Enforcing water quality standards across New England.

• Position: CLEAN WATER & HEALTHY FORESTS

Building on CLFs prior precedent-setting clean water advocacy in Boston Harbor, CLF filed a citizen suit in February 2010 against the Boston Water and Sewer Commission (BWSC) for violations of the Clean Water Act. Nearly thirty years since that first Boston Harbor case, and on the 40th anniversary of the Clean Water Act, CLF, together with the Environmental Protection Agency, came to a landmark settlement with BWSC. The Commission pledged to overhaul its runoff pollution controls, to remove all illegal sewage connections to the system, and to implement adequate monitoring to detect sewage teaks quickly before they threaten public health.

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Though Boston has now begun to take substantial steps toward cleaner water, the fight is far from over. Ensuring the treasured waterways of New England are healthy enough to support diverse life, unique ecosystems, and human recreation requires cooperation among organizations and holding government accountable for both action and inaction.

Throughout the region, CLF has made certain suffocating nitrogen and phosphorus pollution and polluting stormwater runoff are addressed properly under the law. Environmental enforcement litigator Zak Griefen has worked tirelessly to ensure polluters are aware of their Clean Water Act permitting requirements and bringing federal litigation when necessary.

From Narragansett Bay and Cape Cod to New Hampshire's Great Bay, CLF has been crucial in securing victories for our waterways that have been the victims of nitrogen pollution. In New Hampshire, towns are working to upgrade their sewage treatment facilities in order to reduce the likelihood of nitrogen inputs finding their way into the rich habitat of the Bay. CLF continues to encourage local leadership to follow the lead of towns like Exeter and Newmarket who have made a significant commitment to preserving clean water.

There have been many clean water success stories over the past year although there is still much work to be done. There are significant challenges, particularly with stormwater runoff in urban settings, but through enforcement of water quality standards CLF will continue to protect New England's waterways so you can enjoy them--for generations to come.

HIGHLIGHTS

* Building on a thirty year legacy of advocacy leading to the cleanup of Boston Harbor, CLF reached an agreement with the Boston Water and Sewer Commission (BWSC) to significantly enhance control of polluted runoff from...