The Environmental Protection Agency has asked the US Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit to delay compliance with zero-discharge wastewater standards for coal-fired power facilities to Dec. 31, 2029. The agency's updated effluent limitation guidelines, released in April 2024, impose stricter limits on wastewater discharges, targeting pollutants such as heavy metals and halogen compounds. However, the EPA has indicated it may revise the technology basis for certain discharge limits and could further adjust the standards for zero-discharge requirements in the future.

More than 40 lawsuits filed in Louisiana target major oil and gas companies, seeking billions to address damage from decades of drilling infrastructure left behind in coastal marshes. The suits, backed by state officials and coastal parishes, aim to hold oil majors like Chevron accountable for funding the restoration of land lost to erosion and environmental harm.

The New Mexico Environment Department and the Department of Health are offering free water testing for private well owners in Curry County during the Curry County Fair on Saturday. "Private well owners in Curry County can come to this water fair and find out more about the quality of their household drinking water," said Ground Water Quality Bureau Chief Justin Ball. "Free well water testing gives families the knowledge they need to make informed choices about their water and health."

New regulations in Colorado require oil and gas drillers to recycle more produced water, a byproduct of fracking, yet some critics are skeptical that it can be accomplished without increasing emissions. Expanding recycling statewide means more storage tanks, pits, pipelines and potentially increased truck traffic, each bringing its own set of environmental challenges. Regulators and industry representatives are grappling with how to boost recycling rates without raising emissions or placing greater burdens on local communities.

Western Midstream Partners has agreed to acquire Aris Water Solutions for about $1.5 billion in cash and equity, aiming to create a leading produced water infrastructure network in the Delaware Basin. The deal, expected to close in the fourth quarter, will add 790 miles of produced water pipeline and 1.8 million barrels per day of handling capacity to Western Midstream's operations.

Repair efforts on the broken water main in Paterson, N.J., have been hampered by the pipeline's age and its location as deep as 30 feet underground. Although the leak has been isolated and some water pressure restored, crews warn that full repairs may not be completed until the end of the week or later. Officials cite the complexity of working with such old infrastructure as a major challenge in restoring normal service.

The Environmental Protection Agency has granted nearly $410 million to the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality to enhance water infrastructure resilience in the state. The funding, part of a 2025 supplemental appropriation addressing hurricane and wildfire damage, will be managed through the state revolving fund to help ensure the resilience of drinking water systems in the face of future extreme weather events.

Flooding has caused at least $123.7 million of damage in Wisconsin since 1999, marking the state's second-most-frequent source of disaster declarations, according to a Wisconsin Policy Forum report. Insurers say they have received thousands of claims after flooding caused by historic rainfall last weekend, with parts of the Milwaukee area receiving over 10 inches of rain in less than 24 hours.

Climate change is impacting surface water quality in Georgia through extreme rainfall and drought, according to experts from the University of Georgia Extension and Georgia State University. Heavy rainfall contributes to runoff, which carries pollutants such as sediment, fertilizer and waste from urban areas into rivers and streams, while droughts concentrate pollutants by reducing water flow. Georgia has 70,000 miles of rivers, 425,000 acres of lakes and 4.5 million acres of freshwater wetlands.