June
12, 2000
Inside
this Issue!
1.
ACTION ALERT - AQUATIC RESOURCE ALTERATION PERMITS - Proposed Regulations
Fail to Protect Tennessee's Streams and Wetlands
2.
NEWSFLASH - WATER QUALITY STANDARDS - EPA Revises Approval Rules
for
Water
Quality Standards
4.
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE - CLEAN WATER ACT - New Bill to Modify Clean
Water Act to Address Fish Habitat
4.
SPOTLIGHT - EPA PUBLICATION - Atlas of America's Polluted Waters
5.
SPOTLIGHT - EPA REPORT - Economy Depends of Clean Water
6.
RESOURCE - WATER MONITORING MATERIALS - Izaak Walton League's Save
Our
Streams
Program Releases its 2000 Catalogue
7.
FYI - POLL RESULTS - Americans Support Environmental Movements
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1.
UNDER ASSAULT: Tennessee's Streams and Wetlands
The
Tennessee Water Quality Control Board will be considering proposed regulations
in early JULY governing the protection of state streams and wetlands.
Weakened by the road-building industry, these laws will actually
allow more pollution to the waters of the state if it is determined the
water is not important or provides a specific public benefit.
In other words, if the water is already polluted, or does not have
some specific purpose, pollution will be permitted.
Any community living near polluted water therefore will become
a target for more development, sprawl, and pollution.
Tennessee
has over 14,000 miles of rivers and streams already impacted by pollution.
The state has a duty under the Water Quality Control Act to avoid
future pollution in EVERY stream and wetlands.
IN SHORT, every permit applicant who proposes altering or destroying
a stream or wetland should be placed under a specific duty to demonstrate
that there is no practicable alternative.
The
proposed regulations are dangerously weak, BUT we CAN turn them around!!
Here's
What You Can Do:
Call
or write Members of the Water Quality Control Board. Here's what you might
say:
I am calling about the Aquatic Resource Alteration Permit regulations
being considered by the Tennessee Division of Water Pollution Control.
These regulations are extremely important to me because they address
issues of sprawl and impacts to our state streams and wetlands.
I would therefore like the final regulations approved by the Water
Quality Control Board to be as strong as possible. Specifically,
*I would like to be assured that every applicant be required to
demonstrate they cannot avoid negatively impacting the stream and wetland *IF the applicant cannot avoid impacting the stream,
I would like TDEC to require permit applicants to evaluate alternatives
that minimize impacts to the stream or wetland.
* The two points above
should apply to every stream and wetland in Tennessee - no matter where
they are located.
[For
a copy of this notice of rulemaking hearing or of the draft general permits,
contact Dan Eagar, Natural Resources Section, Division of Water Pollution
Control, 7th floor, L&C Annex, 401 Church Street, Nashville, Tennessee
37243-1534, Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, 615/532-0708.]
[For
more information, contact Danielle Droitsch at [email protected]]
MEMBERS
OF THE WATER QUALITY CONTROL BOARD
Ms.
Leslie Cain
Cain
Autoplex
Hwy.
96 & I-65 South
Franklin,
TN 37068-0789
615-794-2572
Department
of Health, Tennessee
Mr.
Robert Worthington
Laboratory
Services
7th
Fl., Ben Allen Road
Nashville,
TN 37247-0801
615-262-6302
Dr.
James Cunningham
University
of TN - Chattanooga
615
McCallie Avenue
Chattanooga,
TN 37403
423-755-4361
Mr.
Michael Countess
Assistant
Commissioner
Department
of Agriculture
Ellington
Agricultural Center
Nashville,
TN 37204
615-837-5311
Mr.
Eddie Floyd
3165
Foster chapel Road
Columbia,
TN 38401
931-388-6752
Ms.
Geneil Hailey Dillehay, P.E.
88
Difficult Rd.
Carthage,
TN 37030
615-774-3633
Mr.
John Charles Wilson
560
Orr Road
Arlington,
TN 38002-4324
(901)
867-7468
Dr.
Don Byerly
University
of Tennessee
Department
of Geological Science
Knoxville,
TN 37996-1410
865-974-6007
Mr.
Frank Brogden
3716
Arrowhead Trial
Kingsport,
TN 37664
423-246-9197
(area code could be 865)
Mr.
John Leonard
Bureau
of Environment
21st
Floor L&C Tower
Nashville,
TN 37243
615-532-0225
2.
EPA Revises Approval Rules for Water Quality Standards
EPA
has revised its regulation that specifies when new and revised State and
Tribal water quality standards become effective for Clean Water Act purposes.
Under EPA*™s regulation, such new and revised standards, if submitted
to EPA after the effective date of the final rule, will not be used for
Clean Water Act purposes until approved by EPA. The final rule also provides
that standards already in effect and submitted to EPA by the effective
date of the new rule may be used for Clean Water Act purposes, whether
or not approved by EPA. The regulation became effective May 30, 2000.
For
more information, visit www.epa.gov/ost/standards/alaska/
3.
New Bill to Modify Clean Water Act to Address Fish Habitat
Sen.
Kit Bond (R-MO) and Rep. John Tanner (D-TN) recently introduced the Fishable
Waters Act of 2000. The bill
was developed by the Fishable Waters Coalition, an alliance of farmers,
anglers, state resource agencies and conservation groups, out of a common
concern that the Clean Water Act must be enhanced to solve America*™s
fisheries needs.
Currently,
38% of the national*™s freshwater ecosystems are not fishable or swim-able,
and less than 2 percent of the 3.6 million stream miles are healthy enough
to be considered high quality.
The
Fishable Waters Act emphasizes a "bottom-up approach" to allocating
financial and technical resources to manage watersheds at a local level.
Rather than increasing regulations, the bill would establish a new program
within the Clean Water Act that would allow states to use funds in their
Fisheries Habitat Account to finance approved conservation projects, thereby
expanding the spending authority of states and allowing them to provide
support directly to landowners and watershed councils.
To
find out more about the Fishable Waters Act contact Steve Moyer, Trout
Unlimited at 703-522-0200 or [email protected]
4.
Atlas of America's Polluted Waters
EPA
has recently published the Atlas of America's Polluted Waters, EPA 840-B-00-002,
which include maps showing waters within each state that do not meet state
water quality standards. States
listed these waters in their most recent submission to EPA, generally,
in 1998, as required by section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act.
This provision of the Clean Water Act requires a "total maximum
daily load" or TMDL for each listed water.
Over
20,000 water bodies across the country are identified as not meeting water
quality standards. These
water bodies include more than 300,000 miles of rivers and streams and
more than 5 million lake acres.
The overwhelming majority of Americans -- 218 million -- live within
10 miles of a polluted water body.
A
key feature of the 1998 lists of polluted waters is that, for the first
time, all states provided computer-based "geo-referencing" data
that allow consistent mapping of these polluted waters.
In order to better illustrate the extent and seriousness of water
pollution problems around the country, EPA prepared this Atlas of state
maps that identify the polluted waters in each state. The maps are color coded to indicate then type of pollutant
causing the pollution problem. And,
bar charts show the types of pollutants impairing stream/river/coastal
miles, and lakes/estuary/wetland acres.
Copies
of the document are available at no charge from the National Service Center
for Environmental Publications (NSCEP) in Cincinnati at: Phone: (513)
489-8190; Fax: (513) 489-8695.
A copy of the Atlas has also been posted on the TMDL web site for
browsing and downloading at: http://www.epa.gov/owow/tmdl/atlas/index.html
-
EPA Releases Liquid Assets 2000: Water Resources at a Turning Point
EPA
has released a new report showing how the economy depends on clean water.
At the same time the report warns that to provide the powerful boost clean
water gives the economy, the U.S. faces significant challenges cleaning
up the nation's remaining polluted waterways.
Liquid Assets 2000: America's Water Resources at a Turning Point
provides a snapshot of the problems we face in the new millennium, and
the actions we must take to protect and restore the Nation's water resources.
The report also explains the role of a strengthened TMDL program
to help clean up the Nation's waters.
For
a copy of the report, visit http://www.epa.gov/ow/liquidassets
-
Water Monitoring Materials from "Save Our Streams"
The Izaak Walton League of America*™s Save Our Streams
Program has just come out with its 2000 Program Catalogue.
Their new catalogue includes stream monitoring and conservation
workshops as well as many helpful monitoring items such as how to become
a watershed steward, monitor*™s guides to aquatic critters, teachers*™
guides to saving streams, as well as videos and equipment for volunteer
monitoring.
For
more on these products, go to www.iwla.org or call 1-800-BUG-IWLA
7.
Poll Indicates Americans Support Environmental Movements
A
recent Gallup poll found that 83% of Americans continue to support the
goals of the environmental movement that began thirty years ago with the
first Earth Day. Sixteen
percent of those polled consider themselves active in the environmental
movement, while 55% say they are "sympathetic but not active."
In addition, more than three-quarters stated that among institutions,
they place the most trust in national and local environmental groups to
protect the environment. (Source:
Ami Grace, [email protected]igc.org)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tennessee
Clean Water Network E-News
This
newsletter is intended to provide a quick look at current clean water
issues in Tennessee, in addition to resources available to the concerned
citizen.
Visit
our website (www.tcwn.org) to find more detailed information and take
advantage of our "message board" to post your questions, comments,
or concerns for all to review and respond.
Comments
and submissions for the newsletter are welcome. Send to [email protected]
or to [email protected]
Thanks for your participation!
