Summary:  In Colorado’s Weld County, fumes from oil and gas development are creating unhealthy levels of ozone pollution. Despite the state’s efforts to capture the gas and liquids that would otherwise be vented to the atmosphere when a well is being drilled, air quality is still a big concern in Denver and nationwide.

Robin Cooley, staff attorney with Earthjustice in Denver, says Colorado is doing a good job of trying to protect people from bad air quality, but there are more than 46,000 oil and gas wells in the state. "Development is moving closer and closer to the places where people live. You know, you have local residents with wells that are in their backyard, and they're experiencing health impacts from that, like headaches, dizziness, nosebleeds."

  Full Article:  http://www.publicnewsservice.org/index.php?/content/article/29566-1"

  Summary:  The Clean Water Act is under fire from industry groups interested in making it easier for them to pollute. Opening up the law to such amendments would weaken its effectiveness and expose U.S. waterways to pollution.

“There have been efforts to shred the Clean Water Act both through legislation and policy action by the previous administration” said Earthjustice Legislative Counsel Joan Mulhern. “We were supposed to eliminate discharges of pollutants into the nation's waterways by 1985,” Ms. Mulhern said, referring to what National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System stands for. Over the years, she said, the emphasis has shifted from eliminating to permitting pollutant discharges.

  Full Article:  http://www.telegram.com/article/20121202/NEWS/112029689/1116"

  Summary:  After a long litigation process over cleaning up Florida’s waterways, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has approved a combination of federal and state rules to address water pollution. The rules are expected to strengthen enforcement and address the wide-spread problem of toxic, slimy algae bloom on Florida’s waters.

Earthjustice lawyer David Guest, who represents the environmental groups in the case, said the federal rule will apply to about 82,000 of 100,000 miles of waterways and the state rule will cover the remaining 18,000. "This is the reddest letter day of them all," said Guest who is pleased with the highly anticipated outcome.

  Full Article:  http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/11/30/3121509/feds-adopt-state-water-pollution.html"

  Summary:  Clean air and environmental groups filed a legal challenge against the Environmental Protection Agency over its weak emission standards for chromium electroplating plants. These facilities release dangerous amounts of hexavalent chromium, an extremely potent human carcinogen that is unsafe at any level of exposure.

“The example set in California shows us that facilities are capable of meeting stronger emission limits that protect communities from dangerous levels of toxic air pollution,” said Earthjustice attorney Emma Cheuse. “The EPA had no lawful justification for failing to give all communities in the U.S. the basic health protection that all Americans deserve.”

  Full Article:  http://www.infozine.com/news/stories/op/storiesView/sid/53907/"