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, June 27: Judge Blocks Obama Administration Fracking Rule

June 27, 2016/in Federal Water Tap/by Brett Walton

The Rundown Congress has not given the executive branch authority to regulate fracking, a federal judge determines. Millions of trees died in the California drought. President Obama signs pipeline safety bill that has provisions directed at a Great Lakes oil pipeline. The president also threatens to veto a Zika bill because of clean water concerns. […]

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. Water Utilities Not Prepared for Catastrophe

June 23, 2016/in Infrastructure, United States, Water News/by Brett Walton

Federal government should have more active role in preparing for natural disaster and cyberattack, report argues. By Brett Walton, Circle of Blue Cutting beneath the lower Mississippi River, the New Madrid fault is a T-shaped geological hazard that is primed for a fierce tremor. A magnitude 7.7 earthquake where the fault crosses the Missouri-Tennessee border […]

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

Congress Strengthens Great Lakes Oil Pipeline Oversight

June 22, 2016/in Great Lakes, Water & Energy, Water News/by Brett Walton

Pipeline safety bill includes three provisions directed at Line 5, an aging oil conduit across the Straits of Mackinac. By Brett Walton, Circle of Blue Out of sight and out of mind until recently, two aging oil pipelines beneath the Straits of Mackinac, in northern Michigan, have soared from a regional concern to an authentic […]

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

Drinking Water Warning Issued for Nonstick Chemical

June 20, 2016/in Groundwater, Pollution, United States, Water News, Water Quality/by Brett Walton

Flint lead scandal a factor in stirring action for other contaminants. By Brett Walton, Circle of Blue Teflon — “Nothing messes with it,” reads the tagline on the latest ad campaign for the famed nonstick cookware. A fried egg, sunny side up, vaults out of the pan, leaving no scraps behind. Teflon and related brands […]

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, June 20: House Spending Bill Boosts Drinking Water Funds, Handcuffs EPA

June 20, 2016/in Federal Water Tap/by Brett Walton

The Rundown More money for drinking water systems in House spending bill but a familiar whipping for the EPA. Congress approves an oil and gas pipeline safety bill. After an environmentalist was murdered, a Georgia representative wants an investigation in Honduras while a Michigan representative expresses concern about a nuclear waste facility proposed in Canada, […]

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

Groundwater Pumping Sinks Beijing Region at Increasing Rate

June 15, 2016/in China, Groundwater, Water News/by Brett Walton

Satellite data reveal the depths of the megacity’s thirst. By Brett Walton, Circle of Blue Beijing, one of the world’s most water-scarce large cities, has long drawn on groundwater reserves to supply more than 20 million people. The unrelenting pressure for water, though, is causing the land to shift and sink and buckle, which puts […]

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, June 13: Federal Agencies Release Algae Bloom and Dead Zone Forecasts

June 13, 2016/in Federal Water Tap/by Brett Walton

The Rundown Forecasts for Gulf of Mexico and Lake Erie are for normal dead zones and algae blooms, which is to say that the water pollution is still bad and not close to meeting targets. A Pennsylvania congressman calls for federal investigation of groundwater pollution while California representatives want answers about federal reservoir operations 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

EPA Review Finds Clean Water Fund Allocations Need Revision

June 10, 2016/in United States, Water News, Water Policy & Politics/by Brett Walton

Funds distributed to the states do not match current state infrastructure needs. By Brett Walton, Circle of Blue The distribution of federal funds to states for sewer, wastewater, and stormwater facilities reflects neither changes in state population over the last three decades nor the infrastructure needs for utilities to meet Clean Water Act goals, according […]

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, June 10: Monsoon Begins in Parched India

June 10, 2016/in The Stream/by Brett Walton

The Global Rundown Seasonal rains are advancing in India, beginning in the south. The annual summer dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico will be roughly the size of Connecticut. A geothermal plant in Iceland turned carbon dioxide into rock — but the process used a lot of water. Zambia is using solar-powered wells to […]

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 Sector Prepares For Cyberattacks

June 9, 2016/in Infrastructure, United States, Water Management, Water News/by Brett Walton

Security threats evolve as water systems connect to the internet. By Brett Walton, Circle of Blue Rye, New York, a wealthy commuter town a 50-minute train ride from central Manhattan, does not seem a typical target for a cyberattack. It is not a major retailer like Home Depot or Target, both of which had millions […]

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, June 9: Cases of Legionnaires’ Disease Quadruple in U.S. in 15 Years

June 9, 2016/in The Stream/by Brett Walton

The Global Rundown Pneumonia-like disease spread by airborne water droplets is rising in the United States. Bottled water will soon overtake soft drinks. California regulators drop a record fine against a water district for illegal diversion. A monkey takes out Kenya’s power grid. Drought followed by rain led to record nitrate levels in streams 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

The Stream, June 8: Chile Sues Bolivia in International Court Over River Dispute

June 8, 2016/in The Stream/by Brett Walton

The Global Rundown Chile and Bolivia face off in international court over water. Canada’s First Nations lack sufficient clean water protections, a human rights group finds. Namibia is considering a new desalination plant. The fish at the heart of California’s water battles might go extinct. Government contract data shows that U.S. water utilities are doing […]

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