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

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

Federal Water Tap, February 27: New EPA Administrator Sworn In

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

The Rundown Scott Pruitt, new EPA administrator, gives a welcome address to agency employees. President Trump could issue an executive order this week targeting Clean Water Act interpretation. California governor requests federal aid for dam repairs. The U.S. Geological Survey assesses an aquifer storage project in New Mexico. The EPA selects a new water utility […]

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

Utilities Move to Break Arizona’s Coal-Water Link

February 23, 2017/in Water & Energy, Water News/by Brett Walton

The proposed halt to operations in 2019 at the West’s largest coal-fired power plant could attract White House attention. By Brett Walton, Circle of Blue Since 1976 the 2,250-megawatt coal-fired Navajo Generating Station, with its three towering stacks belching thick plumes of steam, has commanded the summit of a high bluff close to the Colorado […]

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, February 20: Oroville Dam Emergency Refocuses Attention on U.S. Water Infrastructure

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

The Rundown Regulators order an independent board to review Oroville Dam engineering while the White House offers emergency aid. The Senate confirms Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt as EPA administrator. Despite continuing to assert that clean water is important, President Trump signs a bill repealing an Obama administration rule protecting streams from coal mining waste. […]

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

Oroville Emergency a Warning for U.S. Dam Safety

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

California prepares for long battle with Oroville’s damaged spillway.

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

Wisconsin Towns Face Groundwater Crisis Alone

February 14, 2017/in Groundwater, Water Management/by Brett Walton

High-capacity irrigation wells are drying out lakes but state officials have little authority to act. By Brett Walton, Circle of Blue Water pollution and availability have emerged in recent years as urgent matters of public policy in Midwest farm states. The governors of Iowa and Minnesota, for instance, used their recent State of the State […]

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, February 13: Senate Democrats Reveal Trillion-Dollar Infrastructure Outline

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

The Rundown Democrats’ proposal includes at least $US 110 billion for water and sewer systems. Dakota Access pipeline receives final Army Corps approval. TransCanada resubmits its application to build the Keystone XL pipeline. Congress passes a resolution to invalidate an Obama administration rule to protect streams from coal mining waste. USGS researchers publish five regional […]

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 Causes California Water Chokepoint

February 10, 2017/in Infrastructure, Water Management, Water News/by Brett Walton

Buckled canals, damaged because of groundwater pumping, impair state’s ability to deliver water and control floods.

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