ANNAPOLIS, MD - The Maryland Court of Special Appeals ruled earlier this week that a coalition of local and national river advocacy groups have standing to challenge a major stormwater pollution permit in court.

At issue is a state-issued pollution discharge permit for Montgomery County’s 499-square mile stormwater system. Clean water groups contend the permit allows ongoing harm to water quality and human health due to excessive discharges of pollutants and trash into the Potomac and Anacostia Rivers watersheds.

Wheeling, WV – December 7, 2012 – A coalition of local and national public interest organizations have asked a federal court for permission to participate in a legal action that will decide when Clean Water Act restrictions apply to the release of pollutants in animal manure into local waterways used for recreation, drinking and to support nearby communities.

Am I the only person who enjoys looking at water?

Well, that’s a trick question because I already know that the answer is NO. You might be someone who cranes your neck when driving over a bridge just to see what the creek looks like underneath. Or someone who seeks water on your vacation. Or you would love to own (or do own) riverfront property. Right here at home, the Shenandoah River is our first choice when we look for a place to spend a summer day or to take our families camping or boating. 

Water sooths us. And it nourishes us, quite literally.

Potomac Riverkeeper moves to stop sewage discharge, Clean Water Act 40th Anniversary Activities, The North Branch of the Potomac, Island to Island Wrap up, and much more!

Read the Newsletter here!

Waterkeepers from around the country joined over a hundred paddlers on the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. to rally for clean water this past Saturday.

UPDATE:
The big vote is TODAY at 12:30 pm EDT. Please act now!!

On Thursday, June 21, Waterkeepers from around the U.S. are working together to promote access to clean, fishable waters globally and to celebrate the 40^th Anniversary of the Clean Water Act that provides safeguards to U.S. drinking water.

Our friends at American Rivers have put the Potomac at the top of America’s Most Endangered Rivers list.  With this year being the 40th anniversary of the Clean Water Act, it is a good time to review some of the many pollution problems our river faces.

By Megan Buerger, The Washington Post, May 2, 2012

Like many of you, we seek a future where the Potomac River is swimmable and our fish are healthy. Unfortunately, a bill introduced by Representatives Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) and Tim Holden (D-PA) would effectively block us from reaching that visionary future by rolling back protections made under the Clean Water Act for the Chesapeake Bay, and by extension, our precious Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers.