Ripples

Court Says EPA Must Set Standards Controlling Strip Mall and Subdivision Stormwater Pollution
“Today’s decision is a tremendous victory for the American public.”
In June, a federal court ruled that U.S. EPA must set standards to control stormwater pollution from strip malls, subdivisions and other new developments. The ruling resulted from a September 2004 lawsuit filed by Waterkeeper Alliance and the Natural Resources Defense Council charging that EPA’s unwillingness to control construction site pollution would lead to more beach closings, waterborne disease, flooding, fish kills and contaminated drinking water supplies. The federal court ruled that the agency’s inaction violated the Clean Water Act. The states of New York and Connecticut joined the groups as plaintiffs in the case.

Polluted runoff from paved surfaces, such as parking lots, highways and rooftops, is the fastest growing source of water pollution across the country, according to a 2002 report by the Pew Oceans Commission. EPA’s failure to control urban stormwater pollution, NRDC and the Waterkeeper Alliance said, is despoiling the environment and threatening public health, particularly in coastal areas, where stormwater already is the largest source of water pollution and population is growing rapidly. “Today’s decision is a tremendous victory for the American public,” said Waterkeeper Alliance Staff Attorney, Jeffrey Odefey. “The court recognized that EPA has shirked its responsibility to control stormwater. Solutions to prevent polluted runoff are available, affordable and necessary to keep our nation’s waters clean.”

WATERKEEPERS Australia Leads Pol Tour Of Proposed CAFO Site
Waterkeepers Australia Director Greg Hunt and the Upper Lang Lang Creekkeeper Mark Dunemann took a busload of politicians, including Elaine Carbines, Victoria’s Parliamentary Secretary for the Environment, and members of the Natural Resources and Environment Backbench Committee to a proposed CAFO site near the Lang Lang Creek. The proposed factory farm will house 80,000 chickens and produce several tons of waste each year. The community and a regional council are virtually unanimous in opposition to the project.

The tour also included local councillors, including the mayor, in an inspection of the site and a discussion of the best way to resolve the matter. “You have to take people out to the waterway and walk it, feel it, smell it and breathe it – then they’ll know what you are talking about,” says Greg Hunt.

Taking Back the Neighborhood
In July, a Utah court ruled in favor of Great Salt Lakekeeper and Citizens For Responsible Water Resource Planning blocking construction of a wastewater treatment plant along the Jordan River in Salt Lake County, Utah. The court agreed that the sewer district failed to adequately mitigate the impacts from the proposed facility along the Jordan River. The case has far-reaching implications for land-use planning in cities and towns throughout the state of Utah – improving the stature of communities in influencing local land use decisions.

Great Salt Lakekeeper

Jeff Salt, Great Salt Lakekeeper

Correction and Congratulations
Julie O’Neill, Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper, was misidentified on page 56 in the summer issue of Waterkeeper. Here is the real Julie, pictured with Patrick O’Neill and their children Keegan, Caitlyn and James, born May 9, 2006.

Widespread Fish Kills Spark Call for Dam Removal
This summer the Klamath Riverkeeper joined fishermen, government representatives and Klamath Tribes to demand the removal of dams on the Klamath River responsible for a wave of fish kills that have damaged one of the nation’s wellsprings for Pacific salmon.

In 2002, a fish kill of over 68,000 adult Chinook salmon in the Klamath lead to the largest salmon fishery closures ever in the West. Almost all commercial salmon fishing, spanning most of California and Oregon, was shut down. The closures led to the declaration of a two-state emergency, devastating the fishing industry and the food source of California’s three largest Tribes.

The owner of the dams, PacifiCorp, recently announced it would consider dam removal. This latest announcement suggests PacifiCorp’s new owner, Warren Buffet, may join Klamath Riverkeeper and others in efforts to bring the Klamath salmon home.

Ag Accountability In the Central Valley
In 2003, California’s Central Valley Regional Water Quality Board introduced an agricultural waiver program that allowed farmers to join coalitions to jointly monitor and cleanup pollution. Individual farmers remained anonymous and unaccountable within the coalitions and pollution of
Central Valley waterways increased. 2006 marked the date for the waiver’s renewal. Deltakeeper and a coalition of 135 public interest groups joined together to put a stop to the program. On June 22, Deltakeeper, a chapter of Baykeeper in San Francisco, held a bilingual rally to express public outcry over the waivers. After waves of supporters – including the Indian Riverkeeper, FL, and Black Warrior Riverkeeper, AL – attended a hearing to testify, the board tightened requirements, forcing farmers to make public coalition membership lists and other vital information. This information will allow the public to hold farmers accountable for pollution from their fields.

Ton of Trash Paddle Out
In May, Pamlico-Tar Riverkeeper and volunteers paddled out in kayaks, canoes and johnboats to heave 600 pounds of trash from the Pamlico-Tar. With the help of Keep America Beautiful and the Sierra Club Medoc group, volunteers removed 1,600 pounds of trash from the river near Rocky Mount, North Carolina. The next week, in Greenville and Washington, Pamlico-Tar Riverkeeper and 62 volunteers pulled out over a ton of garbage, including the front of a television, several chairs, a full-can of beer and a tractor-trailer tire. Pamlico-Tar Riverkeeper was provided with free-fee disposal for the cleanups through a partnership with Pitt County Landfill and Washington Public Works Department.

Dredge Spoil Dumping Banned in Buzzards Bay
Buzzards Baykeeper hailed the passage of House Bill H4884, signed into law this summer by Massachusetts Governor Romney, permanently banning the dumping of dredge spoils in the bay. In 2004, Buzzards Bay was designated as an area of special environmental and economic interest. The state, however, proposed opening the bay for sludge dumping. The dumping of dredge spoils smothers productive bottom habitat for aquatic plant and animal species, including commercial species such as lobsters, bay scallops and scup. “The bill effectively takes the threat of dredge dumping in the bay permanently off the table,” says Mark Rasmussen, Buzzards Baykeeper.

WATERKEEPER REPORTS:
NY/NJ Baykeeper’s ‘Brownfields to Greenfields’ Report
The Hudson River Estuary has an enormous opportunity to convert brownfields to greenfields, says a new report published by New York/New Jersey Baykeeper. The ‘Brownfields to Greenfields’ report observes that states across the nation are proving that economic and environmental goals can go hand-in-hand in redevelopment plans. Baykeeper states that greenfields are crucial to achieving a balance between development and open space and recommends that states should offer incentives to ensure that brownfields have a greenfields component. For more information, visit http://www.nynjbaykeeper.org/news/102

Ottawa Riverkeeper’s ‘State of the River’ Report
Ottawa Riverkeeper released their State of the River Report, highlighting the importance of the incredible Ottawa River ecosystem and identifying the major threats to the river. Report findings indicate that the ecosystem is being degraded by municipal sewage, pulp and paper mill effluent, Chalk River Nuclear Laboratories, floodplain and shoreline development, urban stormwater and much more. The report then completes the picture by examining the human dimension – the social and political context within which watershed management decisions are made and how individuals and stewardship groups can make a difference. The report is available online at www.ottawariverkeeper.ca 

Cook Inletkeeper’s ‘Dishonorable Discharges: How to Shift Cook Inlet’s Offshore Oil & Gas Operations to Zero Discharge’
The ongoing discharge of toxic oil and gas wastes into Cook Inlet, AK, fisheries no longer makes sense on economic, technical or scientific grounds says a just-released study by Cook Inletkeeper based on three years of research. The report focuses on the discharge of contaminated wastewater from oil and gas production. The report’s findings stand in sharp contrast with U.S. EPA’s recently issued draft permit, which allows a threefold increase over the current level of oil and grease discharges.
To download the report, see www.inletkeeper.org/zerodischarge.htm

Court Rules for Baykeeper on Ballast Water:
EPA to Take Action
By Deb Self, Associate Director, Baykeeper

Years ago you would never see an Asian clam and the Chinese mitten crab crawling along the coast of San Francisco Bay. But ever since the government began allowing international vessels to freely dump foreign waters in U.S. ports, these two species have come to dominate the seascape, disrupting the local ecosystem and costing the nation billions of dollars annually. This September, thanks to a lawsuit brought by Baykeeper and partners, a federal court ruled that U.S. EPA must create new regulations to control ballast water for incoming ships within the next two years.

Upon leaving a port, ships are pumped with ballast water to help stabilize the vessel through the long journey. For thirty years, incoming ships would dump this water in U.S. ports, without restrictions, because of inadequate regulations EPA wrote decades ago. EPA continued to get away with the lax policy for decades because no one challenged them – until Baykeeper stepped in. Last year, a federal court officially ruled that the regulations on ballast water were illegal. Now, to remedy the situation, the court ordered EPA to create new regulations by September 2008. The new regulations will ensure that shipping companies comply with the Clean Water Act and prevent the discharge of invasive species in ballast water.

Over 21 billion gallons of ballast water from international ports are discharged into U.S. waters each year. The San Francisco Bay and Delta Estuary is the most invaded estuary in North America and possibly the world. On average a new species establishes itself in the bay every 14 weeks. “This is one of the worst types of pollution because the pollutants multiply and their impacts grow. It deserves every bit as much oversight and regulation as other dangerous contaminants,” said Leo P. O’Brien, Executive Director of Baykeeper.

Deborah Sivas, Director of the Stanford Law School Environmental Law Clinic and the attorney representing the plaintiffs noted that, “If EPA had spent the last seven years developing a permitting program for ballast water instead of fighting this court battle, not only would our water be safer but our economy would be better protected. Invasive species come at a tremendous cost to both the environment and taxpayers.”

The absence of effective federal action, combined with the high cost of invasive species to the environment, industries and drinking water sources, has led numerous states to pass their own laws. Michigan will require shippers to have permits by early next year. In California, a bill is pending that would adopt the most strict limitations on the discharge of ballast-borne invasive species in the world. Six Great Lakes states – New York, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin – joined the environmental groups’ lawsuit to persuade the court to require a federal permitting program.
Baykeeper’s partners in the lawsuit were The Ocean Conservancy and Oregon-based Northwest Environmental Advocates. The Environmental Law Clinic at Stanford Law School and Pacific Environmental Advocacy Center (PEAC) represented the three organizations.

Shenandoah Riverkeeper Meets with Governor, Confronts Polluter
On July 10, Shenandoah Riverkeeper Jeff Kelble met with Virginia Governor Timothy M. Kaine and other senior state officials to discuss the massive fish kills in the Shenandoah. The meeting came after Governor Kaine’s attempt to fund $200,000 to the Shenandoah Fishkill Task Force was shot down in the state legislature. The Governor called the meeting, held at the Shenandoah Riverkeeper’s office/bed-and-breakfast, to learn more about the extent of problem, plan for the future and express his support for those impacted.

For the past three spring seasons, extensive fish kills have covered the entire Shenandoah, killing an average of 80 percent of the river’s fish. While the cause has not been pinpointed, speculations range from high levels of ammonia in the water from industrial agriculture, the presence of toxic algal communities or even decreased immunities to otherwise innocuous pathogens. Businesses such as fishing shops, fly shops, canoe outfitters and the real estate market along the river are among the worst hit. Governor Kaine acknowledged that the issue was a state issue and is looking to increase state involvement.

In August, Shenandoah Riverkeeper, along with Potomac Riverkeeper and Waterkeeper Alliance, put a wastewater treatment plant (one of the largest polluters in the watershed) on notice that they face a lawsuit if the plant does not take immediate action to reduce nutrient pollution.

Milwaukee Riverkeeper Trail Added to National System
The National Parks Service designated the Milwaukee Urban Water Trail, a project spearheaded by the Milwaukee Riverkeeper and partners, as a National Recreational Trail. The trail consists of a paddling map that illustrates routes, hazards and points of interest, as well as signage that correlates with the map. U.S. Secretary of the Interior, Dirk Kempthorne, highlighted the Milwaukee Riverkeeper in a speech last June, noting their new addition to the 10,000 mile-long National Trails System.

BP to Implement Spill Prevention in Dock Expansion Suit Settlement
After six years, RE Sources (home of North Sound Baykeeper), Ocean Advocates and other groups reached a settlement with BP West Coast Products and the Army Corps of Engineers over the Corps’ permitting the expansion of BP’s Cherry Point refinery dock in Washington State.

In 2005, a federal appeals court found that the Corps’ violated federal law when it issued a permit for the dock expansion. The court ordered BP to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to reevaluate the project and ordered a lower court to hold a hearing on whether or to not seek injunction to prohibit BP’s use of the dock until completion of the EIS.

Under the settlement, the plaintiffs agreed not to seek an injunction temporarily barring BP’s use of the dock. In return, BP has agreed to implement pre-booming (surrounding all tankers with floating barriers that help contain spills before offloading oil) and a spill response program for all shipments of crude oil handled at the dock; to fund a comprehensive oil spill risk assessment; and to immediately implement vessel routing and anchorage requirements for problem areas in the vessel traffic system. “These are good wins,” said Wendy Steffensen, North Sound Baykeeper. “I will independently monitor the booming provisions of the settlement and participate fully in the EIS and other processes.”

Long-Awaited Mothball Plant Cleanup to Begin
For decades, an old chemical plant has leaked toxins into the Hackensack River in New Jersey. Now, thanks to NY/NJ Baykeeper and Hackensack Riverkeeper, the companies responsible will clean up the toxic mess.

Seventeen years ago, a court ordered Tierra Solutions, Beazer East and Standard Chlorine Chemical, the companies that operated the Standard Chlorine Site, to remediate the facility. But the site remained in its original, polluted condition. Last year the two Waterkeepers threatened to sue the companies. Now, after long negotiations, the Waterkeepers have agreed to hold off from filing the lawsuit. In return, the Waterkeepers will assume an oversight role with state environmental officials on how and when the site will be cleaned.

The Standard Chlorine Site has operated on the banks of the Hackensack for almost 100 years producing mothballs, chlorine and other chemicals. Throughout this time, the Hackensack Riverkeeper has suffered high levels of pollution, resulting in fish consumption warnings.

Santa Barbara Channelkeeper Settles Lawsuit Against Polo Club
By Kira Schmidt, Santa Barbara Channelkeeper

Padaro Beach, just south of Santa Barbara in the small beachside town of Carpinteria, CA, has long been plagued by pollution from the Santa Barbara Polo Club. A lawsuit filed by Santa Barbara Channelkeeper has put an end to that.

For several years, local residents and beachgoers have been vexed by the periodic formation of a large foamy pond of polluted water at the outfall of a stormdrain pipe on Padaro Beach. At high tide, this polluted water would often get washed out to sea.

Local residents first brought the problem to our attention in 2003 and Channelkeeper undertook an investigation of the situation. We found that the ponded water contained extremely high levels of bacteria, posing a threat to public health and the environment. We also learned that county health public officials had been aware of the problem for several years and had even conducted their own sampling, with similar results. They had traced the source of the discharge to the nearby Santa Barbara Polo Club. The county inspected the Polo Club in August 2004 and found that wastewater from the stable and horse-washing areas was being illegally discharged into stormdrains running to the beach. But the county did little to remedy the problem.

Channelkeeper filed a lawsuit against the Polo Club in February 2005 for discharging pollutants to waters of the United States without a permit in violation of the federal Clean Water Act and for improperly handling and disposing of manure and other stable wastes. To their credit, the Polo Club’s management responded almost immediately, claiming they wanted to be a good neighbor and clean up their facility. They were much slower, however, when it came to investing in a solution to the problem. But Channelkeeper stuck to their guns and, after more than a year of difficult negotiations, finally reached a settlement agreement with the Polo Club that requires them to clean up their operations and stop polluting Padaro Beach.

The Club will now seal the large stormdrain pipe that conveyed Polo Club water to the beach during the summer. Since the peak polo season – when far more horses are on site – occurs during the summer, this measure will provide much-needed protection for beachgoers. Another stormdrain at the bottom of the stabling area will also be sealed in the summer and all surface water captured and reused for onsite dust suppression and irrigation. All water used to wash or rinse horses will be captured and diverted to the sanitary sewer system for treatment.

The Polo Club will also take a host of measures during the rainy season to prevent stormwater running off their facility from becoming contaminated with horse waste. An outside consultant will monitor water quality to assess the effectiveness of these measures in eliminating pollution from the club. The club must prove that samples of runoff from their facility contain lower levels of indicator bacteria than water running onto their facility for three years in a row. If they are unable to demonstrate the effectiveness of their improvements, then the legal agreement stipulates that they take even more drastic measures to stop the polluted runoff from reaching stormdrains.

Channelkeeper’s victory over the Santa Barbara Polo Club is an excellent example of the Waterkeeper model of community responsiveness and watershed protection at work. It also provides a strong affirmation of the importance of a vigilant citizenry, citizen suit provisions in our environmental laws and citizen groups who are willing to exercise those provisions. Our settlement with the Polo Club is a victory not only for Channelkeeper, but also for the environment, the community and anyone who enjoys Padaro Beach in the future.