Challenging pharmaceutical pollution
Cottonwood is working to get pharmecutical pollution out of waters across the United States. Federal and state agencies have issued notices, reports, and findings that indicate pharmaceuticals are not being removed at wastewater treatment plants, are causing fish and amphibians to change sexes, and are having human impacts.
Ski resorts in Big Sky Montana have begun applying for permits to make snow using treated sewage. Cottonwood is commenting and challenging the permits. The Montana Supreme Court has determined the DEQ cannot rubber stamp permits even though there are currently no standards in place for pharmaceutical pollutants. The issue is further complicated by conservation groups that refuse to acknowledge pharmaceutical pollution poses a threat to the environment, ostensibly because they are being directed by developers.