Your passion for protecting the planet and the people you love is making a difference!

This list of recent wins shows that together, we’ve made bold progress toward creating a world where everyone has sustainable food, clean water, and a healthy climate. Each step forward is a testament to your generosity. Thank you for fighting like you live here!

We have much more work to do, but these victories prove that when we work together, we can accomplish remarkable things! 

Milestones to Celebrate

Here are six recent wins you made happen!

Together, we:

• Successfully pressured Governor Newsom to phase out fracking in California
  
  After a three-year de facto ban, California’s Geologic Energy Management Division released its plan to formally phase out fracking by prohibiting the state from issuing new fracking permits. This announcement comes after over a decade of continuous advocacy from Food & Water Watch and allied groups across the state and country. We hope to see the rule finalized later this year. (February 2024)

• Won the first-ever regulations on PFAS in drinking water
  
  The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced regulations that set enforceable limits on six PFAS — the toxic lab-made compounds known as “forever chemicals” — in drinking water. After decades of community organizing, we welcome this important first step in making drinking water safer for people nationwide. This will save lives.
  
  However, no amount of PFAS in water is safe, and these regulations address just six of thousands of these dangerous chemicals. Together, we’ll continue to press the EPA to regulate the entire class of PFAS in our drinking water. (April 2024)
  
• Began holding corporations accountable for PFAS cleanup
  
  The EPA finalized its rule designating two types of PFAS, PFOA and PFOS, as hazardous substances under CERCLA (Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act). This will give the agency more power to hold polluters accountable for paying for clean-up costs. The new rules are a necessary and important step to put the financial responsibility on the chemical companies that created the crisis, not the public. 
  
  Together, we continue to urge the EPA to require polluters to pay to clean up the entire class of toxic PFAS chemicals. The agency must also ban nonessential uses of PFAS to stop this pollution in the first place. (April 2024)

• Protected people in Maryland from losing their homes over water bills
  
  This spring, we defeated a controversial bill (HB 243) in the Maryland legislature. Had it passed, this bill would have gutted the Water Taxpayer Protection Act of 2019, which ensures that no home would be sent to tax sale for unpaid water bills. This win is a testament to the social justice and community advocates we joined to defend the interests of working families across Maryland. (April 2024)
  
• Strengthened the environmental review process of polluting projects through restored NEPA rules
  
  The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is a bedrock environmental law that gives communities the ability to weigh in on federal actions that impact their air, water, and public health. In 2020, the Trump administration gutted long-standing NEPA regulations to stifle community input and fast-track polluting projects like factory farms and fossil fuel power plants. Working with a broad coalition, Food & Water Watch’s legal team challenged this rollback in federal court.
  
  This April, the Biden Administration’s Council on Environmental Quality restored the NEPA rules Trump had axed. These updates will allow this law to live up to its original intent — giving communities a voice, incorporating climate concerns, and considering environmental justice impacts when polluting projects are proposed. (April 2024)

• Earned an appointment to an EPA subcommittee on factory farm water pollution regulations
  
  The EPA invited Food & Water Watch Legal Director Tarah Heinzen to its new Animal Agriculture and Water Quality (AAWQ) Federal Advisory Committee Subcommittee. This subcommittee will study factory farm water pollution and recommend improvements to the agency’s failed Clean Water Act program.
  
  The EPA formed this subcommittee in response to a 2017 petition submitted by Food & Water Watch and dozens of co-petitioners, urging the agency to strengthen factory farm water pollution regulations. This is an important opportunity to speak for clean water, independent farmers, and environmental justice and press the EPA to better protect communities from dangerous factory farm pollution. (April 2024)

Thank you for making these milestones possible!

You Can Build on These Victories Toward a Brighter Future

Together, we’ve made great strides toward sustainable food, clean and affordable water, and a livable climate for all. Check out the Spring Quarterly Victories Update to see how your care and generosity made an impact earlier this year.

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