The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "Clean Water Act" ...
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Toxic Waters
With the aid of more than 500 Freedom of Information requests, reporter Charles Duhigg uncovered major problems with the nation's Clean Water Act. He found that out of the many "chemical plants" and "large manufacturers" who broke water pollution laws over the past several years, few were punished or even fined. He also found that millions of U.S. residents "have been exposed" to water that could be damaging to their health.
Tags: Clean Water Act; Safe Drinking Water Act; E.P.A.; toxic waste; atrazine; pollution
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Chronic Polluters, Tainted Water
"Nearly half of the Connecticut companies that discharge chemical-laden wastewater directly into rivers are doing so with expired permits.In some cases, they lapsed 10 years ago.The companies can legally continue to dump while applying for new permits, but the backlog means they're discharging under old toxin limits with no adjustment for diminishing water quality."
Tags: toxic; water; pollution; rivers; wastewater; permits; renewal; EPA; Clean Water Act; chemical waste; Toxic Release Inventory
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Dirty Secret: Chesapeake Bay Pollution Investigation 2005
The authors investigated a private company called New Earth Services, one of the most dangerous polluters in Maryland. This company was poisoning the bay and nearby residents' drinking water while posing as the Bay's savior. The state of Maryland knew about the pollution and funded some of it. The authors also continued to follow an ongoing investigation in Centerville, where all of this started.
Tags: Chesapeake Bay; pollution; environment; New Earth Services; state funding; Centerville MD; drinking water; Clean Water Act; Drinking Water Act; Dorchester County; FOIA
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Protecting Wetlands but at a Price
This is a report about federal efforts to stop the destruction of wetlands in southeastern Virginia. The government policies, like the "no - net loss" policy, will affect developers, builders, farmers and, most importantly, taxpayers. One problem occurs when privately owned land is determined to be wetland, and developing the land is prohibited.
Tags: Army Corp of Engineers; Clean Water Act; EPA; pollution; real estate
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Very troubled waters
A U.S. News examination of EPA data and state reports on thousands of rivers from 1984 to 1998 finds that the percentage of rivers designated as "impaired" has grown from 26 percent in 1986 to 36 percent in the most recent reports. The article looks at several pollutants affecting the water quality of rivers including: farm runoff, city sewage system, industry, mining, construction and urban and suburban runoff.
Tags: Clean Water Act; rivers; pollution; water quality; algae; farm runoff; EPA; Fayetteville; Arkansas.
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Fish and Foul
Forty percent of the rivers and streams in the US are too polluted to use for swimming or fishing. The Clean Water Act of 1972 helped dramatically but runoff from mines, farms, and streets is still making water degradation a problem for the country. What's being done to stop it, or what can be done is discussed in this article.
Tags: pollution; water pollution; water; farm waste; mines; clean water act; EPA
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Courts expanding effort to battle water pollution. New enforcement tactic. Environmental groups Suing by employing little-used provision in 1972 law.
A wave of lawsuits brought by environmentalist compelled state and Federal authorities to enforce a long-dormant provision of the Clean Water Act, opening a new front in the struggle over pollution and requiring the Government to make new assessments of whether water standards are being met.
Tags: Clean Water Act; water pollution; environment; environmentalists
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Murky waters
A Star-Telegram two-part investigation sheds light on water pollution problems caused by the Dallas/Fort Worth airport. The story reveals that the airport "sits on underground lakes of jet fuel." It has hemorrhaged toxic waters into the nearby Trinity River tributaries and into Trigg Lake for at least a decade. The major findings are "that pollutants ... have flowed into waters where people fish, that the airport sometimes misrepresented waste problems to investigators and that antifreeze can still escape into creeks despite recent improvements."
Tags: chemicals; toxins; waste dumps; de-icing fluid; environment; government; Clean Water Act; Superfund; contamination; EPA; sewer system; fraud; wastewater; fish; drainage; storm-water; natural resources; conservation
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Can Polluters Police Themselves
Governing looks at controversies surrounding businesses' own environmental audits. While state legislators believe companies can and should run their own audits, the Environmental Protection Agency and many environmentalists disagree, the magazine reports. One of the findings is that so far relatively few businesses have take advantage of audit laws that waive to different degree state penalties for companies who have discovered their own violations. The story includes an exhaustive list of pros and cons regarding audit laws.
Tags: lobbyists; lawyers; Coors; Colorado; Michigan; Cincinnati; Ohio; pollution; Clean Water Act; right-to-know laws
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Clear Progress
Audubon looks at the positive results from the Clean Water Act passed in 1972. The report finds that the landmark law has "spurred an unprecedented cleanup of the nation's waters," and tells the success stories of several big rivers' cleanup. The article reveals also that much remains to be done and points to an Environmental Protection Agency report showing that "forty percent of the nation's surveyed rivers, lakes and estuaries are too polluted for basic uses."
Tags: environment; rivers; lakes; drinking-level quality; contamination; pollution; Potomac; French Broad River; the Great Lakes; the Connecticut River; the Boise River; the Mississippi River; Fish and Wildlife Service; wetlands