A free virtual winter "Women in Science" speaker series will feature scientists, community leaders, and environmental educators who work at the intersection of research, education, and environmental and social justice. The series is hosted by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation's Hudson River Estuary Program.

We are saddened to share that former Rhode Island commissioner Russ Chateauneuf passed away on January 14. Russ served as the chief of groundwater and wetlands protection at the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, and more recently, as a senior project manager at the Horsley Witten Group. He served as a NEIWPCC commissioner for nine years, and we are grateful for his service.

Connecticut gains the country’s 30th National Estuarine Research Reserve, encompassing about 52,000 acres in the southeastern part of the state.

The call for abstracts reopened for the 2022 Lake Champlain Research Conference. The event will be held May 23-24, in downtown Burlington, Vermont.

EPA announced it will review cleanups at 14 New England Superfund sites this year. This work is part of the legally required five-year review to ensure that previous remediation efforts at the sites continue to protect public health and the environment.

EPA announced the addition of four per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) list. TRI data are reported to EPA annually by facilities in certain industry sectors, including federal facilities, that manufacture, process, or otherwise use TRI-listed chemicals above certain quantities. 

New York state enacts a new comprehensive PFAS testing and notification law.

The city of Lebanon, New Hampshire, meets EPA Consent Decree requirements by eliminating all CSO outfalls.

The Water Environment Federation, in collaboration with the EPA, has launched the NutrientSmart (NSmart) program to help reduce nutrient loadings in waterways and recognize the water utilities that are leaders and innovators.

U.S. senators propose authorizing $50M a year to protect and restore the New York-New Jersey Watershed. 

Massachusetts awarded more than $420K in grants to help 13 communities with water system interconnection and water mitigation projects.