The United States Pirate Party has added a clean water plank to its national platform, calling for water to be treated as a human right and protected resource, with stronger public oversight and accountability in environmental policy.
In a November 18 statement, the party said its national committee voted to adopt the plank at its most recent monthly meeting. During that meeting, Pirate Captain Jolly Mitch Davilo called the addition of a new national plank “no small feat,” noting that it first went before the Pirate Platform Committee before being amended to incorporate member feedback. The final motion was unanimously adopted by Pirate representatives from Indiana, Florida, Arizona, Pennsylvania, and Texas.
Davilo said the plank was intended to solidify the party’s advocacy for clean water, an issue it had raised earlier in the year. On March 5, the party published an installment of its Through the Spyglass series in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in City and County of San Francisco v. Environmental Protection Agency. That ruling limited federal authority under the Clean Water Act by curbing the EPA’s ability to restrict sewage and other pollutants from entering certain waterways, following a challenge brought by several states.
The party said the decision gave “the green light to pollute our water further,” calling it “a step too far for many of us” and affirming its long-standing position that “Pirates are now and always have been for clean seas and water.”
The adopted water plank presents a broad set of principles the party says should guide water policy, centering on the premise that access to clean water is a human right and shared responsibility rather than a commodity. It argues that decades of deregulation, court rulings, and corporate influence have weakened environmental protections, leaving communities vulnerable to contamination and ecosystems collapsing. In adopting the plank, the party asserts that water stewardship must be carried out transparently and democratically to prevent further degradation of waterways.
The measure also frames polluted water as a systemic governance failure rather than a series of isolated incidents. It calls for stronger public oversight of water systems, including open, real-time reporting on water quality and spending, and for holding polluters financially responsible for cleanup efforts. The party links these proposals to what it regards as an ongoing pattern of regulatory retreat, saying that private companies too often operate with little accountability.
Additionally, the plank presents environmental infrastructure as an area requiring further national investment, referencing problems such as lead pipes, PFAS contamination, and aging municipal systems. It urges support for projects ranging from remediation to the development of new materials that reduce the risk of pollution. The party also affirms its support for Indigenous water rights, arguing that treaty obligations should play a larger role in future water policy.
Thank you for the coverage! Just one small correction:
Davilo is spelled with one L, not two 😉