Clean Water Action

08/31/2026

💧 New report: Putting Drinking Water First

Clean, safe drinking water should never be an afterthought, especially when it comes to oil and gas wastewater.

Our new Putting Drinking Water First white paper examines the risks posed by oil and gas wastewater pollution and lays out five recommendations to better protect drinking water and the communities that depend on it. Our recommendations include:

🛑 Rejecting efforts to weaken wastewater discharge limits
🔎 Closing loopholes that allow unnecessary wastewater discharges
🧪 Requiring full disclosure of the chemicals in produced water
📊 Filling critical gaps in data, testing, and treatment
🤝 Ensuring meaningful engagement with tribal, rural, and frontline communities

Read the full report and check out the infographic to learn more about how we can put drinking water first.
👉 cleanwater.org/PDWF-oil-and-gas-pollution-2026

08/28/2026

63 years ago today, more than 250,000 people gathered in Washington, D.C. for the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.

They marched for civil rights, voting rights, fair employment, decent housing and an end to segregation. It was there that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his historic “I Have a Dream” speech.

The fight for justice did not end that day.

Today, we honor the people who marched, organized and demanded change, and we carry that work forward in the fight for environmental justice. Black communities and other communities of color still bear a disproportionate burden of pollution and environmental harm.

Clean water, clean air and a healthy environment should be a right for every community.

#2 Photo Credit - Spring George, VA

08/28/2026

🚨 Our drinking water should come first.

Oil and gas production creates a massive amount of toxic wastewater. And now, EPA is considering weakening Clean Water Act protections that limit where this wastewater can be discharged.

That’s a problem.

“Produced water” can contain PFAS, heavy metals, radioactive materials, high levels of salts, and more than 1,100 identified chemicals. Studies have also documented contaminants from this wastewater downstream, including in areas connected to drinking water supplies.

And we still don’t know enough. Many chemicals in produced water lack toxicity data, while major gaps remain in our ability to detect, treat, and understand the risks of this complex waste stream.
Our new paper, “Putting Drinking Water First,” explains why EPA should be strengthening, not weakening, wastewater protections for the oil and gas industry.

💧 Protect drinking water.
🛑 Stop efforts to weaken Clean Water Act limits.
🔎 Require full transparency about what’s in produced water.
🤝 Put affected communities at the table.

Read the new paper and learn why putting drinking water first means saying NO to weaker protections.

cleanwater.org/PDWF-oil-and-gas

08/27/2026

The PA Environmental Scorecard 2025-2026 tracks key votes in the GA and provides a lifetime environmental score for every legislator dating back to 2007–2008.

See how your lawmakers stack up and hold them accountable!

cleanwater.org/publications/pennsylvania-environmental-scorecard-2025-2026

08/26/2026

Every child deserves leaders who prioritize their health and future.

We are excited to announce that Clean Water Action & Clean Water Fund's President Lynn Thorp will be a speaker on the Children's Environmental Health Network's Vote for Kids webinar on Tuesday, August 28, from 4:30–6:00 p.m. ET. This is the second nonpartisan webinar in CEHN's two-part webinar series exploring how the 2026 elections can shape children's environmental health.

Whether you're a parent, caregiver, advocate, healthcare provider, public health professional, or concerned community member, you'll learn how to identify and support candidates at every level of government who put kids first. Register today: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_MReebcQNTlWX8APoVxGwVw

08/25/2026

Our new Putting Drinking Water First paper examines the risks to downstream water quality and drinking water safety and explains why EPA should strengthen, not weaken, wastewater discharge standards for the oil and gas industry.

This paper examines how weakening Clean Water Act oil and gas wastewater pollution limits would threaten drinking water. It outlines the known risks associated with this harmful wastewater, highlights impacts to downstream drinking water, and identifies the significant knowledge gaps that remain. Ov...

08/24/2026

Big Data Centers. Bigger Impacts.

The race to build massive data centers is reshaping communities — driving up demand for water and energy, increasing pollution, and putting pressure on the resources we all depend on.

Clean Water Action is making sure communities, not corporate profits, come first.💙

Learn about the impacts of data centers and join us in demanding responsible development that protects clean water, clean air, and our communities. ➡️

As demand for data centers continues to grow, increasingly massive data centers are being built across the United States, raising new concerns about water use, water pollution, electricity demand, climate change pollution, and other effects on surrounding communities. Clean Water Action and Clean Wa...

08/21/2026

Clean Water Feature Friday: Katelyn Khov💧

This week, we’re featuring Katelyn Khov, a summer field canvasser with Clean Water Action in Pennsylvania. A Political Science and Communication and Media student at Loyola University Maryland, Katelyn spent the summer connecting with hundreds of constituents and supporters while advocating for safeguards from AI data centers and a ban on toxic PFAS.✅

For Katelyn, the experience showed her firsthand the power of grassroots organizing. One of her highlights was attending Lobby Day at the PA State Capitol, where she saw how community voices can help shape political change.💙

“It's completely possible to make a change when we put the work into it as a community.”

Thanks for being part of the Clean Water Action team this summer, Katelyn!

Read more about Katelyn on our blog ➡️cleanwater.org/2026/08/18/canvasser-spotlight-katelyn-khov

08/20/2026

A new analysis from Safer States finds that States across the country continue advancing bipartisan policies that increase transparency, reduce toxic chemicals and plastic pollution, accelerate safer solutions, and hold polluters accountable.

Clean Water Action is proud to be one of the many in MA, RI, CT, MN, DC, NJ, and MD. Advocacy by Clean Water Action and other allies in NJ led to the adoption of the nation’s strongest “Skip the Stuff” law, requiring reusable foodware as well as a broad package of restrictions on PFAS in consumer products and firefighting gear!

Learn more👇

States across the country continue advancing bipartisan policies that increase transparency, reduce toxic chemicals and plastic pollution, accelerate safer solutions, and hold polluters accountable. Here’s what the first half of 2026 tells us. More than halfway through 2026, one trend is clear: st...

08/19/2026

🚨 Maryland residents deserve a say in what happens in their communities.

For more than two years, residents in Columbia have been fighting W.R. Grace & Co.’s plastic pyrolysis facility—located just 80 meters from homes and families.

Now, Grace is seeking a permanent permit to operate the facility, and the Maryland Department of the Environment isn’t required to hold a public comment period.

The community is asking for a chance to be heard. Tell MDE: Give the public a formal opportunity to weigh in before this facility is allowed to operate permanently.

Take action today:

For more than two years in Columbia, MD, communities have been fighting against W.R. Grace & Co chemical company’s pyrolysis plastic incineration facility. Demand a public hearing on its permit to operate.