Rural Community Assistance Partnership

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pollution

Message from Mexico: U.S. Is polluting water it may someday need to drink

by Abrahm Lustgarten, ProPublica, Jan. 25, 2013

Mexico City plans to draw drinking water from a mile-deep aquifer, according to a report in the Los Angeles Times. The Mexican effort challenges a key tenet of U.S. clean water policy: that water far underground can be intentionally polluted because it will never be used.

EPA enforcement in 2012 protects communities from harmful pollution

WASHINGTON (EPA) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released Dec. 17 its annual enforcement results, showing significant environmental and public health protections achieved – a reduction of 2.2 billion pounds of air, water and land pollution, as well as 4.4 billion pounds of hazardous waste, and $252 million in civil and criminal penalties levied – while also focusing on enforcement efforts that reduce smaller amounts of pollution but have substantial health impacts in communities.

New app lets users check health of waterways anywhere in the U.S.

WASHINGTON (EPA)  — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) launched a new app and website on Oct. 18 to help people find information on the condition of thousands of lakes, rivers and streams across the United States from their smart phone, tablet or desktop computer. Available at http://www.epa.gov/mywaterway, the How’s My Waterway app and website use GPS technology or a user-entered zip code or city name to provide information about the quality of local water bodies.