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, October 2: U.S., Mexico Sign Colorado River Agreement

October 2, 2017/in Federal Water Tap/by Brett Walton

The Rundown Neighbors once again unite over the Colorado River. Millions in Puerto Rico are still without drinking water or wastewater service. The EPA finds cancer chemical in water near Superfund site flooded by Hurricane Harvey. A House hearing reveals political divisions in water infrastructure funding debate. In moving the Office of Environmental Justice, 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

When the Sewer Pipe Breaks, Watch Out For What Comes Next

September 28, 2017/in Infrastructure, Water Management, Water News/by Brett Walton

Toxic emissions from common pipe repair are a health risk, researchers say. By Brett Walton, Circle of Blue Just before lunch on September 21, the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department responded to a report of three dozen ill students at Zamorano Fine Arts Academy, an elementary school in the Bay Terraces neighborhood. The students were 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, September 25: Hurricanes Knock Out Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico Water Systems

September 25, 2017/in Federal Water Tap/by Brett Walton

The Rundown Hurricanes Irma and Maria smack the U.S. Virgin Islands while Maria inundates Puerto Rico. A Defense Department spending bill includes a health study for those exposed to firefighting chemicals in drinking water. The EPA schedules two hearings in Alaska on reopening the coveted Pebble copper deposit for mining. An inspector general report calls […]

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

Diseases of Poverty Identified in Alabama County Burdened by Poor Sanitation

September 19, 2017/in Water News, Water Quality/by Brett Walton

Study finds “shocking” incidence of parasite infections in Lowndes County.

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, September 18: EPA Reviews Water Pollution Rules for Fossil Fuel Power Plants

September 18, 2017/in Federal Water Tap/by Brett Walton

The Rundown The EPA postpones two power plant water pollution rules and suspends enforcement of water pollution rules for power plants in Florida while they restore electricity after Hurricane Irma. The EPA also reconsiders Obama-era rules on coal waste disposal. The House passes a budget package that includes a six percent cut to the EPA. […]

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

Michigan Lawmakers Regroup in Human Right to Water Effort

September 14, 2017/in Water News, Water Policy & Politics/by Brett Walton

Republican support will be needed for the Democratic proposal. By Brett Walton, Circle of Blue Motivated by the Flint lead scandal and Detroit water shutoffs — events that heightened public and political attention to water policy — lawmakers who represent those cities in the Michigan Legislature have revived their effort to pass a law recognizing […]

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

Timeline: California Human Right to Water

September 13, 2017/in Water News/by Brett Walton

Five years ago, on September 25, 2012, Gov. Jerry Brown signed a law declaring a right “to safe, clean, affordable, and accessible water adequate for human consumption, cooking, and sanitary purposes.” The law resulted in substantial changes in policy and practice. Click the arrows on the interactive timeline to explore legal and political milestones as […]

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

Deep Drought Stirred Action on California’s Right To Water

September 12, 2017/in Water Law, Water News, Water Policy & Politics/by Brett Walton

Pioneering water law gained relevance in dry weather for solving hazards of water inequality. By Brett Walton, Circle of Blue Though the nation’s first state law to assure the human right to safe water and sanitation was enacted in California in 2012, not much happened immediately afterward. The law existed in a dormant state, like […]

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

California’s Clean-Water-for-All Experiment Begins to Deliver

September 11, 2017/in Water Law, Water News, Water Policy & Politics/by Brett Walton

The state was the first in the U.S. to declare a human right to water. By Brett Walton, Circle of Blue Hundreds of thousands of California residents, perhaps as many as one million of the 39 million people in the state, do not have safe drinking water or toilet facilities. The wide gap in access […]

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, September 11: Reclamation Misspent Funds on California’s Delta Tunnels Planning, Investigators Say

September 11, 2017/in Federal Water Tap/by Brett Walton

The Rundown Reclamation subsidized planning costs for farmers and cities that get water from the Central Valley Project. A senator questions the economic analysis the EPA used in revising a contentious water rule. The House approves a budget amendment that would neuter the EPA’s ability to enforce Chesapeake Bay water pollution targets. Baltimore submits a […]

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, September 5: Hurricane Harvey Cleanup Begins But Rivers Still Flooding

September 5, 2017/in Federal Water Tap/by Brett Walton

The Rundown Dozens of drinking water and wastewater facilities in Texas are not operating or are destroyed because of Hurricane Harvey. President Trump nominates top EPA water official and appoints a regional EPA administrator. Mining company proposes expanding Nevada gold mine then treating the wastewater to grow alfalfa. Interior Department investigators can neither confirm nor […]

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, August 28: Advisory Council Warns of Cyber Threat to Critical Infrastructure

August 28, 2017/in Federal Water Tap/by Brett Walton

The Rundown Advisory council again warns that the federal government is not doing enough to prepare for cyberattacks on water and energy systems. The Interior Department receives millions of comments, primarily in support, for its review of national monuments. Energy regulators want more financial data for a proposed Lake Powell water pipeline. The EPA inspector […]

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