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

Federal Water Tap, January 9: The EPA and Natural Gas

January 9, 2012/in Federal Water Tap/by Brett Walton

EPA in Court Landowner rights and government power are in the docket Monday. The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency, a case that stems from an EPA determination that an Idaho couple was building their home in a wetland. The agency ordered the Sacketts to stop building and take […]

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

Water News: What’s Ahead in 2012

January 5, 2012/in Africa, Asia, Australia, Drought, North America, Pacific, Sanitation/Health, South Asia, Water & Energy, Water News, Water Policy & Politics/by Brett Walton

News headlines are often dominated by the big, unexpected events — BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010, for example, or Japan’s earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear catastrophes in 2011 — but some events come with advance warning. Here is a preview of the water news to look for in 2012. Photo © Aubrey Ann Parker/Circle […]

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, January 2: A New Day for Old Works

January 2, 2012/in Federal Water Tap/by Brett Walton

Chicago’s Sewers The sewer district for metropolitan Chicago has set a timetable for a completing a four-decade-old tunnel and reservoir project that will reduce sewer overflows into Lake Michigan, according to an agreement signed in December with the U.S. Justice Department. By 2029 the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District must complete the remaining two reservoirs in […]

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, December 26: Keystone Deadline

December 26, 2011/in Federal Water Tap/by Brett Walton

Pipeline Expedition The U.S. House of Representatives passed a two-month extension of the payroll tax cut. Included in the deal was a provision requiring President Barack Obama to make a decision on the Keystone XL pipeline within 60 days. Earlier this year, the president said he would delay any action on the proposed 1,700-mile oil […]

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

The Stream, December 20: Water Rights Lawsuits

December 20, 2011/in Hydropower, The Stream/by Brett Walton

New Mexico is suing the federal government over water allocations from a Bureau of Reclamation water project. The state, according to KRQE in Albuquerque, claims that the project is supplying irrigation districts in Texas with more water than is legally permitted. Oklahoma’s water resources agency has authorized its legal representatives to sue to adjudicate water […]

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

The Stream, December 19: The Price of Reliable Water in Texas

December 19, 2011/in The Stream/by Brett Walton

The Texas state water plan, released every five years, recommends spending $53 billion on hundreds of water infrastructure projects to ensure an adequate supply through 2060. The state, the Associated Press reports, is relying on municipal governments to carry out much of the plan. But with local budgets pinched and costs rising (the 2007 plan […]

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, December 19: Less Money, More Problems

December 19, 2011/in Federal Water Tap/by Brett Walton

Budget and Taxes On Sunday the House Republican leadership backed away from a tax deal that passed the Senate a day earlier, according to the New York Times. The Senate bill to extend the payroll tax cut included a provision, requested by Republicans, that would force President Barack Obama to issue a permit within 60 […]

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

Plumbing WikiLeaks: Water’s Role in U.S. Foreign Aid

December 15, 2011/in North America, Water News, Water Policy & Politics/by Brett Walton

Diplomatic cables show that the U.S. State Department aims to strike a balance between the need for diplomatic dances and the desire to produce tangible results from on-the-ground projects. Photo credit USAID Children in Nawa, Afghanistan, fill their containers with fresh running water. USAID and U.S. Forces are working together to ensure that Afghan citizens […]

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

The Stream, December 13: Climate Quandary

December 13, 2011/in The Stream/by Brett Walton

Delegates to the climate negotiations in Durban, South Africa, kicked the can down the road, agreeing to extend the Kyoto Protocol by five years and eventually to draw up a new agreement that would take effect by 2020. The day after the conference, Canada announced that it will withdraw from the Kyoto Protocol, becoming 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

The Stream, December 12: Energy Projects Search for Water

December 12, 2011/in Mining, The Stream/by Brett Walton

An Australian company found a water supply for one of the largest unmined coal deposits in South Africa. Resource Generation will build and operate a wastewater treatment plant in a nearby community, Mining Weekly reports. In return, the company will receive rights to the treated effluent, which will be sent through a pipeline to 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, December 12: A Gnarly Year

December 12, 2011/in Federal Water Tap/by Brett Walton

2011 ‘Tis the season for reflection. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration looks back at a year of extreme weather and finds a record number of events that caused more than $1 billion in damage. Starting with a January blizzard in the Midwest and continuing through floods and fires, drought and heat, a spate 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, December 5: Pakistan and the Arctic

December 5, 2011/in Federal Water Tap/by Brett Walton

Pakistan A high-level official from the U.S. State Department met with counterparts from Pakistan last month during the fourth water “dialogue” between the two countries. The U.S. government has given Pakistan money for irrigation, hydroelectric, and water supply projects under the Kerry-Berman-Lugar bill—legislation signed in 2009 that authorizes $7.5 billion in aid to Pakistan. Pakistan […]

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

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About Brett Walton

Entries by Brett Walton