Water & Oceans

"Three conservation groups accused Dominion Virginia Power Wednesday of illegally discharging coal ash waste into the Potomac River."

"A study published Wednesday reveals household laundry water is washing chemical flame retardant pollution into the Northwest’s biggest waterway."

"Nearly 400 years after French voyageur Jean Nicolet arrived with a bang on the banks of lower Green Bay — he fired two pistols skyward to announce the white man's arrival in the world's largest freshwater estuary — the same stretch of shoreline was the scene of another fateful landing."

"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency approved an aquifer exemption for a coal gasification pilot project in Campbell County [Wyoming] this week, drawing criticism from landowners worried that the facility could contaminate a potential source of drinking water."

Removal of two dams on the Elwha River on Washington's Olympic Peninsula is allowing years of sediment and debris to make its way downstream and salmon to make their way upstream. Here's a stunning firsthand look at the river then and now.

Oysters have been the foundation of a booming business for the Hog Island Oyster Company in Northern California. But ocean acidification as a result of increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide is threatening that.

"The U.S. Coast Guard and other responders are not adequately equipped or prepared for a “heavy oil” spill on the Great Lakes, according to a Coast Guard commander who is pushing for action."

"Some of the more than 500 million pounds (220 million kg) of pesticides used yearly in the United States are concentrated at levels that pose a concern for fish and water-dwelling insects, the U.S. Geological Survey report on pesticides from 1992 to 2011 said. The levels seldom topped human health standards."

"Water pollution disasters in Mexico have turned into political battles as officials struggled Wednesday to blame each other for the problems."