Thousands of the nation’s largest water polluters are outside the Clean Water Act’s reach because the Supreme Court has left uncertain which waterways are protected by that law, according to interviews with regulators. As a result, some businesses are declaring that the law no longer applies to them. And pollution rates are rising. Companies that have spilled oil, carcinogens and dangerous bacteria into lakes, rivers and other waters are not being prosecuted, according to Environmental Protection Agency regulators working on those cases, who estimate that more than 1,500 major pollution investigations have been discontinued or shelved in the last four years. Story continues below ↓advertisement | your ad heredap('&PG=NBCMSN&AP=1089','300','250');The Clean Water Act was intended to end dangerous water pollution by regulating every major polluter. But today, regulators may be unable to prosecute as many as half of the nation’s largest known polluters because officials lack jurisdiction or because proving jurisdiction would be overwhelmingly difficult or time consuming, according to midlevel officials.
ashley kate on 29 Jun 09Surrogate pregnancy is a process in which another woman will carry a baby for nine months and then will relinquish the baby to the couple. This is meant for women or couples that are unable to have children for whatever reason, be it infertility, age, or medical problems. Another option is adoption, which is a legal process to create a new, permanent relationship between a child and an adult. A woman that decides to be a surrogate may be family, friends, or may be a complete stranger. Surrogate pregnancy can be arranged through agencies that help find the couple a woman who will be their surrogate mother for a fee. If the agency arranges for surrogacy, careful inspection is done to make sure the health of the surrogate is guaranteed to avoid possible pregnancy risks. Surrogacy may also be set up without the help of an agency. Surrogate pregnancy can be done in one of two ways. The first way is by artificial insemination, in which a sperm is injected into the surrogate mother's body. The surrogate is the baby's biological mother, but after the birth of the child, he/she is given to be raised by the biological father and his partner or spouse. This is known as traditional surrogacy. The second way is to have a woman's eggs (usually about five eggs) and a man's sperm injected into the surrogate mother. In this case, the surrogate is not the biological mother. This is known as gestational surrogacy. The fees paid for a surrogate pregnancy will be anywhere from ten-thousand to sixty-thousand dollars. The average price for a surrogate mother is anywhere from ten-thousand to thirty-thousand dollars, but other fees such as medical fees, egg donors (if one is used), lawyer fees, or fertility clinics can, of course, up the price. Gestational surrogacy tends to cost more than traditional surrogacy because more medical complications arise in pregnancy. Surrogate mothers that carry babies for members of their family may do it for expenses only, or may get no rewards
