skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Celebrating Clean Water in Indiana

play audio
Play

Friday, October 17, 2014   

INDIANAPOLIS - Conservation groups in Indiana and around the nation are calling attention to the anniversary of the Clean Water Act, this Saturday. It's been 42 years since Congress voted to mandate clean water protections, and the Hoosier Environmental Council is among the groups backing an update proposed by the EPA to strengthen the law. Staff attorney Kim Ferraro says recent court rulings have made it unclear whether the Clean Water Act covers wetlands and smaller streams.

"We've got Lake Michigan right here that supplies drinking water to millions," says Ferraro. "There are numerous small tributaries and wetlands that provide buffers to pollution getting into the Great Lakes that were removed from the Clean Water Act."

The public comment period on the EPA proposal runs through mid-November. It's estimated more than 700,000 people have sent in a public comment supporting the provisions.

Opponents claim the proposal would have a negative impact on agriculture, but supporters say the provisions actually exempt agriculture and would protect farmers. Ferraro says any politics need to be put aside.

"Republicans and Democrats alike want clean water," says Ferraro. "We want to preserve water not only for our own survival but that of our children and for future generations."

According to the EPA, the proposal would restore protections to two million miles of smaller streams and millions of acres of wetlands and better protect drinking water supplies for more than one third of all Americans.



get more stories like this via email

more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021