Ripples
South River Cleanup
South Riverkeeper conducted stream cleanups at six sites this spring
as part of Project Clean Stream, an annual event coordinated by the Alliance
for the Chesapeake Bay and funded by the Chesapeake Bay Trust. Throughout
April, 100 volunteers from age 10 to 75 removed 144 tires and 26 tons of
trash from South River streams. “Cleanups are important because they
show people how what we put on the land, ends up in the water,” says
Drew Koslow, South Riverkeeper. Some unique items pulled from the streams
include a Body By Jake ab-blaster, a water heater, an automobile gas tank,
a refrigerator and a lawn mower.
More on Good Food
Sky Saddle Wines
Matthew and Kate Wilson began making wine in their carport with grapes from a neighbor’s vineyard in 2000. In fall 2005 they released their first official label, Sky Saddle Wines. Considered a small, boutique family winery with fewer than 1,000 cases made a year, they only purchase organic or biodynamic grapes from local growers and make their wine at Deerfield Ranch Winery in Kenwood, CA. Their Organic Zinfandel won a bronze medal at the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition! The Deerfield Ranch Winery straddles the Kenwood Marsh, the most significant wetlands habitat in Sonoma Valley. The winery is restoring the marsh with the assistance of local environmental groups and state and federal agencies. The biodynamic vineyards surround the marsh demonstrating ecological balance and management. The new winery is being certified as organic, one of only two in Sonoma County. All of the wastewater at Deerfield is processed through a state-of-the-art bioreactor, hidden in the forest above the winery. The water from the reactor irrigates the vineyards and harvest generated grape pumice is composed for reuse on the fields. Sustainability and award winning wines are what Sky Saddle Wines is all about!
Chefs Collaborative
Chefs are in a unique position to educate the dining public through their menu choices.Chefs Collaborative is a national community of food professionals who promote sustainable cuisine, providing education about our food system for chefs and restaurants. Chefs Collaborative members and supporters understand that the source of their ingredients – the way they have been grown, raised or caught – has a significant effect on the flavor and quality of their meals. They inspire chefs and other food professionals to be active participants in promoting a more sustainable food supply, improving the quality and taste of what we eat. www.chefscollaborative.org
More on the Coal Truth
Court Rejects Alabama Coal Pollution Permit
On April 20, 2006, Montgomery Circuit Court Judge Truman M. Hobbs, Jr. reversed a decision made by the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) to issue a coal mining permit to Tuscaloosa Resources, Inc. Judge Hobbs’s decision marks the first time the state has been forced through a citizen lawsuit to deny a permit to a coal mine operator.
“Judge Hobbs’s decision means that ADEM will no longer be allowed to rubber stamp applications from the coal industry to add pollution to Alabama’s waters,” said Adam Snyder, President of the Alabama Rivers Alliance, which along with the Friends of Hurricane Creek/Hurricane Creekkeeper jointly filed suit against ADEM in 2002 over the issuance of the permit.
The permit authorized Tuscaloosa Resources to add iron, aluminum, sediment and other pollutants to Hurricane Creek, even though the creek is already polluted. “The law is clear that it is ADEM’s job to clean up our polluted waters – not to authorize their further destruction, and the court followed the law,” said Edwin Lamberth of Cunningham, Bounds, Crowder, Brown & Breedlove, who represented the Rivers Alliance and Creekkeeper.
The Clean Water Act prohibits states from issuing permits for new sources of pollution in a waterway that is already ‘impaired.’ When state agencies ignore the law it is up to citizens to bring the problem to the attention of the courts.
Tour De Neuse
This spring the Neuse River Foundation held its first
ever Tour de Neuse. Lower Neuse Riverkeeper, Larry Baldwin, and Upper
Neuse Riverkeeper, Dean Naujoks, combined efforts to paddle the 270 miles,
the length of the Neuse River from Durham, NC, to the Pamlico Sound.
Over the three-week paddle the Riverkeepers visited schools, paddled
with elected officials, met everyone along the river from anglers to
ministers and worked with the media to spread their message of hope for
the river.
“For thirteen years now Neuse River Foundation has had a Riverkeeper
patrolling and monitoring the river and holding those accountable who
have done harm to the Neuse. Yet, our work is far from over and we need
a lot more help. If people know our story and follow us down the Neuse,
perhaps more of them will help save this great river,” write the
Riverkeepers in their Tour de Neuse journal.
The response has been overwhelmingly positive. Television
stations and every newspaper in the Neuse Basin have covered the tour.
One third of the town of Seven Spring’s came to celebrate with
the Neuse Riverkeepers in a Potluck Dinner on the river.
For more information, including videos, photographs and an online journal
visit www.neuseriver.org.
Pamlico-Tar Riverkeeper and Clean Water for North Carolina, representing residents downstream of the City of Oxford wastewater treatment plant and sewage collection lines, reached a settlement with the North Carolina Division of Water Quality and the city on enforcing state sewage treatment laws.
In August 2005 the groups challenged the state for not adequately addressing extensive sewer overflows from the Oxford wastewater treatment plant and collection system. The state has agreed to improve its process for regulating treatment plants across the state. The City of Oxford agreed to improve monitoring for certain pollutants after sewage overflows for the next three years and will notify downstream residents of spills. City officials will also continue to work with Granville county and other organizations to restore the polluted Fishing Creek.
Healthy Air Act Becomes Law in Maryland
A four-pollutant power plant law requiring the strongest controls on coal-fired
power plants in the country was passed and signed into law in Maryland
this April, but not without significant drama. After a rough and tumble
fight against the powerful utility lobby, and over the opposition of
the Maryland Department of the Environment and Governor Robert Ehrlich,
the Healthy Air Act is now law.
The new law requires the seven dirtiest coal-fired power plants in Maryland
to significantly reduce emissions of nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxides,
which cause smog and soot, and reduce harmful mercury pollution by 90 percent.
In addition, Maryland must now join several other states in a regional
global warming agreement to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
The 12 Waterkeeper programs in the Chesapeake watershed worked for many
months as part of the Healthy Air Coalition, a broad and diverse group
of organizations. After surviving two months of debate and numerous attempts
to weaken the bill, the Healthy Air Act passed both houses of the Maryland
legislature with bi-partisan support and a veto-proof majority. In an
underhanded last minute maneuver, the Governor’s office literally
locked their office door and refused delivery of the bill from the legislature.
But the strength of the coalition and public support ultimately convinced
Governor Ehrlich to sign the bill.
Cooling Hot Water on the Susquehanna
PPL Corporation has agreed to construct cooling structures to reduce the temperature
of 600 million gallons of cooling water discharged each day into the Susquehanna
River from their Brunner Island steam electricity plant. The agreement is the
result of negotiations PPL began with the state after receiving a notice of intent
to sue from Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper and PennFuture, along with a fly shop
owner and the Susquehanna Smallmouth Bass Alliance.
The plant’s violations of state and federal clean water laws caused several
large fish kills and impaired fish habitat. At the plaintiffs’ request,
PPL will not only make the large investments to stop the problem, but will pay
the fines assessed by the state directly to the Lancaster and York County Conservation
Districts for measures to protect streams in the Lower Susquehanna watershed.
"It’s wonderful to see PPL reducing its impacts on the Susquehanna,” says
Riverkeeper Michael Helfrich. “The proposed cooling technology and the
proposed improvements at its Holtwood hydropower plant really show that PPL is
responding to both the environmental and energy needs of their neighbors. I hope
other facilities that harm the river – such as wastewater treatment plants
and manufacturers that release waste into the river – will follow PPL’s
example.”
NY/NJ Baykeeper’s Conservation Director Wins Spirit of Liberty Leadership Award
Friends of Liberty State Park, a volunteer-run organization that advocates for the protection and beautification of the historic Liberty State Park, honored New York/New Jersey Baykeeper’s Greg Remaund with their Spirit of Liberty Leadership Award. Greg, who serves as Baykeeper’s Conservation Director and the President of the Liberty State Park Conservancy, accepted the award at a luncheon celebrating the 30th anniversary of the park.
Make A Difference Day Award Goes to Milwaukee Riverkeeper
USA Weekend Magazine recognized Milwaukee Riverkeeper and their partners
as a national winner of the Make A Difference Day 2005 contest for
their Kinnickinnic River Cleanup in October. Milwaukee Riverkeeper,
along with the 16th Street Community Health Center, Sierra Club, United
Water and the Bay View Neighborhood Association, mobilized more than
90 volunteers and removed 12,000 pounds of garbage. The honor includes
a $10,000 gift, money that has been earmarked to support river cleanup
partnerships in the Kinnickinnic watershed.
Wishtoyo Honored by American Planning Association
This spring, Wishtoyo (home of the Ventura Coastkeeper)
received the Special Merit Award from the American Planning Association
for their Chumash Village and Stream Restoration projects at Nicholas
Canyon in Malibu, CA. Wishtoyo is honored to receive this recognition
for the cultural and historical preservation of centuries of Chumash
inhabitance and their connection with the natural environment.
Bethea & Holland: Georgia’s Most Powerful
Players
Georgia Trend Magazine, Georgia’s premiere business and politics
journal, recognized Altamaha Riverkeeper James Holland and Upper Chattahoochee
Riverkeeper Sally Bethea as two of their 100 Most Influential Georgians
of 2006 and the state’s foremost “Power Players.” This
marks Sally Bethea’s third consecutive year on the list.
A lawsuit brought by a coalition of environmental justice groups, including Ventura Coastkeeper, will provide relief for smog-plagued California. In February, a federal judge ordered California to reduce smog-forming emissions from pesticides.
Pesticides rank among the largest contributors to California’s smoggy air quality, causing thousands of deaths each year. In 1994, state regulators promised to reduce smog-forming emissions from pesticides by 2005. But weak regulations, based on faulty science, forced pesticide-makers to reduce smog-forming chemicals in non-fumigant products “only if feasible.” The federal court agreed with Ventura Coastkeeper that the state was not adequately protecting human health and the environment.
This spring, the court ordered state officials to adopt stronger regulations to EPA for approval by January 1, 2008. The court is demanding that new regulations ensure that the Sacramento, San Joaquin Valley, Ventura, Southeast Desert and South Coast air basins reduce smog-forming emissions by 20 percent of the 1991 levels.
The California Ocean Protection Council – a state body dedicated to protecting, managing and restoring California’s ocean and coastal ecosystems – passed a resolution in April that encourages the state’s regulatory agencies to eliminate the devastating impacts of once-through cooling in power plants.
Twenty-one coastal California power plants are permitted to use once-through cooling – sucking in nearly 17 billion gallons of ocean and estuarine water every day, killing fish eggs, larvae and plankton. Larger marine life, such as adult fish, sea lions and turtles are trapped and killed on the intake screens or in the plant. The plants cycle the water through their systems to cool machinery and then discharge the now warm water into back into the ocean and estuaries, slowing new growth of kelp and eelgrass, which are critical fish habitats.
The resolution comes three days after the State Lands Commission unanimously passed a resolution stating that it will not approve leases for new power facilities using once-through cooling and discouraging existing facilities from relying on the
This March all-terrain vehicles hummed and trucks bellowed when Kansas Riverkeeper and 100 volunteers came together to dig, pull and move 1,000 tires off a Kansas River sandbar just south of Linwood, Kansas.
Every two years, Kansas Riverkeeper Laura Calwell and volunteers navigate the entire Kaw, documenting water quality and keeping their eyes wide for pollution. Volunteers braced themselves for spewing pipes and polluted runoff, but no one expected to find a sea of abandoned tires at the edge of a remote, narrow creek. Laura immediately contacted Bob Medina of the Kansas Department of Health and Environmental Bureau to address the problem and coordinate a cleanup.
While no one is certain, Laura suspects that the tires were dumped on the sandbar by a local landowner to prevent water from flowing onto the bank, allowing them to recover more property. Over time, degraded tires could pose a hazardous waste threat. The Kansas Riverkeeper, state officials and strong corporate sponsors thought it best to dispose the tires properly.
As for the cleanup, “It was a beautiful day – with a good feeling for the community, good press coverage and new friends,” says Laura.
In an effort to protect threatened Puget Sound Chinook salmon from toxic pollution, a group of local and national organizations announced plans on April 19 to sue U.S. EPA for violating the Endangered Species Act. The group, lead by National Wildlife Federation and including Puget Soundkeeper Alliance, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, People For Puget Sound and Washington Trout, contends that EPA has failed to consider the harmful effects of discharged pollutants and stormwater on Chinook salmon.
Pollution discharge permits for stormwater are generally ineffective at stopping contamination from stormwater – the single largest source of pollution harming Puget Sound. Untreated stormwater includes heavy metals, bacteria, viruses, nutrients, oil and grease, pesticides, herbicides and suspended solids – all of which are harmful to salmon.
The groups are asking that EPA immediately initiate formal consultation with the National Marine Fisheries Service on the effects of permitted pollutant discharges on Puget Sound Chinook salmon. “It is essential that scientists with expertise in the impact of toxic pollutants evaluate the impact of EPA-approved pollution on endangered salmon and orca whales,” says Sue Joerger, Puget Soundkeeper. “It is appalling that regulators have not consulted with scientists prior to allowing toxics to be discharged in critical salmon habitat.”
In 2000, Petitcodiac Riverkeeper Daniel LeBlanc and Lake Ontario Waterkeeper Mark Mattson strapped on hipwaders and set out to sample leachate running from a landfill into Jonathan Creek in Moncton, Canada. Concerned that leachate was contaminating the river and suspecting violations of the federal Fisheries Act, they took their concerns to Environment Canada. Six years later, their suspicions were confirmed and now the Petitcodiac River is finally protected from the landfill's toxic ooze.
The city operated the landfill on the banks of the Petitcodiac from 1971 to 1992 to dispose of residential, construction, asbestos, medical and other wastes. In 1993, Gemtec, a private engineering firm, developed and implemented a closure plan for the site that directed untreated leachate from the landfill into Jonathan Creek and the Petitcodiac, ignoring expert opinion that the method violated the law.
In 2002, Environment Canada launched its own investigation and charged the city of Moncton, Gemtec, and Robert G. Lutes, Gemtec's majority owner and principal environment engineer, with two counts of unlawfully depositing a deleterious substance into water inhabited by fish. The city pled guilty, was fined $35,000 and forced to implement a remediation plan to stop the leachate from entering local waterways. Gemtec, however, went to trial, arguing that leachate would blend with river water and become less toxic.
Judge Yvette Finn disagreed. In April 2006 the provincial court judge found the firm and Lutes guilty. The decision is a landmark victory for Canadian Waterkeepers. It is the first time an engineering firm has been held accountable for knowingly drafting and implementing a plan that violates Fisheries Act requirements.ct requirements.
This spring St. John’s Riverkeeper launched a River Friendly Yards campaign to educate homeowners on the impact fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides have on waterways. The main component of the campaign was The Green Monster: It Came From the River, a television program which aired on primetime NBC. The program discusses the river’s massive algae bloom the previous summer, connecting the bloom to excessive nutrient loading and fertilizer use and instructing homeowners on simple ecologically-safe lawn maintenance practices to reduce individual impact. Hosted by former Jacksonville Jaguar player Jeff Lageman, the Green Monster is scheduled to air again on Florida’s local PBS affiliate WJCT on July 27.
The River Friendly Yards program dovetailes nicely with the St. John’s recent lawsuit victory that found the state of Florida’s TMDL for nutrients violated the state's own water quality standards for dissolved oxygen, forcing the EPA to intervene and develop a more stringent pollution standard.
Newest Waterkeeper
Wim Ernst Wijsmuller van Rossum was born April 25 at 11:38 p.m. weighing in at 6 lbs. 6 oz. and 20 inches. Congratulations Maya, and welcome Wim (pronounced Vim) to the family!