Water

Conservation Groups Welcome Australian Senate’s Support for Coral Sea Conservation Zone

Sydney, Australia - 11/17/2009 - Conservation groups today welcomed the Australian Senate’s support for the Federal Government’s Coral Sea conservation zone. This support now gives a green light for assessing whether the Coral Sea should be protected as a marine park.

The motion by National Party Senator Ron Boswell and Liberal Party Senator Ian Macdonald today to disallow the Coral Sea conservation zone was voted down by the Australian Labor Party, the Australian Greens, and Senator Nick Xenophon.    » read more »

Washington, DC - 11/12/2009 - During this year’s Global Week of Action, a week devoted to farmed salmon awareness, the Pew Environment Group today raised concern about the creation of fish farms in U.S. waters without adequate uniform national aquaculture standards in place.

In the past two months, tens of thousands of farmed salmon have escaped from open-net fish farms in British Columbia, Norway and Scotland. This poses serious threats to wild salmon populations and coastal marine ecosystems. While monetary losses amount to millions of dollars, the ecological damage caused by these fish is immeasurable. Escaped fish spread disease to wild fish and compete and interbreed with wild salmon populations.    » read more »

November 09, 2009 -- Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (D-Manhattan, Queens) today applauded the House passage of the Chemical and Water Security Act of 2009 (H.R. 2868), which would increase the security and safety of the country’s chemical plants and water facilities. Maloney is a co-sponsor of the legislation, which passed the House late Friday afternoon by a vote of 230 to 193.    » read more »

November 9, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar released the following statement on the Obama Administration’s actions to deal with the California Water Crisis:

“Today, Governor Schwarzenegger is signing milestone water legislation in Fresno County, one of the counties hardest hit by California's water crisis – a crisis caused by the brutal combination of a three-year drought, the collapse of native fisheries in the Bay Delta, and the fact that California's investments in water conservation and infrastructure have not kept up with its growth.    » read more »

November 6, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman today introduced legislation to fully fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) – a law that provides funding to protect sensitive landscapes and grants to states to develop recreation areas and facilities.

Right now, the Land and Water Conservation Fund is subject to the annual appropriations process. And Congress has rarely appropriated the $900 million that is authorized annually. As a result, the levels of funding for both federal and state agencies have fluctuated wildly.    » read more »

Legislation seeks to expose true causes for declines of fish, return flow of water to Valley

November 3, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Dennis Cardoza introduced bipartisan legislation today that calls for a review of the federal biological opinions that have significantly reduced the amount of water flowing to San Joaquin Valley farmers. Congressmen Costa (D-Fresno) and Radanovich (R-Mariposa) joined as original cosponsors.    » read more »

Recovery Act Funds Will Help Improve Infrastructure in Rural Areas of nine States

WASHINGTON, November 3, 2009 -- Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced the selection of $16.4 million in water and environmental project loans and grants that are being funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The projects will help provide safe drinking water and improved wastewater treatment systems for rural towns and communities in nine states. Altogether, USDA has announced nearly $1.8 billion for water and environmental project loans and grants, benefiting people throughout the country.    » read more »

Columbus, Ohio – Ohio Governor Ted Strickland today issued a statement applauding President Barack Obama and the U.S. Congress for their support of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.

The initiative, which was signed into law by President Obama on October 30, allocates $475 million to respond to a plan of action prepared by the Great Lakes states in cooperation with 16 federal agencies.

Funding is available for the most significant problems facing the Great Lakes, including invasive aquatic species, wildlife habitat restoration, non-point source pollution, contaminated sediment clean up, water quality monitoring, and beach monitoring/clean up, all issues that Lake Erie and Ohio have experienced.

Governor’s statement:    » read more »

Company Utilizing New Manufacturing Practices and Technologies

November 2, 2009 -- Abbott Park, Illinois (NYSE: ABT) — Abbott announced today that it is saving 1 billion gallons of water annually since launching a comprehensive, global effort in 2004 to preserve natural resources through reducing use of water in the production of its nutrition and other health care products.

In 2004, the company set out to achieve a reduction in water use compared to its 2004 baseline by the end of 2011, when normalized to sales.    » read more »

October 27, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – Seventh District Congressman Dave Obey (D-WI) announced that yesterday, the House and Senate Conference Committee for the FY2010 Interior Appropriations bill, “Approved an historic $475 million down payment for the restoration of the Great Lakes.” The legislation, which the House and Senate will soon vote on for final approval, would fully fund the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) which was requested by the President and shepherded through Congress by Obey who chairs the House Appropriations Committee.    » read more »

Federal Funding for Land and Water Conservation Fund to Increase by $178 million in Fiscal Year 2010

October 30, 2009 -- (Washington, D.C.) – The Fiscal Year Interior Appropriations bill, which Congress passed last night and which the President is soon expected to sign into law, includes $453 million for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), an increase of $178 million from last year.    » read more »

10/29/09 -- Washington, DC – Today, Congressman Tim Bishop voted in favor of legislation that will bring significant federal aid for clean water infrastructure in New York and protect the Long Island Sound. The House of Representatives passed the Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations conference report, which emphasizes reducing pollution in our air and water, cleaning up dangerous toxic waste sites, encouraging energy efficiency, and promoting the development of renewable clean energy sources.    » read more »

Real time water analysis helps ensure safety of beachgoers in Ireland

ARMONK, NY – - 02 Nov 2009: IBM (NYSE: IBM) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Ireland are teaming up to enable smarter water management across more than 130 of Ireland’s beaches and lakes.

Working together with An Taisce, the National Trust for Ireland, the organizations are collecting and analyzing large amounts of complex environmental data from Ireland’s coastline and lakes on water quality, tides, weather forecasts and more. That information is then made easily available to the general public at an online portal, Splash. Currently live in Ireland with plans for global expansion, Splash has already benefited thousands of visitors from nearly 40 countries.    » read more »

October 29, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), today announced that the Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 Interior-Environment Appropriations Conference Report, will provide over $30 million in federal funding for conservation and clean water projects in Rhode Island. The bill passed the House 247-178 earlier today and the Senate 72-28 this evening. The Conference Report now goes to the President to be signed into law.

Reed, a member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior and Environment, noted that the Interior spending bill provides money for land acquisition, drinking water and storm water infrastructure, and environmental preservation projects.    » read more »

Appropriations Bill Also Includes an Additional $50 million for the Bay

29-Oct-2009 -- WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Barbara A. Mikulski and Benjamin L. Cardin (both D-MD) today praised final Congressional passage of the Interior-Environment Appropriations Conference Report, which will provide $72 million in new funding to improve Maryland’s drinking water systems and to help communities finance local sewer improvements.

The bill also includes $50 million, the largest funding level ever, for programs to control urban, suburban and agricultural runoff in the Chesapeake watershed. The Conference Report – which also includes a Continuing Resolution to fund much of the federal government through December 18 – now goes to the President who is expected to sign it.    » read more »