EPA’s embrace of this ideology is laying the groundwork for a full-blown water crisis in this country. That is why PEER is calling out EPA’s indifference to the toxic PFAS crisis, laying the groundwork to challenge EPA’s effort to slash the scope of the Clean Water Act, speaking up against its proposal to gut the Agency’s budget for drinking water programs, and exposing the Agency’s efforts to suppress information on the major pollution consequences of proposed mining activities.
These actions are part of EPA’s policy of “cooperative federalism,” where states are given more leeway in administering delegated federal laws. Too often this policy results in the wholesale weakening of federal protections while EPA looks the other way. Therefore, we are fighting at the state level, too. In Florida, for example, PEER thoroughly debunked repeated boasts by the Scott administration of widespread compliance with Florida anti-pollution laws. We found that in Florida’s potable water program, for example, fewer than 42% of the potable water facilities and 52 percent of domestic wastewater facilities were in compliance with rules to protect drinking water.
Florida shows what happens when EPA looks the other way and narrow-minded ideologues take over state environmental agencies. Enforcement and compliance rates drop and state agencies begin to make data up to justify their actions.
EPA’s abandonment of its state oversight role affects the quality of our waters. It gives polluters a free pass and corrodes our governmental institutions. Thanks to your support, we are fighting hard to make sure this doesn’t happen.
Kyla Bennett, PhD, JD
Director, New England PEER
Director, Science Policy
Jerry Phillips, JD
Director, Florida PEER
Stop Coyote Killing Contests in National Parks
PEER has filed a rulemaking petition asking the Department of the Interior to stop “killing contests” of Coyotes and impose reasonable hunting restrictions on mammalian carnivores within the Cape Cod National Seashore. Unchecked hunting of predators disrupts pack structures, threatens the overall health of the species, and upends healthy ecological balances. The park has a legal mandate to maintain a natural balance in wildlife populations but has failed to exercise its legal obligation to do so. More>>
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