Ripples

Balandra’s Mangroves, Bays Will be Protected
La Paz Coastkeeper Peter Paterson and local environmental groups successfully pressured the government to protect Balandra, Mexico, from large-scale development. Growth along the La Paz Coast has soared in recent years, and today, the development of marinas and tourism projects threaten to claim the remnants of publicly accessible, undeveloped coastline. Coastkeeper collected over 18,000 signatures in support of measures to protect Balandra. The public pressure forced the municipal government to modify the law and declare Balandra a natural protected area for the people of La Paz and future generations.

Delaware Riverkeeper Stops Dredge Dumping
Delaware Riverkeeper and local activists successfully prevented the Army Corps of Engineers from dumping dredge spoils onto 70 acres of a vibrant wildlife preserve and a popular outdoor educational center at Palmyra Cove Nature Park.  After onsite protests, an aggressive petition and letter writing effort, and a meeting with local legislators, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection significantly reduced the fill acreage. Fifty acres of land will now be protected from dredge spoils dumping. Delaware Riverkeeper is carefully monitoring the process to ensure that the land is permanently preserved.

On September 18,
Lake Ontario Waterkeeper released At the Barricades: Volume 1, a compilation of music from an all-star roster of artists. The music is impassioned and reflective, emotive and provoking: a powerful companion to the Waterkeeper movement.

www.waterkeeper.ca/barricades/

Waterkeeper Family Album
Coleman Peter Callaway was born on December 1, 2007, (8 lb 14 oz) to Mobile Baykeeper Casi and Jarrett Callaway. Congratulations!

CLEANUPS
Volunteers Haul 5 Tonnes of Trash Off Kettle Island
Ottawa Riverkeeper rallied over 70 volunteers for a cleanup on Kettle Island in October. Debris has piled up on the uninhabited island for the past decade. Riverkeeper worked with local businesses and community groups to haul five tonnes of garbage off the island and will continue to promote stewardship of the island into the future.

Milwaukee Riverkeeper Pulls Trash from Kinnickinnic River
More than 250 volunteers joined Milwaukee Riverkeeper, Sierra Club and other groups to haul four dumpsters of trash from the Kinnickinnic River, a major tributary of the Milwaukee River. The volunteers were assisted by a 65-ton crane. The October cleanup is part of Riverkeeper’s efforts to revitalize the forgotten tributary.

HONORS
Buzzards Baykeeper Accepts Excellence Award
The Coalition for Buzzards Bay, home of Buzzards Baykeeper, was honored by the Land Trust Alliance on October 5 for its successful Bay Lands Campaign. The campaign protected 3,000 acres of land critical for a clean bay and created a Bay Lands Revolving Fund to assist future conservation efforts.

Blackwater Nottoway Riverkeeper Finalist in Volvo Award
Blackwater Nottoway Riverkeeper Jeff Turner was selected as one of ten finalists in the environment category for the Volvo for Life Awards. Turner has been working tirelessly to preserve his two Virginia rivers with limited resources for more than seven years.

Black Warrior Riverkeeper wins Conservation Organization of the Year
Black Warrior Riverkeeper was honored in September as 2007 Conservation Organization of the Year by the Alabama Environmental Council, Alabama’s oldest conservation organization.

Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper Best Local Fighter
Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper Sally Bethea and Co-Founder Laura Turner Seydel were named Best Local Fighters for the Environment for 2007 by Atlanta-based newspaper Creative Loafing.

Yarra Riverkeeper to the Rescue
Yarra Riverkeeper Ian Penrose rescued two dogs while patroling the Yarra River in Melbourne, Australia. Ian and staff member Megan Utter found the dogs struggling in the river, unable to escape. Ian and Megan helped the dogs into the boat and reunited them with their owners. Apparently, the owners had recently moved to Melbourne from rural Australia, where the dogs were used to swimming in less treacherous waters.

Baykeeper Enforces Anti-pollution Laws in Delta Port
California’s Port of Stockton is a major domestic and international shipping hub covering 1,400 acres in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. In 2004, the port proposed a massive expansion that would generate large quantities of air and water pollution. Baykeeper and partner organizations sued the port for failing to accurately address the environmental impacts of the expansion as required by law. This August, Baykeeper and partners reached an agreement with the port that will significantly reduce the project’s environmental impacts. The port now must refrain from disruptive activities during migration seasons for endangered and threatened fish, and restore dissolved oxygen in affected rivers. Additionally, the port must reduce diesel pollution from cargo transport and mitigate nuisance to local residents. Earlier, Baykeeper and partners were successful in significantly downsizing the project. The recent settlement demonstrates how the Port of Stockton can serve the economic needs of Northern California and still be held responsible for protecting the environment.

Go Green, Live Rich
David Bach, bestselling author of Automatic Millionaire and Smart Women Finish Rich, joined forces with Wells Fargo bank to support Waterkeeper Alliance and Santa Monica Baykeeper in their efforts to fight for clean water and strong communities. Bach and Wells Fargo presented Waterkeeper Alliance President Steve Fleischli and Sherise Parker from Santa Monica Baykeeper with a check at the California Governor and First Lady’s Conference on Women in October. In April 2008, Mr. Bach will publish Go Green, Live Rich to share the undeniable message that good environmental policy is good economic policy. His goal: to get everyone to save money and help the planet at the same time.

Ash Dump Stopped
Since 1998, American Ash Recycling of Pennsylvania, Inc. has buried 200,000 tons of processed incinerator ash under playgrounds, homes, businesses and parking lots. The ash contains unknown levels of dioxins and high levels of heavy metals and is buried without safety precautions. In some cases, the material is buried near drinking water supplies and valuable wetlands. Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper Michael Helfrich filed more than 600 pages of documents voicing his concern over the plan, and mobilized citizens and public officials to oppose the dumping. In October, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection denied American Ash’s permit renewal application, stopping two million additional tons of ash from being buried around the state.  

Waterkeepers from Australia and China Meet
This September, Australia’s South Beach Wetlandskeeper Don Stewart met with Beijing North Canal Waterkeeper Genk Zhang Junfeng in China. “This meeting testifies to the value and strength of the international Waterkeeper movement,” said Genk. Don and Genk exchanged gifts and shared stories on their struggles and victories in the fight for clean water. Don commented on some of the positive changes taking place in China. “Fourteen water treatment plants are proposed in the next 12 months to help alleviate damaged waterways.” The meeting was a huge success and Don plans to return to trek Beijing’s waterways with Genk.

Kansas Coal Plants Rejected
A coalition of Kansas environmental organizations made history on October 18, when the State of Kansas denied the construction of two coal-fired power plants because of greenhouse gas emissions. Kansas Riverkeeper and Friends of the Kaw worked with a consortium of state environmental organizations, spearheaded by the Sierra Club, to keep the issue at the forefront of public debate. Kansas Riverkeeper Laura Calwell and Riverkeeper members made comments at a public hearing encouraging the State of Kansas to consider energy conservation measures and renewable energies like wind and solar over the coal plants.

Combined, the plants would have emitted 11 million tons of carbon dioxide annually. Roderick L. Bremby, Secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, denied the permit, stating “I believe it would be irresponsible to ignore emerging information about the contribution of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases to climate change and the potential harm to our environment and health if we do nothing.”

Justice in West Virginia
In one of the largest verdicts ever recorded in an environmental lawsuit, a West Virginia jury ordered chemical giant Dupont to pay $371 million in damages for contaminating the town of Spelter, West Virginia. DuPont’s zinc smelting factory contaminated homes and threatened public health while producing zinc from zinc ore. In its 90 year history, the factory produced more than 400 million pounds of zinc dust with toxic levels of arsenic, cadmium and lead. Dupont polluted the community through plant emissions and a burning mountain of toxic waste that smoldered for more than 20 years.   

The jury was shocked by Dupont’s conduct and ordered the chemical giant to clean the residents’ homes, establish a medical monitoring program to test the community for lung, skin, stomach, bladder and kidney cancer, cognitive problems and lead poisoning. The lead attorney in the trial was Mike Papantonio of the Levin Papantonio law firm and founder of Emerald Coastkeeper. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. of Kennedy & Madonna, LLP and the Cochran Firm also represented the community. 

Baykeeper Wins Protection for Threatened Delta Smelt
Delta smelt are small fish that survive only in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta’s brackish waters and are an indicator of ecosystem health. Today, these fish are on the brink of extinction. Massive water pumps that extract water from the delta to irrigate commodity crops in the Central Valley and Southern California are killing the prized fish. This August, San Francisco Baykeeper and a coalition of environmental organizations, represented by Earth Justice, scored a major victory. After a two-year battle, a U.S. District Court ruled that federal water authorities must reduce pumping impacts and apply safeguards to prevent the fish from dying in the pumps.

Buzzards Baykeeper State of the Bay Report
Buzzards Baykeeper and The Coalition for Buzzards Bay published a State of the Bay Report for 2007. The report found that the health of Buzzards Bay, MA, is declining and swift action is needed to prevent the Bay from losing its place as one of the healthiest estuaries on the East Coast. In four years alone, the bay has fallen three points to a final score of 45. Nitrogen pollution is the largest culprit, driving the bay’s health into further decline.

Magdalena Secret
Tourist Megadevelopment Canceled
Magdalena Bay in Mexico’s Baja California peninsula is known for its biodiversity and natural beauty. The bay provides refuge to the gray whale, sea turtles, and hundreds of thousands of migratory birds, and harbors fragile ecosystems made of mangroves and sand dunes. Today, unchecked development threatens the natural beauty of Magdalena Bay and the vibrant local economy that the bay supports. On December 14, 2005, developer Magdalena Secret submitted a document to the General Directorate of Risk and Environmental Impact to assess the environmental impacts of nine hotels, two golf courses and a series of tourism-related developments slated for construction.
Vigilantes de Bahía Magdalena (Magdalena Baykeeper) and researchers reviewed the environmental impact statement and discovered grave impacts to the environment, along with erroneous and deficient information. Baykeeper pursued the matter with the government and held meetings directly with the developers. As a result, plans for the project were rescinded. The decision is an important achievement for the communities of Magdalena Bay, Vigilantes de Bahía Magdalena, and their partners in this fight: Waterkeeper Alliance, Defensa Ambiental del Noroeste, Centro Mexicano de Derecho Ambiental, Pro Peninsula and the University of San Diego.

Magdalena Secret
Mega Desarrollo Turístico Cancelado
Bahía Magdalena en la península de Baja California Sur es conocida por su biodiversidad y belleza natural. La bahía provee refugio a la ballena gris, a las tortugas marinas, y a cientos de miles de aves migratorias dentro de sus frágiles ecosistemas de dunas y manglar. Hoy en día el desarrollo desordenado amenaza la belleza natural de Bahía Magdalena así como la economía local que soporta. El 14 de diciembre del 2005, el proyecto Magdalena Secret sometió su evaluación de impacto ambiental ante la Dirección General de Riesgo e Impacto Ambiental de SEMARNAT. Este proyecto consiste en la construcción de nueve hoteles, dos campos de golf y una serie de construcciones turísticas.

Vigilantes de Bahía Magdalena (Magdalena Baykeeper), con la ayuda de académicos e investigadores con conocimiento de la región, revisaron el manifiesto de impacto ambiental descubriendo graves impactos al medio ambiente, así como diversas faltas y fallas de información que en su momento se lo hicieron saber a la autoridad. Después de varias gestiones ante la autoridad y reuniones con los desarrolladores, tenemos el gusto de compartirles que el proyecto ha sido cancelado. Lo anterior significa un logro muy importante para las comunidades de Bahía Magdalena, la comunidad conservacionista, Vigilantes de Bahía Magdalena y sus aliados en esta lucha, Defensa Ambiental del Noroeste, Centro Mexicano de Derecho Ambiental, Waterkeeper Alliance, Pro Peninsula, y la Universidad de San Diego.

NEC: Puerto Rico’s Endangered Turtle Habitat Protected
On October 4, 2007, Puerto Rican Governor Aníbal Acevedo Vilá announced the preservation of 270-acres of vital habitat for endangered leatherback sea turtles. The now-protected San Miguel Beach is part of 3,200-acres of forests, wetlands, beaches and coral communities — known as the Northeast Ecological Corridor — under threat from the proposed development of megaresorts and residential complexes. Waterkeeper Alliance is one of several key organizations that worked to protect the area from the large-scale development. In August 2006, Waterkeeper ran a full-page ad in The New York Times placing our call to action in front of 1.1 million readers and bringing this issue to the full attention of the hotel chains and the Puerto Rico Legislature. Waterkeeper Alliance applauds the Trust for Public Land and Governor Vila for their hard work to protect San Miguel Island for wildlife, ecotourism and the citizens of Puerto Rico.