April
26, 2000
Inside
this Issue!
1.
TENNESSEE UPDATE - TDEC COPY COSTS - TDEC's Plan to Reduce Copy Costs
for Public Records Gives a Small Victory, but Still Not Enough
2.
SEWAGE PLANT PERMIT - DRY FORK CREEK NEAR FALL CREEK FALLS REDESIGNATED
A TIER II OR "HIGH QUALITY" STREAM - Spencer Sewage Plant Stopped
... For Now
3.
SPOTLIGHT - NWF REPORT ON NONPOINT POLLUTION CLEANUP - Tennessee Gets
a 'D' For Cleaning Up its
Waterways
4.
NEWSFLASH - LAND DONATION IN SCOTT'S GULF - Bridgestone/Firestone Plans
to Donate 6,000 Acres of its Land in Scott's Gulf to the State of Tennessee
5.
EMAIL DISCUSSION FORUM - GROUNDWATER DIGEST'S WATERFORUM - Free and Open
Email Discussion on Water Resources Issues.
6.
RESOURCES - STREAM RESTORATION VIDEO - Restoration Techniques for Urban
Streams
7.
ONLINE RESOURCES - FUNDRAISING - Fundraising How-To's and Secrets of Successful
Grant Proposals
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1.
TDEC Plans to Reduce Copy Costs for Public Records Still NOT Enough
(Refer to article in the NASHVILLE
SCENE, Issue Date: April 20, 2000, By Liz
Murray Garrigan)
The
Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) has had a
long-standing practice of charging an obscene 50 cents a page to citizens
who want copies of public records. In fact, Tennessee's pricing practices
are among the worst in the nation.
A coalition of at least 18 environmental and consumer protection
organizations threatened several months ago to sue, pointing to federal
regulations that call for copies to be free or equivalent to commercial
copy cost.
TDEC
has responded with a plan to make up to 25 copies free, then charge 25
cents a page after that. This
is a solid victory, yet not enough.
25 cents a page is outrageously high compared to commercial copy
costs and therefore in direct defiance of federal regulation.
TDEC officials have scheduled a "rulemaking hearing"
for May 18 to formally consider the new costs and take public comments
on the issue.
For
more information, contact Danielle Droitsch, Tennessee Clean Water Network,
([email protected])
2.
Dry Fork Creek near Fall Creek Falls State Park Receives High Quality
Designation - Spencer Sewage Plant Permit Stopped - For Now after pressure
from a coalition of cave and environmental groups and EPA, the Tennessee
Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) was forced to re-evaluate
Dry Fork Creek near Fall Creek Falls State Park and subsequently change
its designation to a "High Quality" or Tier II stream.
This stream, which flows into the park and feeds into a large,
newly discovered cave containing rare species, is proposed as the receiving
stream for the planned Spencer sewage plant.
The new Tier II designation stops for now the issuance of the permit
that was expected this week and means that no degradation is allowed without
special approval by the Water Quality Control Board.
TDEC plans to go to the Board on Tuesday, May 23 to ask approval
to degrade this High Quality stream and issue the permit.
TDEC is still refusing to comply with regulations and conduct a
full environmental impact study or hold a public hearing despite wide
spread demands, saying that requests were made too late.
They also continue to claim that the public notice process was
done properly (but it wasn't). Memos
from state files found today show that plans for a public hearing last
summer were canceled at the request of a local politician.
The May Board hearing will be open to the public and we understand
people will be allowed to speak.
With attorneys now working on the case for the coalition of interested
groups, we may ask that the hearing be delayed, postponed, or moved so
as to accommodate the interested and effected public.
For
more information contact: Barry Sulkin, Tennessee PEER (Public Employees
for Environmental Responsibility), phone (615) 313-7066, email [email protected]
3.
National Wildlife Federation Report- Pollution Paralysis II: Code
Red for Watersheds - Tennessee Gets a "D" Grade
Our
nation's waters are in trouble. NWF evaluated compliance with a provision
of the Clean Water Act aimed at protecting watersheds from pollution pesticides,
excessive nutrients and other chemicals that come primarily from agriculture
and forests as opposed to a specific smokestack or discharge pipe.
States are required to designate waterways impaired by such pollution,
prioritize the severity of the problems and develop a plan to curtail
the pollution. Michael Murray, the report's co-author, says most states
have done little beyond compiling lists.
In fact, this report finds that three-fourths of the states are
failing to use watershed restoration plans or Total Maxium Daily Loads
(TMDLs) to address water pollution caused by runoff from farms and forests. Results are summarized for each state and nationally in NWF's
report, and each state is given a letter grade indicating how well they
are cleaning up their waterways.
Tennessee was among 19 states who received a 'D' for 'poor'. No state received an 'A' for 'good'.
To
download the full report, go to:
http://www.nwf.org/nwf/watersheds/paralysis/index.html
4.
SCOTT'S GULF - Bridgestone/Firestone Conservation Area
On
Thursday, April 14th, Tennessee Governor Don Sundquist and Bridgestone/Firestone
Inc. announced that Bridgestone/Firestone will donate 6,000 acres of its
land in Scott's Gulf to the State of Tennessee, adding to their previously
donated 4,000 acres. This
river gorge property, which will be protected as the Bridgestone/Firestone
Conservation Area, has scenic bluffs and cliffs, waterfalls, caves, and
more than 20 miles of challenging whitewater on Bee Creek and the Caney
Fork River. The Caney Fork
River gorge has been called the Grand Canyon of the Cumberlands.
For
more information, contact Chuck Estes, Friends of Scott's Gulf,
[email protected]
5.
Announcing: *** WaterForum
*** A new e-mail discussion
forumWaterForum is a free and open forum for discussion of water resources
issues; including drinking water, water conservation, drainage, environmental
chemistry, wetlands, wastewater, irrigation, recreational use, fisheries
and wildlife use, aquaculture, coastal studies and oceanography, environmental
and public health issues, contamination/ remediation, computer modeling,
climatology, hydropower, and any other relevant water resources topics.
There
are currently over 2000 subscribers; a broad range of members from academia,
industry, government, and the general public, as well as wide-ranging
geographic diversity. The
list is moderated by Ken Bannister, founder of Groundwater-Digest, currently
the world's largest groundwater discussion forum.
To
join, simply send a blank e-mail to
[email protected]
or visit the website, www.egroups.com/group/waterforum
6.
Resources - Urban Stream Restoration: A Video Tour of Ecological
Restoration Techniques with Ann Riley: This information-packed video tour
of six urban stream restoration sites is led by Ann Riley, a nationally
known hydrologist, stream restoration professional, and executive director
of the Waterways Restoration Institute in Berkley, California.
The video provides
background
information on how the projects were funded and organized with community
involvement, and the history
and principles of restoration. It
includes examples of stream restoration in very urbanized areas,
recreating stream shapes and meanders, creek daylighting, soil
bioengineering, and ecological flood control projects.This tape is intended
for anyone interested in ecological urban stream and neighborhood restoration,
(i.e., for engineers, landscape architects, biologists, water managers,
community groups, and decision makers).
To
Order Urban Stream Restoration Video, go to www.urbanstreamrestoration.com
For more information, contact Marty Roberts, [email protected]
7.
Fundraising Resources (from Pat Byington - BEN, [email protected])
Tony Poderis's Handouts For Fundraising Meetings:
These 1 to 2 page fundraising "How to" fact sheets address
issues ranging from planning for fundraising, funding sources, methods
for solicitation, prospective donors, rating prospects, and gift acknowledgments.
They provide the tools to educate staff, board members and volunteers
about important elements in fundraising.
www.raise-funds.com/exhibitlist.html
Inner Secrets of Successful Proposals: Advice on Grant Writing: This article provides organizations with some of the secret ingredients needed to write a successful grant proposal. Some of the advice is obvious, but some may provide a few new approaches.
www.cof.org/foundationnews/0300/secrets.htm
