Brett Walton

About Brett Walton

Brett writes about agriculture, energy, infrastructure, and the politics and economics of water in the United States. He also writes the Federal Water Tap, Circle of Blue’s weekly digest of U.S. government water news. He is the winner of two Society of Environmental Journalists reporting awards, one of the top honors in American environmental journalism: first place for explanatory reporting for a series on septic system pollution in the United States(2016) and third place for beat reporting in a small market (2014). He received the Sierra Club's Distinguished Service Award in 2018. Brett lives in Seattle, where he hikes the mountains and bakes pies. Contact Brett Walton

Entries by Brett Walton

Water Utility Cyberattack Rings Up Hefty Data Charges

April 6, 2017/in Infrastructure, Water Management, Water News/by Brett Walton

Money is often the root of cyberattacks on water utilities, experts say. By Brett Walton, Circle of Blue Hackers that stormed the digital defenses of an American water authority and took control of its cellular routers late last year were not interested in disrupting water supply and wastewater treatment. Instead they were intent on stealing […]

Brett Walton

Brett writes about agriculture, energy, infrastructure, and the politics and economics of water in the United States. He also writes the Federal Water Tap, Circle of Blue’s weekly digest of U.S. government water news. He is the winner of two Society of Environmental Journalists reporting awards, one of the top honors in American environmental journalism: first place for explanatory reporting for a series on septic system pollution in the United States(2016) and third place for beat reporting in a small market (2014). He received the Sierra Club’s Distinguished Service Award in 2018. Brett lives in Seattle, where he hikes the mountains and bakes pies. Contact Brett Walton

circleofblue.org/author/brett

Federal Water Tap, April 3: Congress Begins Pushback Against Trump Rural Water Cuts

April 3, 2017/in Federal Water Tap/by Brett Walton

The Rundown House members will send a letter this week to colleagues asking not to eliminate rural water funding. Trump signs executive order to undo federal climate change action. Representatives introduce bills in Congress on water affordability, infrastructure investment, and Indian water rights. Membership in the bipartisan House climate caucus grows to nearly three dozen. […]

Brett Walton

Brett writes about agriculture, energy, infrastructure, and the politics and economics of water in the United States. He also writes the Federal Water Tap, Circle of Blue’s weekly digest of U.S. government water news. He is the winner of two Society of Environmental Journalists reporting awards, one of the top honors in American environmental journalism: first place for explanatory reporting for a series on septic system pollution in the United States(2016) and third place for beat reporting in a small market (2014). He received the Sierra Club’s Distinguished Service Award in 2018. Brett lives in Seattle, where he hikes the mountains and bakes pies. Contact Brett Walton

circleofblue.org/author/brett

Federal Water Tap, March 27: Two Wins for the Pipeline Industry

March 27, 2017/in Federal Water Tap/by Brett Walton

The Rundown The Trump administration issues a permit for the Keystone XL pipeline. A U.S. district court rejects lawsuit that claimed that a federal energy regulator is biased toward pipeline industry. An Oroville Dam review board says spillway repairs may not be completed by the next rainy season. A Senate committee holds a hearing on […]

Brett Walton

Brett writes about agriculture, energy, infrastructure, and the politics and economics of water in the United States. He also writes the Federal Water Tap, Circle of Blue’s weekly digest of U.S. government water news. He is the winner of two Society of Environmental Journalists reporting awards, one of the top honors in American environmental journalism: first place for explanatory reporting for a series on septic system pollution in the United States(2016) and third place for beat reporting in a small market (2014). He received the Sierra Club’s Distinguished Service Award in 2018. Brett lives in Seattle, where he hikes the mountains and bakes pies. Contact Brett Walton

circleofblue.org/author/brett

Historical Perspective on Water Management Values | PODCAST |

March 21, 2017/in Water Management/by Brett Walton

Global water narrative has American roots How did water become considered a resource? What values guide its management? Circle of Blue reporter Brett Walton spoke with Dr. Jeremy Schmidt, lecturer in geography at the University of Durham, about his new book, Water: Abundance, Scarcity, and Security in the Age of Humanity. Schmidt argues that the […]

Brett Walton

Brett writes about agriculture, energy, infrastructure, and the politics and economics of water in the United States. He also writes the Federal Water Tap, Circle of Blue’s weekly digest of U.S. government water news. He is the winner of two Society of Environmental Journalists reporting awards, one of the top honors in American environmental journalism: first place for explanatory reporting for a series on septic system pollution in the United States(2016) and third place for beat reporting in a small market (2014). He received the Sierra Club’s Distinguished Service Award in 2018. Brett lives in Seattle, where he hikes the mountains and bakes pies. Contact Brett Walton

circleofblue.org/author/brett

Federal Water Tap, March 20: Trump Budget Eliminates Rural Water Infrastructure Program

March 20, 2017/in Federal Water Tap/by Brett Walton

The Rundown Water and climate programs are among many targets for cuts or elimination. Flint gets a portion of the $US 100 million in federal grants that Congress approved for replacing lead pipes. Louisiana representative questions federal infrastructure spending priorities. New York senators submit legislation to require the EPA to regulate four chemicals in drinking […]

Brett Walton

Brett writes about agriculture, energy, infrastructure, and the politics and economics of water in the United States. He also writes the Federal Water Tap, Circle of Blue’s weekly digest of U.S. government water news. He is the winner of two Society of Environmental Journalists reporting awards, one of the top honors in American environmental journalism: first place for explanatory reporting for a series on septic system pollution in the United States(2016) and third place for beat reporting in a small market (2014). He received the Sierra Club’s Distinguished Service Award in 2018. Brett lives in Seattle, where he hikes the mountains and bakes pies. Contact Brett Walton

circleofblue.org/author/brett

Trump Proposal to Fix U.S. Water Infrastructure Invites Large Role for Private Investors

March 15, 2017/in Infrastructure, Water Management, Water News/by Brett Walton

Private-public partnerships, a potential funding source, are complicated and controversial. By Brett Walton, Circle of Blue President Donald Trump, fashioning himself the builder-in-chief, promised to invest $US 1 trillion to make America’s potholed highways, unstable bridges, leaky water systems, strained ports, and brittle levees whole again. The pledge is more a slogan at this point. […]

Brett Walton

Brett writes about agriculture, energy, infrastructure, and the politics and economics of water in the United States. He also writes the Federal Water Tap, Circle of Blue’s weekly digest of U.S. government water news. He is the winner of two Society of Environmental Journalists reporting awards, one of the top honors in American environmental journalism: first place for explanatory reporting for a series on septic system pollution in the United States(2016) and third place for beat reporting in a small market (2014). He received the Sierra Club’s Distinguished Service Award in 2018. Brett lives in Seattle, where he hikes the mountains and bakes pies. Contact Brett Walton

circleofblue.org/author/brett

Federal Water Tap, March 13: EPA Environmental Justice Office Director Resigns

March 13, 2017/in Federal Water Tap/by Brett Walton

The Rundown A 24-year veteran of the EPA environmental justice office steps down. The Bureau of Reclamation debates the use of treated wastewater in southern Arizona. A Pennsylvania representative asks Congress to fund a health study on chemical contamination from military installations in his district. The EPA needs to better prioritize the cleanup of leaking […]

Brett Walton

Brett writes about agriculture, energy, infrastructure, and the politics and economics of water in the United States. He also writes the Federal Water Tap, Circle of Blue’s weekly digest of U.S. government water news. He is the winner of two Society of Environmental Journalists reporting awards, one of the top honors in American environmental journalism: first place for explanatory reporting for a series on septic system pollution in the United States(2016) and third place for beat reporting in a small market (2014). He received the Sierra Club’s Distinguished Service Award in 2018. Brett lives in Seattle, where he hikes the mountains and bakes pies. Contact Brett Walton

circleofblue.org/author/brett

Alaska Seeks River Protections Against British Columbia Mines | PODCAST |

March 10, 2017/in Water News, Water Policy & Politics/by Brett Walton

State and provincial leaders cooperate on threat to transboundary rivers. More than a half dozen proposals to develop hardrock mines in northwestern British Columbia are producing worry downstream in Alaska. The mines would be located on some of the state’s most productive and scenic salmon rivers, and the economic and environmental costs of a large […]

Brett Walton

Brett writes about agriculture, energy, infrastructure, and the politics and economics of water in the United States. He also writes the Federal Water Tap, Circle of Blue’s weekly digest of U.S. government water news. He is the winner of two Society of Environmental Journalists reporting awards, one of the top honors in American environmental journalism: first place for explanatory reporting for a series on septic system pollution in the United States(2016) and third place for beat reporting in a small market (2014). He received the Sierra Club’s Distinguished Service Award in 2018. Brett lives in Seattle, where he hikes the mountains and bakes pies. Contact Brett Walton

circleofblue.org/author/brett

U.S. Appeals Court Affirms Tribal Groundwater Rights

March 7, 2017/in Water Law, Water News, Water Policy & Politics/by Brett Walton

Lawsuit could reach the U.S. Supreme Court. By Brett Walton, Circle of Blue In a ruling with substantial importance for water management in the American West, a U.S. appeals court upheld a lower court’s decision that an Indian tribe in California’s Coachella Valley has a right to groundwater beneath its reservation. A three-judge panel of […]

Brett Walton

Brett writes about agriculture, energy, infrastructure, and the politics and economics of water in the United States. He also writes the Federal Water Tap, Circle of Blue’s weekly digest of U.S. government water news. He is the winner of two Society of Environmental Journalists reporting awards, one of the top honors in American environmental journalism: first place for explanatory reporting for a series on septic system pollution in the United States(2016) and third place for beat reporting in a small market (2014). He received the Sierra Club’s Distinguished Service Award in 2018. Brett lives in Seattle, where he hikes the mountains and bakes pies. Contact Brett Walton

circleofblue.org/author/brett

Federal Water Tap, March 6: Trump Executive Order Muddles Clean Water Act

March 6, 2017/in Federal Water Tap/by Brett Walton

Rundown On President Trump’s orders, two federal agencies begin reviewing the Clean Water Rule. Trump also considers big budget cuts to agencies not named the Department of Defense. Ryan Zinke, a Montana congressman, is confirmed as Interior Department secretary and reauthorizes use of lead bullets and fishing tackle in national wildlife refuges. The Bureau of […]

Brett Walton

Brett writes about agriculture, energy, infrastructure, and the politics and economics of water in the United States. He also writes the Federal Water Tap, Circle of Blue’s weekly digest of U.S. government water news. He is the winner of two Society of Environmental Journalists reporting awards, one of the top honors in American environmental journalism: first place for explanatory reporting for a series on septic system pollution in the United States(2016) and third place for beat reporting in a small market (2014). He received the Sierra Club’s Distinguished Service Award in 2018. Brett lives in Seattle, where he hikes the mountains and bakes pies. Contact Brett Walton

circleofblue.org/author/brett

Clean Water Rule Repeal Cannot Come at a Pen Stroke

March 3, 2017/in Water News, Water Policy & Politics/by Brett Walton

Trump executive order seeks to remove federal protections for many streams and wetlands. By Brett Walton, Circle of Blue When he ordered two federal agencies to review an Obama administration rule that defined which water bodies are regulated by the Clean Water Act, President Trump inserted himself into a debate that has churned for more […]

Brett Walton

Brett writes about agriculture, energy, infrastructure, and the politics and economics of water in the United States. He also writes the Federal Water Tap, Circle of Blue’s weekly digest of U.S. government water news. He is the winner of two Society of Environmental Journalists reporting awards, one of the top honors in American environmental journalism: first place for explanatory reporting for a series on septic system pollution in the United States(2016) and third place for beat reporting in a small market (2014). He received the Sierra Club’s Distinguished Service Award in 2018. Brett lives in Seattle, where he hikes the mountains and bakes pies. Contact Brett Walton

circleofblue.org/author/brett

Sinking Land Crushes California Groundwater Storage Capacity

February 27, 2017/in California Drought, Water Management, Water News/by Brett Walton

Overpumping diminishes ability to store water underground.

Brett Walton

Brett writes about agriculture, energy, infrastructure, and the politics and economics of water in the United States. He also writes the Federal Water Tap, Circle of Blue’s weekly digest of U.S. government water news. He is the winner of two Society of Environmental Journalists reporting awards, one of the top honors in American environmental journalism: first place for explanatory reporting for a series on septic system pollution in the United States(2016) and third place for beat reporting in a small market (2014). He received the Sierra Club’s Distinguished Service Award in 2018. Brett lives in Seattle, where he hikes the mountains and bakes pies. Contact Brett Walton

circleofblue.org/author/brett

Author Archive for: Brett

About Brett Walton

Entries by Brett Walton