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Are Fluorinated Chemicals Contaminating Your Local Drinking Water? [1]

A family of widely used fluorinated chemicals may be contaminating local drinking water supplies, causing uncertain health effects and with little clarity over federal regulations. But some states are starting to step in. This week’s TipSheet unwinds the confusion over PFAS, with some backstory and plenty of resources for your local coverage.

SEJ Publication Types: 
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat: 
Activism [3]
Chemicals [4]
Consumer [5]
Environmental Health [6]
Health [7]
Journalism & Media [8]
Laws & Regulations [9]
Pollution [10]
Science [11]
Water & Oceans [12]
Region: 
National (U.S.) [13]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [14]
Northwest (OR WA) [15]
Visibility: 
Public [16]

Often Misunderstood Estuaries Underpin Environment’s Health [17]

The estuaries that proliferate across the United States can be hard to define — and protect. But their role in a healthy environment makes them a crucial focus of good reporting. The latest Issue Backgrounder explores their importance, the many challenges they face, and how to track the agencies and programs meant to protect them.

SEJ Publication Types: 
Backgrounders [18]
Topics on the Beat: 
Agriculture [19]
Biodiversity [20]
Economy & Business [21]
Environmental Health [6]
Environmental Politics [22]
Fish & Fisheries [23]
Government [24]
Laws & Regulations [9]
Natural Resources [25]
People & Population [26]
Planning & Growth [27]
Policy [28]
Pollution [10]
Water & Oceans [12]
Wildlife [29]
Region: 
National (U.S.) [13]
Alaska and Hawaii [30]
California [31]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [32]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [33]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [14]
Northwest (OR WA) [15]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [34]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [35]
International [36]
Mexico [37]
Visibility: 
Public [16]

When Disaster Strikes, Building Codes May Make Things Worse [38]

They may not be the sexiest topics on the environmental agenda. But building codes and zoning can become a matter of life and death when natural disasters strike. This week’s TipSheet runs down the reporting challenge when floods, earthquakes and wildfires threaten your coverage area.

SEJ Publication Types: 
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat: 
Climate Change [39]
Disasters [40]
Government [24]
Journalism & Media [8]
Laws & Regulations [9]
People & Population [26]
Planning & Growth [27]
Region: 
National (U.S.) [13]
Alaska and Hawaii [30]
California [31]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [33]
Northwest (OR WA) [15]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [34]
Visibility: 
Public [16]

Washington State Bans Firefighting Chemicals That May Cause Cancer [41]

"Firefighting foam with a chemical thought to cause cancer and other health problems will be banned in two years for local fire departments and districts in Washington."

Chemicals [4]
Environmental Health [6]
Laws & Regulations [9]
Public [16]
Northwest (OR WA) [15]
Source: Spokane Spokesman-Review [42], 03/28/2018

Enviros Sue Feds Over Decline Of Willamette River Salmon And Steelhead [43]

"A pair of dams in Lane County are at the heart of a lawsuit focused on declines of salmon and steelhead in the Willamette River and its tributaries."

Fish & Fisheries [23]
Laws & Regulations [9]
Public [16]
Northwest (OR WA) [15]
Source: Eugene Register-Guard [44], 03/14/2018

"This Is Why You Don't See People-Size Salmon Anymore" [45]

"While the orcas of Puget Sound are sliding toward extinction, orcas farther north have been expanding their numbers. Their burgeoning hunger for big fish may be causing the killer whales' main prey, chinook salmon, to shrink up and down the West Coast."

Fish & Fisheries [23]
Public [16]
Northwest (OR WA) [15]
Source: KUOW [46], 03/13/2018

"Washington Carbon Tax Bill Clears Key Fiscal Committee" [47]

"A measure to tax carbon emissions from fossil fuels to fight climate change has cleared a key fiscal committee in Washington state."

Climate Change [39]
Laws & Regulations [9]
Public [16]
Northwest (OR WA) [15]
Source: AP [48], 02/26/2018

"Sea Level Rise Threatens to Wipe Out West Coast Wetlands" [49]

"Unless people intervene, U.S. Pacific Coast marshes could vanish as the ocean rises, eliminating wildlife habitat, storm surge protection and carbon storage."

Climate Change [39]
Natural Resources [25]
Water & Oceans [12]
Public [16]
California [31]
Northwest (OR WA) [15]
Source: InsideClimate News [50], 02/23/2018

"Oregon Elevates Threatened Marbled Murrelet To Endangered Status" [51]

"After a deadlocked 3-3 vote, Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission voted 4-2 Friday to elevate the marbled murrelet from a “threatened” species to “endangered.”"

Forests [52]
Laws & Regulations [9]
Water & Oceans [12]
Wildlife [29]
Public [16]
Northwest (OR WA) [15]
Source: OPB/EarthFix [53], 02/13/2018

Critics Call Trump Cuts To Hanford Cleanup Budget 'Downright Dangerous' [54]

"Reaction in the Pacific Northwest was swift to President Trump’s proposed cuts to the cleanup budget at the Hanford Site. Sen. Ron Wyden, a Democrat from Oregon, called the proposed $230 million cut “downright dangerous for everyone who lives near the Columbia River.”"

Environmental Health [6]
Environmental Politics [22]
Nuclear Power & Radiation [55]
Pollution [10]
Public [16]
Northwest (OR WA) [15]
Source: OPB [56], 02/13/2018

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Links
[1] https://www.sej.org/publications/tipsheet/are-fluorinated-chemicals-contaminating-your-local-drinking-water [2] https://www.sej.org/category/sej-publication/tipsheet [3] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/activism [4] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/chemicals/toxics [5] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/consumer [6] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/environmental-health [7] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/health [8] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/journalism/media [9] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/laws [10] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/pollution [11] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/science [12] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/water [13] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national [14] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/northeast [15] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/northwest [16] https://www.sej.org/taxonomy/term/81 [17] https://www.sej.org/publications/backgrounders/often-misunderstood-estuaries-underpin-environments-health [18] https://www.sej.org/category/sej-publication-types/backgrounders [19] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/agriculture [20] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/biodiversity-1 [21] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/business [22] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/environmental-politics [23] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/fisheries [24] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/government [25] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/land [26] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/people-population [27] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/cities-towns [28] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/policy [29] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/wildlife [30] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/alaska-and-hawaii [31] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/california [32] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/great-lakes [33] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/mid-atlantic [34] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/southeast [35] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/southwest [36] https://www.sej.org/category/region/international [37] https://www.sej.org/category/region/international/mexico [38] https://www.sej.org/publications/tipsheet/when-disaster-strikes-building-codes-may-make-things-worse [39] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/climate-change [40] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/disaster [41] https://www.sej.org/headlines/washington-state-bans-firefighting-chemicals-may-cause-cancer [42] http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2018/mar/27/washington-bans-fire-fighting-chemicals-that-may-c/ [43] https://www.sej.org/headlines/enviros-sue-feds-over-decline-willamette-river-salmon-and-steelhead [44] http://registerguard.com/rg/news/local/36546554-75/environmental-groups-sue-feds-over-decline-of-willamette-river-salmon-and-steelhead.html.csp [45] https://www.sej.org/headlines/why-you-dont-see-people-size-salmon-anymore [46] https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2018/03/12/591222003/this-is-why-you-dont-see-people-sized-salmon-anymore [47] https://www.sej.org/headlines/washington-carbon-tax-bill-clears-key-fiscal-committee [48] https://www.apnews.com/97d733a9d0bf45dbb8c9fb9f398035c7/Washington-carbon-tax-bill-clears-key-fiscal-committee [49] https://www.sej.org/headlines/sea-level-rise-threatens-wipe-out-west-coast-wetlands [50] https://insideclimatenews.org/news/21022018/sea-level-rise-coastal-wetlands-global-warming-mitigation-wildlife-habitat-storm-surge-usgs [51] https://www.sej.org/headlines/oregon-elevates-threatened-marbled-murrelet-endangered-status [52] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/forests [53] https://www.opb.org/news/article/endangered-species-oregon-marbled-murrelet/ [54] https://www.sej.org/headlines/critics-call-trump-cuts-hanford-cleanup-budget-downright-dangerous [55] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/nuclear-power/radiation [56] https://www.opb.org/news/article/hanford-nuclear-reservation-trump-administration-budget-2018/ [57] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/northwest?page=30 [58] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/northwest?page=27 [59] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/northwest?page=28 [60] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/northwest?page=29 [61] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/northwest?page=32 [62] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/northwest?page=33 [63] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/northwest?page=34 [64] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/northwest?page=35 [65] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/northwest?page=71