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.

A Call for Transparency During Drinking Water Week

play audio
Play

Tuesday, May 8, 2018   

BISMARCK, N.D. – It's Drinking Water Week in North Dakota, and watchdogs are calling for transparency for the state's water systems.

Scott Edwards, co-director of Food and Water Justice at Food and Water Watch, says the oil and gas industry and industrial agriculture are two of the biggest contributors to water pollutions. They also are two of the biggest industries in the Peace Garden State. Edwards says both state and federal regulations for oil and gas, in particular, are weak.

"We don't even have a good grasp on the level of contamination coming out of oil and gas and fracking operations," he notes. "We know that it's extensive. We know that tests have been done. They're finding high levels of several pollutants. We also know that the industry doesn't even have to keep track or make public what it's pumping into the ground at these drilling sites."

In agriculture, Edwards says operations where a large number of animals are raised in small spaces, known as confined animal feeding operations, are the biggest concern for clean water. The operations produce lots of manure that can leak into groundwater. The state of North Dakota says nearly 99 percent of its community and rural water systems meet health standards.

However, a 2016 report from the Izaak Walton League of America gave North Dakota's water systems an F. It notes that the state reported testing 100 percent of its streams. However, the report says it's only tested 1 percent because of a lack of permanent water-testing stations. Edwards says North Dakota isn't the only state failing to be upfront about its water quality.

"We're seeing a massive effort in this country at state and federal level to make sure that people don't get access to the information they should have about their water systems," he laments.

Edwards says the Environmental Protection Agency should approve higher standards for water quality since they set the baseline. He says states usually do not go much further than the EPA on regulations. The Izaak Walton report gave North Dakota a D+ for its water quality standards.


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