"Hundreds of gasoline spills, which contain carcinogens like benzene, are reported each year in Nassau and Suffolk counties. Countless others go unreported or unnoticed. Cleaning them up can run into the millions and take decades to complete."
"Federal officials said Wednesday they have given marching orders to Maryland and other states that drain into the Chesapeake Bay to come up with detailed plans for reducing pollution plaguing the estuary, warning that states face development shutdowns or other as-yet unstated consequences if the water fails to get cleaner."
California lawmakers ended months of negotiations with final agreement on a historic water package. The legislation now goes to Governer Schwarzenegger, and an $11.1-billion bond measure goes before the voters.
"A huge fire has been blazing at an oil rig in the Timor Sea since Sunday, after an attempt by the oil company to kill a leaking well. The West Atlas rig is located directly above the Montara well head platfrom, which has been leaking oil and gas since August 21."
"The two rivers that converge at Marietta [OH] are among the 10 most polluted in the country, according to a new environmental report."
"Iowa's outdated sewage treatment plants regularly dump excess pollution into rivers and streams that provide drinking water for up to 900,000 people and recreation for many more, a Des Moines Register analysis of state records shows."
The widespread perception of water abundance in Canada is a myth, according to a new report by the World Wildlife Fund-Canada. See details for the 10 selected rivers, most of which cross political boundaries within Canada or between Canada and the United States.
Strenuous local battles sometimes erupt over "daylighting" (freeing streams from culverts and paved channels), an increasingly popular method for state, county, and local governments to improve stormwater management and water quality.
"Republicans roll out their own version of a water bill, as state legislators are being held up mostly by obscure water policy details and regional self-interests."
"Bowing to intense public pressure, the Chesapeake Energy Corporation says it will not drill for natural gas within the upstate New York watershed, an environmentally sensitive region that supplies unfiltered water to nine million people."
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