South Carolina’s program is not strong enough to supersede the federal permit process and therefore citizen lawsuits can effectively nullify the state program. 

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With Water Development Resources Act, Rep. Rose Secures Water Infrastructure for Rural Tennessee Counties

Using a law that has been passed by Congress every two years since 2014, a congressman from Tennessee promoted water infrastructure for three rural Tennessee counties. 

“Today, the United States House of Representatives passed the bipartisan Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2022, which includes language submitted by U.S. Representative John Rose to authorize environmental infrastructure projects in Trousdale, Macon, and Sumner counties and the cities of Carthage and Portland,” said a press release from Rep. John Rose (R-TN-06). “These projects will help these growing communities adapt their water infrastructure to meet the needs of increasing demand.”

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Two Former Wastewater Treatment Employees in Pennsylvania Found Guilty of Clean Water Act Violations for Improper Wastewater Management

Two former Greenfield Township wastewater treatment plant employees were found guilty of multiple Clean Water Act violations and wire fraud.

The father-son duo, Bruce Evans, Sr., and Bruce Evans, Jr., routinely failed to follow guidelines imposed by the environmental law and restrictions imposed in a permit issued by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) and the United States Environmental Protections Agency (EPA).

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Joe Robertson Was Imprisoned for Digging Ponds on His Montana Land, and Now His Widow Continues the Fight

by Kevin Mooney   The name of a Navy veteran may be cleared after he was convicted, fined, and imprisoned for digging ponds in a wooded area near his Montana home, to supply water in case of fire. The Supreme Court has vacated a lower court ruling against Joe Robertson, who was sent to federal prison and ordered to pay $130,000 in restitution through deductions from his Social Security checks. Any definitive legal victory for Robertson would be posthumous, since he died March 18 at age 80. But his lawyers describe the Supreme Court’s action as a “big win” for Robertson’s widow, Carrie, who plans to carry on the fight. [ The liberal Left continue to push their radical agenda against American values. The good news is there is a solution. Find out more ] President Barack Obama’s Justice Department had prosecuted Robertson for digging in “navigable waters” without a permit, in violation of the Clean Water Act. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling against Robertson in November 2017 and denied him a rehearing in July 2018. The Navy veteran’s initial trial at the district court level resulted in a hung jury and a mistrial. He then was…

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Trump Signs Executive Orders to Fast-Track Oil and Gas Pipelines

by Michael Bastasch   President Donald Trump signed a pair of executive orders aimed at speeding up oil and gas pipeline permitting, including limiting the ability of activists and states to block key energy projects. Trump signed the orders Wednesday at an International Union of Operating Engineers’ training center near Houston. Some labor unions have pushed back against Democrats’ anti-fossil fuel agenda, including the recently introduced Green New Deal. Trump ordered federal agencies to speed up permitting for pipeline projects, including asking the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to curtail state authority to block projects under the Clean Water Act (CWA). The administration is responding to criticisms that some states have weaponized CWA permitting to block energy projects. For example, New York Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration has blocked a number of natural gas pipelines from running through his state, depriving the northeast of much-needed energy supplies. The supply crunch hit hard during winter when the region was forced to import gas from Russia. New York City locals fear a moratorium on new gas hook-ups will stall commercial developments. Across the country, Washington state, under Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee, a 2020 contender, has blocked coal and oil export terminals planned along…

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