Tennessee Clean Water Network: Pressroom

Tennessee Clean Water Network Honors East TN Hero
Frank Hensley Named 2006 Bill Russell River Hero

Contact: Cortney Piper, TCWN
865.522.7007 ext 1
865.789.2669 (cell)

(July 28, 2006) Tennessee Clean Water Network presented Frank Hensley with the 2006 Bill Russell River Hero Award Thursday night at the Foundry at World’s Fair Park. Each year, the River Hero award is presented to an individual who strives to protect, restore and enhance Tennessee’s waters and the communities who depend on them. Mr. Hensley has played an active role in protecting the watersheds of the Cumberland Plateau for over thirty years.

“Frank Hensley motivates others to follow in his foot steps to protect the waters we live with and love.” Stated Renee Hoyos, TCWN Executive Director. “TCWN is honored to present him with the 2006 River Hero Award.”

Frank Hensley spearheaded a mandate to limit pollutant loads from entering the Obed River from the City of Crossville to breathe life back into the Obed. Frank also played a key role in preserving 10,000 acres of land in Pickett and Fentress Counties that hold the headwaters of the Big South Fork and Wolf River.

“I am especially humbled to receive this award because it is in honor of the greatest river hero of all, Bill Russell.” Said Hensley at Thursday night’s celebration. “Without him we would have two deep lakes where the Big South Fork and the Obed Wild and Scenic Rivers now flow free.”

Frank’s admirers say his love of whitewater paddling is infectious to the scores of individuals he introduces to the activity. They rave one of his most significant contributions to the protection of Tennessee’s streams is the degree to which he successfully inspires others to act to keep our waters wild and clean.

“Teneesseans can look to our River Hero’s, like Frank Hensley, for inspiration.” Noted Hoyos. “Successfully protecting our waters is possible when our communities come together to hold polluters and our governments accountable to protecting our clean water.”

Dr. Liane Russell, wife of the late Bill Russell and retired Oak Ridge National Lab geneticist, presented the River Hero Award to Hensley Thursday night in honor of her late husband, Bill.

"I can’t think of anyone more deserving of an award named in Bill's honor than MY hero, Frank Hensley." Said Russell. “I know Frank would have been Bill’s hero, too!”

Hensley’s love of water started in West Virginia during World War II. The Ohio and the Big Sandy Rivers were the places he spent his free time.

All of the cities dumped raw sewage and garbage into the rivers. A cross-tie creosoting plant dumped a steady stream of creosote into the Ohio River, and all of the sand and gravel downstream was coated with the gummy substance.

Frank swam on these rivers, dodging sewage from municipalities and coal sludge from the mining industry.

“Water is cleaner now than in the 40’s and 50’s. However, rivers are still not treated as public property because the coal, oil and chemical companies utilize rivers as if they were the owners.” Added Hensley.

The Tennessee Clean Water Network organizes communities who, like Frank, are facing threats to their clean water. TCWN provides organizing assistance, networking opportunities and access to their expert referral system to communities working to protect their right to clean water.

Tennessee Clean Water Network honored all River Hero nominees as 2006 River Champions. They include: James McMillan, JR Shute and Pat Rakes of Conservation Fisheries Inc, Nelson Ross, Judy Boston, John Brittle Jr., Barry Sulkin, Dixie Couts and Kathy Krone.

The Man Behind the Award

William (Bill) Russell was a world-renowned geneticist and long-time advocate for Tennessee waters. Together with wife Liane, he founded Tennessee Citizens for Wilderness Planning (TCWP) in 1966, an organization dedicated to the protection of land and water through public ownership. Bill co-authored and facilitated the passage of the Tennessee Scenic Rivers Act in 1968, the first such comprehensive act in the nation, preceding the national act.

“Bill worked tirelessly to prevent the construction of a dam on the Obed River, a river he had come to love above all others.” Said Cortney Piper, Director of Development and Communications for TCWN. “He eventually succeeded in not only saving the Obed from the dam, but in having it designated a National Wild and Scenic River in 1976.”

Bill Russell died on July 23, 2003 shortly after his 93rd birthday. Tennessee Clean Water Network is honored to add this award to his amazing legacy.

Tennessee Clean Water Network wishes to thank the 2006 Bill Russell River Hero sponsors including: World Wildlife Fund, John Noel and Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, Tennessee Scenic Rivers Association, Monfee Medical Clinic, Tennessee Citizens for Wilderness Planning, The Nature Conservancy, National Parks Conservation Association, Axel Ringe and Tennessee Parks and Greenways Foundation.

For more information about the Tennessee Clean Water Network and the Bill Russell River Hero Award call 865.522.7007 or visit the River Hero website.

###

__________________________________________________________________________________

TCWN Finds State Launches Expedited Enforcement Program
for Tennessee’s #1 Water Polluter

Contact: Jennifer Gerbasi, TCWN
865-522-7007 ext 2

(July 18, 2006) Tennessee Clean Water Network recently discovered the TN Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) launched an expedited construction stormwater enforcement process this May. This is the Department’s latest effort to decrease the number of water pollution violations from construction sites. The Tennessee Clean Water Network supports TDEC’s first steps to more effectively enforce our clean water laws and advises this program and future programs should include goals of increasing water quality and decreasing pollution impacts on Tennessee’s communities.

"TDEC has a responsibility to demonstrate its commitment to improve water quality through out the state to its residents.” States Renée Hoyos, TCWN Executive Director. “Expedited enforcement must be used consistently and efficiently by TDEC to ensure that polluters are held accountable to our clean water laws.”

In a memo to TDEC field and technical staff it states “We (TDEC) anticipate that this expedited order will be used as a first action in situations where there has not been significant harm to waters, and the division does not desire detailed corrective action.”

Paul Davis, TDEC Division of Water Pollution Control Director, made it very clear the goal of the expedited enforcement process is to make TDEC’s construction stormwater program more effective by decreasing the response time to issue penalties and fines. TDEC believes an indicator of success would be fewer water pollution violations from construction sites.

“The Tennessee Clean Water Network hopes developers use the warning as an opportunity to implement erosion control systems as they agree to in their permits to protect our waters and our communities from flooding.” Adds Jennifer Gerbasi, TCWN Director of Programs and Legislative Affairs.

The Expedited Director’s Order is a two-page document that field officers in the eight (8) regional offices can carry to sites and use as checklists for water pollution permits and water pollution permit violations. Within days, the developer, contractor or builder receives a fine with a cover letter from the central TDEC office in Nashville.

This is a stark contrast to the previous enforcement measures that took months, even years to issues fines, penalties and corrective actions.

Plus, when fines and penalties were previously assessed the developer usually stalled enforcement action with appeals in front of the Water Quality Control Board (WQCB).

While the Expedited Director’s Orders can also be appealed, most of the violations are black and white and appeals could be considered frivolous. The WQCB could increase the fine to cover staff and board expenses or an arbitrary amount if it decided the appeal was frivolous and intended only to waste time.

“The expedited enforcement program allows field officers to give polluters a taste of the fines the legislature has approved to deter polluters from ignoring their responsibilities under the law and destroying our streams.” States Gerbasi.

The Expedited Director’s Order (EDO) lists $11,500 in fines and has Paul Davis’s signature (the Director of Water Pollution Control) on the form. Davis pre-approved these orders, and empowered filed officers to issue them without further review. On the EDO, failure to retain sediment on site is a $1,000 fine. The largest fine available through the EDO is $9,500.

“TCWN found since May 1, TDEC used the Expedited Director’s Order 2-3 times per week, and that number is rising as field officers get comfortable with the process.” Gerbasi adds, “Developers should find erosion control less expensive to use than to put it off and destroy streams in hopes of avoiding detection.”

Field officers can still award Notices of Violation immediately, and can pursue enforcement actions that include heavy fines (an upwards of $10,000 per day, per violation) and corrective actions if violations continue.

“The Tennessee Clean Water Network is looking forward to more public accountability in TDEC’s decision making that affect the waters Tennesseans live with and love.” Concluded Hoyos.

In Tennessee, sediment from construction and other land disturbances is the leading water pollutant. Sediment in our waters increases flooding, transports chemicals and degrades aquatic habitat.

To view a detailed report on the Expedited Enforcement Program, including a list of fines and penalties, please visit our pressroom

_______________________________________________________________________________

'Megasite' opponents fear worse pollution
Associated Press

KNOXVILLE — Opponents to a proposed "megasite" being touted for an automobile manufacturing plant in West Tennessee pleaded with the Tennessee Valley Authority on Wednesday to consider the environmental impact of any development.

The 3,800-acre tract, which includes land owned by Lt. Gov. John Wilder, is in Haywood and Fayette counties near Memphis. TVA consultants are studying the tract for certification in the agency's "megasite" economic development program.

Renee Hoyos, executive director of the Tennessee Clean Water Network, told the TVA Board of Directors that an auto plant would "produce an incredible amount of air and water pollution," threatening the pristine Hatchie River and countryside.

She urged the agency to perform an environmental impact study on the site, worried that residents "do not know how their aquifer, wells and rivers will be affected."

Gary Bullwinkel, one of a group of residents in the Citizens Against the Haywood-Fayette County Mega Site, said the "criteria and process is flawed" that was used to consider the site and that Fayette County commissioners passed a resolution against it.

"We are a happy community. What's going to happen to our heritage?" asked Eric Greer, who grows cotton on a farm inherited from his grandfather.

The TVA board took no action Wednesday.

Read TCWN's Comments

_______________________________________________________________________________________

County’s Non-Compliance with Clean Water Laws Causing Damage to Private Property
Citizen group kicks off enforcement campaign, Targets Mayor

Contact: Renee Hoyos - 865.522.7007 ext 4
865.607.6618 (cell)

(June 22, 2006) Members of the Knox County Clean Water Alliance and the Tennessee Clean Water Network kicked off a citizen’s stormwater enforcement campaign at Fountain City Park today. The kick-off urged Knox County residents to take pictures of flooding, drainage and water pollution from over development and send them to Mayor Ragsdale. The Tennessee Clean Water Network pointed out that pollution is occurring because the County continues to be in non-compliance with state and federal clean water laws.

“Over the past 20 years I’ve seen tremendous growth in Northeast Knox County and with that growth, increased flooding and clear creeks running cloudy with sediment.” Said Darrell Acuff, a farmer in Corryton. “It is the responsibility first of our Knox County Mayor Ragsdale along with County officials and County Commission to protect our property from flooding and protect our water quality.”

The responsibility Acuff is referring to is spelled out in a state mandated program called the MS4 Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) phase II water pollution permit program. The MS4 Phase II Permit is given by the state to small municipalities to control pollution going into our waters. In particular, it is designed to control pollution that flows into our streams from over development, such as sediment or mud. Sediment carried in water increases flooding, impacts water supplies and navigation, degrades aquatic habitat and transports chemicals.

“Water pollution from over development should be Mayor Ragsdale’s first priority when the Charter issue is resolved.” said Renée Hoyos, Executive Director of TCWN. “That means Knox County adopts a stormwater ordinance that meets state and federal clean water laws and protects its waters from pollution and property from flood damage.” added Hoyos.

James McMillan, a farmer in Northeast Knox County assists people like Darrell Acuff to get Knox County to enforce its stormwater ordinance and other clean water laws. McMillan has helped over 40 people in 2 years with problems ranging from flooding to drainage to water pollution. Alone, he has recorded over 400 water quality violations from over development in Knox County.

“Over the past year we’ve been meeting with Mayor Ragsdale and his staff to communicate the urgency and his responsibility to protect the waters of the County and protect people’s property.” said Hoyos. “Our recommendations have fallen on deaf ears.”

Add to that a report the Mayor’s close friend and engineer, Steve Maynard, wrote in early 2005, that noted harmful flooding occurring in Whites Creek and Murphy’s Creek watersheds due to the laws of Knox County, the State of Tennessee and the Federal Government not being enforced.

“The Knox County Clean Water Alliance is calling on its residents to report flooding, water pollution and drainage problems by using their flood action brochure and their website www.kccwa.org” exclaimed Nancy Andrews, volunteer for the Knox County Clean Water Alliance.

The brochure and website gives citizens the tools and assistance needed to show Mayor Ragsdale that the County should prioritize the adoption of a protective stormwater ordinance that meets state and federal clean water laws to protect property and water for future generations.

“Enforcement of our clean water laws means no community has to suffer from water pollution.” concluded Hoyos.

The TN Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) labels sediment as the state’s number one source of pollution into our river, creeks and streams.

Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation released their list of the states most polluted and impaired waters earlier this year and Knox County has 35 streams and their associated 360 river miles on this list.

The Knox County Clean Water Alliance is a citizen group working to urge Knox County and Mayor Ragsdale to adopt a stormwater ordinance that meets state and federal clean water laws and protects the County’s water and private property from over development.

TCWN is a statewide organization that assists Tennesseans facing threats to their clean water.

Visit our Press Room (Ragsdale, Wuethrich Jeopardize Clean Water and Individual Property Rights) for background information. Including a memo outlining at least 11 points where Knox County’s proposed stormwater ordinance does not meet state and federal clean water laws.

Click here to read TCWN's remarks.

____________________________________________________________

TCWN Releases Lake Sturgeon in French Broad

(June 14, 2006) TCWN Executive Director, Renee Hoyos, released Lake Sturgeon at the Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge on the French Broad River in Knox County today.

About 300 Lake Sturgeon were released today and yesterday.

Several agencies and universities are in the midst of a 20-year program to restore lake sturgeon to the upper TN river system, where they were extirpated about 50 years ago. To date, nearly 45,000 have been released in the French Broad River below Douglas Dam, the Holston River below Cherokee Dam, and in the Tennessee River in Downtown Knoxville.

Each year since 1998, sturgeon eggs have been obtained from Wisconsin. The eggs are hatched at the US Fish and Wildlife National Fish Hatchery in Warm Springs, GA. Afterwards, the small sturgeon are raised at USFWS hatcheries in Tupelo (MS), Mammoth Springs (AR), and Warm Springs (GA), along with TN Aquarium Research Institute's hatchery in Cohutta, GA. Most of the sturgeon are released in November, when the fish are 4-12" long.

TCWN enjoyed the opportunity to be involved with releasing the Lake Sturgeon on the French Broad.

Tennessee’s Wild Side, an outdoors show produced by the Renaissance Center on PBS stations across the state, covered the releases.

For more information on the Lake Sturgeon release program contact:

Edwin M. Scott, Jr.
Aquatic Biologist-Heritage Program
TVA-Resource Stewardship
400 W Summit Hill
WT 11B 358-K
Knoxville, TN 37901
(865) 632-3358 phone
(865) 632-4582 fax

_________________________________________________________________________________________

The County’s Polluted Streams
Harry Austin, Editor, Chattanooga Times Editoral Page

(June 7, 2006) For all their apparent beauty from a distance, the Tennessee River and its reservoir lakes behind area dams are typically too turbid from pollution and nutrient loads for a fisherman, swimmer or skier to see their hand at arm’s length below the water’s surface. But it’s not just the river in which pollution is a perpetual problem. Pollutants also seriously impair water quality in 22 streams and 185 stream miles in Hamilton County alone, though all these streams flow into the lower Tennessee River watershed.

That finding is revealed in a in a report just released by the Tennessee Department of Environment Conservation, or TDEC. To say that these numbers are stunning is an understatement, but that’s hardly the worst of it.

Other significant factors suggest that the level of pollution in Hamilton County’s streams is significantly broader and more serious than many citizens here might imagine.

TDEC’s assessment, a survey mandated periodically by the Environmental Protection Agency, shows that most of the polluted stream miles in Hamilton County fall into the Category 5 level of pollution, the worst of the five brackets used to designate water quality. That poor rating means that the water in most of those stream miles is unfit for its intended public purposes. Waters in the Category 5 level generally are considered unsafe not just for fishing, swimming and boating, but often for touching as well.

The depth of pollution also is daunting because it persists despite the fact that TDEC has been assessing water quality in significant streams throughout the state for years. That it does confirms that the state’s enforcement of Tennessee’s clean water laws is extremely weak, if not wholly ineffectual.

Had TDEC been enforcing state laws requiring that streams be kept clean enough to be used for their intended purposes — and not just issuing occasional notices of violations — the 22 streams would not now be on the state’s required 303(d) list, the EPA-required target list that states are compelled to compile under clean water rules.

TDEC already would have required implementation of rules and methods to mitigate such pollution. Tennessee, moreover, would not be ranked among the worse 10 states in the nation for exceeding pollution permits by 500 percent.

Among the most impaired streams and waterways in Hamilton County are Citico Creek, Chattanooga Creek, Nickajack reservoir, Freuedenberg Creek, Bee Creek, Cobbs Branch, McFarland Springs Branch, Gillespie Springs Branch, Stringers Branch, Mountain Creek, Wilkerson Branch, Wolftever Creek, Ninemile Branch, Boston Creek, Hodskin Branch, Rogers Branch, North Chickamauga Creek, Shoal Creek, Friar Branch, South Chickamauga Creek, Lewis Branch and Long Savannah Creek.

More than 50 miles of the 185 miles of polluted waterways are contaminated by sewage and, in some cases, E. coli bacteria. Excessive turbidity affects 40 miles of streams, mainly from excessive nutrients, but also from chemicals, PCBs, oils and lubricants. Manure runoff from confined animal feeding operations pollutes 25 miles. Industrial pollution and runoff from abandoned mines pollutes 133 miles of streams.

Taken collectively, it seems as if such pollution is a common abuse. Yet pollution in the county’s streams is of a level that is forbidden under state law and should not be allowed. TDEC is required, but has not yet established, the total maximum daily load of pollutants that can safely be allowed in these streams without impairing their intended public uses.

TDEC should move quickly to establish and control pollution limits. Regrettably, due to budget constraints and an overburdened staff (TDEC has assessed pollution in just half the state’s waterways) that won’t happen soon — unless concerned citizens raise their voice.

Source: Chattanooga Times Free Press

__________________________________________________________________________________

TCWN assists Cross Bridges Community Association Restore the Bigby
Alex Miller, Columbia Daily Herald

(May 30, 2006) Members of the Cross Bridges Community Association met this month to discuss pollution in the Big Bigby and Sugar Fork creeks originating from Mt. Pleasant’s sewage treatment plant.

“I would like to see the Big Bigby Creek returned to the way it used to be,” said Elizabeth Queener, community association organizer. She said there was a time — before phosphate mining during the first half of the 20th century and recent wastewater pollution — when the creek was clean, safe and a great place to go fishing. “I was thrilled,” when the creek began to recover from phosphate pollution, she said, “but this is breaking my heart.”

In recent years, there have been unsafe levels of fecal coliform because of overflow from Mt. Pleasant’s wastewater system into the creeks. On one occasion, the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation documented coliform levels as 20,000 times higher than the results reported by the plant.

Members of the association said they were disgusted by the pollution and frustrated that more had not been done to address it.

“I’ve got granddaughters, and I’m concerned about the environment,” said Linda Whiteside, a Maury County Commissioner who attended the event.

Cross Bridges resident Byrd Cain Jr. said, “I’d like to be able to eat the fish out of it,” and Rusty Vest Jr., who owns property along Big Bigby creek, said, “I used to wade and fish in this creek fairly often, but I don’t know what the future of that is ... I’m very frustrated that nobody seems to be concerned.”

The community association has secured help from the Tennessee Clean Water Network, an organization advocating protection and restoration of the state’s waters, and John McFadden, an aquatic biologist with the Harpeth River Watershed Association.

Cortney Piper, TCWN communications director, talked to association members about their concerns about the river and what they wanted to do about it.

“Two hours from now you’ll have a plan in your hands,” she said as the meeting began.
Ultimately, the plan outlined a number of goals:

. stopping unsafe levels of wastewater pollution from entering the creeks;

. increasing water quality monitoring;

. ensuring residents are notified when pollutants make the creeks unsafe;

. continuing to protect the creeks in the future.

To meet these goals, the association plans a campaign to inform residents of the magnitude of the problem, discuss its concerns with the sewage treatment plant’s management, pressure local politicians and — if all else fails — they haven’t ruled out litigation.

“Community involvement in the problem is a critical piece,” McFadden said. TCWN hired him to provide technical expertise for the association.

He spoke about levels of fecal coliform and ecoli in the creeks and the indictment of several Mt. Pleasant wastewater employees for submitting false reports.

“The foxes are guarding the hen house,” he said. The false reports “are a criminal offense. It’s a very serious charge ... the state has documented this lack of recording.”

Cross Bridges is a Maury County community located downstream from the Mt. Pleasant wastewater plant. In March, the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation issued an advisory warning people to avoid contact with sections of the creek. According to Vest, the unsafe area included parts of Cross Bridges. TDEC lifted the advisory March 13. A press release stated sewage still occasionally overflows into the creek which remains on a list of the state’s impaired waterways.

For residents like Judy Cecil, whose families have lived next to the Big Bigby for generations, cleaning the creek and keeping it that way for good is essential.

“The main thing we’re trying to do,” she said, “is get the wastewater plant to clean up its act.”

Source: Columbia Daily Herald

______________________________________________________

Supreme Court Rules Unanimously Dams Must Obey Clean Water Law

Court Finds 9-0 for State Rights in Clean Water Cases

(May 16, 2006) Earlier this week the Supreme Court decided 9-0 to reject a South African company’s bid to exempt five hydroelectric dams it owns in Maine from the Clean Water Act. The court rejected the company’s arguments in S.D. Warren v. Maine Board of Environmental Protection with a common-sense decision that recognized well-established science that dams can have a huge impact on water quality.

“It was beyond ludicrous for S.D. Warren to argue that its dam didn’t have to comply with the Clean Water Act,” said Rebecca Wodder, president of American Rivers. “This is a victory for rivers, for the clean water, and most of all for good old common sense.”

While many dams provide benefits, they can also cause considerable harm to rivers, as well as local communities. Dams have depleted fisheries, degraded river ecosystems, and diminished recreational and economic opportunities on rivers across the nation.

Since 1970, states have used their authority under the Clean Water Act to require hydroelectric dams to mitigate their detrimental effects on water quality. S.D. Warren’s challenge could have rendered states incapable of setting even basic conditions for the operation of hydropower dams within their borders.

TCWN utilized this provision to restore 10,000 acres of biologically diverse land in the Southern Appalachians using the FERC relicensing process. This agreement protects 21 rare and endangered species and replenished flows in two previously dry stretches of river. Additionally, more that $12 million will be provided for conservation projects and recreational facilities.

As formal parties to the case, American Rivers and Friends of the Presumpscot River (FOPR) strongly supported the state of Maine’s right to establish requirements for dams on its rivers. They were joined by the Bush Administration, a bipartisan group of 36 state attorneys general, a coalition of more than four dozen conservation and fishing groups, American Indian tribes, and leading river scientists and engineers, and others that filed amicus or “friend of the Court” briefs.

Tennessee Attorney General Paul Summers signed on to the Amicus Briefs. By signing onto this briefs, Summers has shown his support to uphold the Clean Water Act and his willingness to support Tennesseans in helping to maintain and protect our clean water.

“Some cases are complicated, but this one wasn’t. Dams can hurt water quality, so water quality protection laws have to apply; it’s a no-brainer,” Wodder said. “We hope that the Court will apply this same common sense approach to the remaining Clean Water Act cases before them and affirm that all waters of the United States are deserving of federal protection.”

Click here to read the summary of the decision
Click here to read the full decision

Source: American Rivers

_____________________________________________________________________

County's troubled waters
35 streams on state's impaired water list; two others removed

By: Scott Barker, Knoxville News Sentinel

(April 19, 2006) Willow Fork meanders past ball fields, trickles through pastures, and skirts around subdivisions until it flows into Beaver Creek in Halls.
The water gurgles over stones and fans out into sun-dappled pools. From a distance, Willow Fork looks healthy.

Looks can be deceiving.

Up close, the creek is clouded with sediment. Under the microscope, the water teems with bacteria. In places, the plant life on the stream bank, which prevents erosion and filters out harmful substances, has been removed.

Because of these woes, Willow Fork has been added to the state's list of impaired waters, accouding to a biennial report released this month by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation.

State officials added two additional Beaver Creek tributaries to the list. Two other North Knox County streams improved enough for removal.

Bob Wolfenbarger of the Knox County Clean Water Alliance doesn't mince words when talking about the 35 streams in the county that made the list.

"Impaired means polluted," Wolfenbarger said. "It means somebody's breaking the law."

The 155-page impaired waters list is issued in conjunction with a 152-page status report of statewide water quality. Together, they offer a view of the health of Tennessee's waterways.

Officials review watershed data on a rotating basis, updating information for one-fifth of the state's watersheds for each report. Because some of the information is a decade old, the picture drawn from the reports is less a crisp snapshot of water quality than a blurred time-elapse exposure.

Still, some long-term trends have emerged over the years, said Paul Davis, who heads the state's Water Pollution Control Division.

The biggest change is that construction has moved ahead of heavy industry as a source of contaminants during the past three decades, Davis said. In addition to construction, rapid growth has meant that housing, commercial districts, industrial plants and recreational sites often exist side by side.

"In Tennessee and all Southeastern states, we work and live and play in watersheds where we fish and drink," Davis said.

Sedimentation, which can snuff out aquatic life, is the most common affliction, according to the status report.

Agriculture - because of pesticides, fertilizers and bacteria from manure - remains the biggest polluting source statewide, Davis said. Stream modification and municipal discharges, which include sanitary and storm sewer releases, also play a major role. Construction runoff is a problem in many areas.

"Sedimentation from construction is one of the major problems, and we're hearing that from all over the state," said Renee Hoyos, executive director of the Tennessee Clean Water Network.

There are 60,000 miles of streams and nearly 538,000 acres of lakes in Tennessee. Every body of water is supposed to support aquatic life and recreation, and most also are classified for irrigation and watering for livestock and wildlife. Others might supply drinking water, water for industrial use or allow for navigation.

One-third of the streams don't fully support all the uses designated by the state. State officials put 9,358 miles of streams - about 15 percent of the total - on the impaired waters list.

In Knox County, nearly 361 stream miles - enough for a pipeline stretching from Knoxville to Memphis and across the Mississippi River - are impaired.

One-fifth of the state's lake areas don't fully support all their designated uses, and Tennessee's wetlands have shrunk by about 60 percent to 787,000 acres.

The problems differ from community to community. Urban runoff is a problem in Knox County. In Sevier County, improper sewer connections and septic tank failures have fouled the Little Pigeon River.

The pollutants befouling area lakes are primarily PCBs and the pesticide chlordane, both of which were banned in the 1970s but stay in the environment for a long time.

Davis said problems with sewage primarily have been because of aging sewer lines.

"We were more successful in getting treatment plants in place than we were in maintaining our collection and transportation infrastructure," he said.

Under pressure from regulators, the Knoxville Utilities Board agreed to spend $350 million over the next decade to upgrade its sewers.

In addition to Willow Fork, two other Beaver Creek tributaries - Cox Creek and Plumb Creek - were added to the list because of high bacteria levels.

TDEC spokeswoman Tisha Calabrese-Benton said the addition of the streams doesn't necessarily mean that new sources of pollution have tainted the water. For example, she said, a University of Tennessee study of the Beaver Creek watershed has provided a much more detailed picture of the stream and its tributaries.

"Just because it's newly listed doesn't mean it's newly impaired," Calabrese-Benton said.

Ten East Tennessee streams, including two in North Knox County, have been dropped from the impaired waters list.

The North Fork of Bull Run Creek in North Knox County "improved dramatically" after TDEC forced the city of Maynardville to make improvements to its sewage system, the report states. The report credits successful efforts to reduce runoff from a rock quarry in Heiskell with helping to improve the health of Foster Branch.

As for Willow Fork and other impaired streams, Knox County is developing a comprehensive plan to improve water quality, said Dwight Van de Vate, spokesman for Knox County Mayor Mike Ragsdale.

The county and the city of Knoxville plan to hire a consultant to review their ordinances to comply with the state-mandated urban growth plan. A county stormwater ordinance proposed last year has been put on hold until then.

The county also has formed a task force with the Tennessee Valley Authority and other agencies to conduct an in-depth study of the Beaver Creek watershed.

"They're doing pretty detailed sampling and comparing it to various land uses to come up with a watershed land-use plan," said Knox County stormwater coordinator Chris Granju.

The Beaver Creek Watershed Association already has begun taking action. With the help of a TVA grant, the nonprofit group has established and improved Halls Marsh, a wetland at the confluence of Willow Fork and Beaver Creek.

Because wetlands filter out contaminants and snare sediments, the waters downstream should be getting a little less cloudy.

Source: Knoxville News Sentinel

Knox County's proposed stormwater ordinance does not meet state and federal clean water laws and therefore will do little to clean up our most impaired and polluted waters. Visit our pressroom to learn more.

Prevent Flooding, Get Involved: Knox County Clean Water Alliance

_____________________________________________________________________

Knox County Clean Water Alliance Releases Flood Action Brochure

(April 10, 2006) The Knox County Clean Water Alliance has released a brochure to assist citizens document flooding and stormwater violations in Knox County. The brochure calls for Knox County residents to take pictures of flood damage and stormwater violations and report them to County decision makers in order for the County to adopt a more protective ordinance. The brochure gives examples of what types of pictures to take and lists names, addresses, emails and phone numbers of the decision makers to contact who can solve Knox County's flooding and drainage problems. There is also a support line for folks to call who have questions about taking pictures.

“If Mayor Ragsdale intends to continue growing Knox County, the Mayor must assume Knox County’s responsibility for protecting our water and individual property.” States Bob Wolfenbarger, president of Alice Bell neighborhood association and a leader of the Knox County Clean Water Alliance.

In February of this year, the KCCWA along with TCWN released a memo to Knox County government detailing at least 11 points in the County's proposed stormwater ordinance that do not meet state and federal clean water laws.

Knox County created the new stormwater ordinance to fulfill the state of Tennessee’s Municipal Storm Sewer System (MS4) phase II water pollution permit program. The MS4 Phase II Permit is given by the state, to small municipalities, to control pollution going into our waters. In particular, it is designed to control pollution that flows into our streams from over development, such as sediment or mud. The TN Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) labels sediment as the state’s number one source of pollution to our rivers, streams, and lakes. Sediment carried in water increases flooding, impacts water supplies and navigation, degrades aquatic habitat and transports chemicals.

One of the most shocking aspects of the Knox County’s proposed stormwater ordinance is the total disregard for individual property rights. In the County’s ordinance, it provides that the ultimate homeowner or landowner will be responsible for managing stormwater controls. This means if a stormwater control measure, such as a detention pond, was poorly constructed by the developer and not properly inspected by the County and it fails (i.e. causes flood damage to homes or pollutes a water way) the landowner is responsible for the damages. This creates a situation were neighbors will be suing neighbors to recoup damages to their property for a developer’s mistake and the County’s lack of enforcement.

“Knox County cannot lawfully transfer its permit obligations to private landowners in order to escape the long-term obligations imposed by the permit.” States Joe McCaleb, Esq. McCaleb is an environmental attorney retained by the TCWN and KCCWA. He was involved with the TCWN lawsuit against the Knoxville Utilities Board.

McCaleb further warns this portion of the ordinance is not consistent with the interpretation of the Federal Clean Water Act and its stormwater regulations.

Also, Knox County is currently in violation of water quality standards.

In addition, Knox County has 35 streams and their associated 357 river miles on TDEC’s list of the most impaired and polluted waters. The current proposed ordinance does little to address cleaning up and protecting these streams. In fact, the County’s proposed use of the state Construction General Permit to regulate water pollution during construction increases the possibility of adding pollution to these streams where no additional pollution is allowed by law.

Click here to download the KCCWA Flood Action Brochure
Click here to learn more about stormwater and flooding problems in Knox County.

________________________________________________________

Meeting over proposed landfill gives both sides chance to speak out

By: Danica Wright Booth, The Tennessean

On Thursday, March 30th, a public meeting was held at Bellevue Middle School in Nashville about a plan to use construction materials to fill the former Hutton stone quarry, just across McCrory Lane from Hidden River State Park. State Rep. Gary Moore hosted the meeting to give both the developer and the public a chance to speak on the proposals.

The proposals, Senate Bill 3663 and House Bill 3492, are to override part of the state Scenic Rivers Act and allow a construction and demolition landfill at the rock quarry, which is next to the Harpeth River. The meeting consisted of presentations by the developers and the Harpeth River Watershed Association. Though the proposed landfill would not allow hazardous waste, it would violate the State Scenic Rivers Act, which states that no landfill can be placed in such close proximity to one of Tennessee's 13 scenic rivers.

State Sen. Douglas Henry was a proponent of the Scenic Rivers Act, but he has additional reasons for not wanting to see the proposal move forward.

"I oppose it mainly because it would set a precedent for amending the Scenic Rivers laws when any developer wants to," Henry said. "If we do it for one, we have to do it for all."

The public meeting also gave a chance for representatives from Tennessee Department of Transportation to address concerns over increased traffic the landfill may cause.

Source: The Tennessean

Click here to read TCWN's letter to Senator Fowler opposing the landfill

Visit the Harpeth River Watershed Association website for more information

_________________________________________________________________

State Scenic Rivers Act at risk from construction debris landfill proposal along Scenic Harpeth in Bellevue

Please attend public meeting Thursday, March 30th, 6:30-8:00pm and contact your state legislators.
Location: Bellevue Middle School, 655 Colice-Jeanne Road

Investors have proposed a bill to our State Legislature that calls for an exemption to the prohibition of landfills along state scenic rivers in order to use the inactive McCrory Lane quarry adjacent to the State Scenic Harpeth River in Bellevue as a construction and demolition landfill. The State Scenic Rivers Act prohibits landfills “to protect Class II (scenic) rivers from possible pollution due to the proximity of landfills for the disposal of solid or hazardous wastes.” The Act prohibits landfills within two miles on either side of these scenic rivers. The Harpeth River in Davidson County is one of 13 state scenic rivers, and is a Class II scenic river as it flows by the quarry which is 500 feet from the river.

The passage of an exemption to the State Scenic Rivers Act for this landfill proposal in the McCrory Lane quarry has dramatic statewide ramifications. It would encourage others to seek specific landfill exemptions which would undermine the law’s intent to protect our state scenic rivers from water pollution by landfills. The legislators sponsoring the bill and Senator Henry are very concerned about this precedent. They have set a public meeting to ensure that the surrounding communities and public are aware of and can provide input on this landfill proposal.

HRWA has major concerns with the possibility of groundwater contamination and then pollution to the river from using the quarry as a construction debris landfill. The quarry has water in it and lies next to the Harpeth in limestone (karst) rock that is notorious for complex surface and groundwater connections. Though construction debris landfills are not legally supposed to take hazardous or household waste, landfills have been subject to great abuse, such as illegal dumping that causes contamination of groundwater and presents health risks. Dumpsters from construction/demolition sites get filled with all sorts of things that are not legally allowed in a construction and demolition landfill.

The Harpeth River is one of the most archeologically and historically significant rivers in Tennessee. It is also an extremely popular recreational river for residents of Williamson, Davidson, Cheatham and Dickson counties who canoe and fish along it through Davidson County and just downstream from the landfill proposal in the Narrows.

Please attend the upcoming March 30 public meeting to learn details on the proposal and provide your concerns. Contact your local and State legislators immediately to tell them you strongly support the State Scenic Rivers Act, and oppose any legislation that would weaken the Act’s protections of our rivers, especially Senate Bill 3663 and House Bill 3492. Your voice is important to make a difference and influence decisions that will directly affect your community, your family, the Scenic Harpeth River and all state Scenic Rivers.

For a flier, map, and HRWA’s letter to TDEC with details on this issue, please visit: www.harpethriver.org. The quarry is on McCrory Lane and US highway 70, across the street from the Hidden River State Park and very near the I-40 McCrory Lane exit.

Below are the key legislators, but please do not hesitate to contact your legislators outside the local Bellevue area to hear of your support for the State Scenic Rivers Act. Go to www.leglislature.state.tn.us to find your elected officials contact information.

[email protected] 615-741- 3291	The proposed project is in Sen. Henry's district. Strongly opposes SB 3663 and HB 3492.
[email protected] 615-741- 1764	Sen. Fowler is the Chairman of the Environment, Conservation and Tourism Committee
[email protected] 615-741- 1764	Sen. Haynes is the bill sponsor for the exemption to the Scenic Rivers Act.
[email protected] 615-741-4317	The proposed project is in Rep. Moore's district.
[email protected] 615-741-4410	Rep Odom is the Chair of the Conservation and Environment Committee
Charlie Tygard: district [email protected] Work 256-7146	The proposal is in Metro Councilman Charlie Tygard's district.

______________________________________________________

Millions of gallons of sewage overflow into area creek

By SKYLER SWISHER/Staff Writer, Columbia Daily Herald

MT. PLEASANT — The state has renewed an environmental advisory urging Maury County residents to avoid touching the water in portions of Sugar Fork and Big Bigby creeks.

The advisory was issued March 1, lifted earlier this past week and renewed Thursday, said Dana Coleman, a spokeswoman for the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation.

“We thought they fixed the problem, but apparently not,” she said. “It (the overflow) was in the exact same spot. We wouldn’t have lifted it if we had realized it was still a problem. As soon as we realized it was still a problem, we put it back into place.”

The advisory applies to five miles of the stream, beginning at the overflow point on Sugar Fork Creek and continuing downstream to Big Bigby Creek until it reaches U.S. Highway 412.

The city estimated about 14 million gallons of sewage escaped at a manhole located near Sugar Fork Creek from Jan. 13-March 1.

The amount of sewage that escaped during that time would fill about 56 Olympic-size swimming pools.

After heavy rains this past week, the city reported another overflow at the manhole of about 150,000 gallons and an additional overflow at a manhole off of Magnolia Drive about 25 yards from the creek.

Tests showed the bacteria levels in the creeks had fallen to pre-incident levels, but the advisory was renewed when Mt. Pleasant officials reported additional overflows, Coleman said.

Bob DuBois, who lives on Cross Bridges Road outside of Mt. Pleasant, said his grandchildren used to canoe and wade through Big Bigby Creek, which runs across the creek.

They had been in the creek this past summer before the advisory was issued, he said.

“It kind of upset me to find out (about the danger) after we had been in the creek,” DuBois said. “We won’t go back into the creek until we know the problem is solved.”

Larry Gardner, who is temporarily overseeing the Mt. Pleasant Wastewater Department, said the heavy rainfall this week and the blockage of a pump caused the overflows. There was also a small leak in the line that had escaped detection, he said.

Gardner said the city’s wastewater lagoon system, which is scheduled to become operational in 2007, will process more wastewater than the current facility.

On April 1, Mt. Pleasant will also begin rehabilitating its antiquated sewer lines, he said.

“We are trying to do some quick fixes and do the best we can with what we got,” Gardner said.

“The long-term solution is going to be going out here and digging up lines, replacing lines, replacing manholes and completely rebuilding a lot of the system.”

Source: Columbia Daily Herald

The Tennessee Clean Water Network has experienced success with holding utility treatments plants accountable to the Clean Water Act and making them protect our waters by implementing long-term plans for clean up. Visit TCWN Settles with KUB over Sanitary Sewer Overflows to learn more.

___________________________________________________

McConnell Receives national award for wetlands protection

The Tennessee Clean Water Network’s 2005 River Hero Chester McConnell was recently announced as a recipient of a 2006 National Wetlands Award for Wetland Community Leader. Every year, the Environmental Law Institute’s National Wetlands Awards Program selects six outstanding recipients for their extraordinary dedication and contributions to protecting America’s wetlands. For the 2006 award, Chester McConnell was chosen as the Wetland Community Leader for his commendable dedication to protecting and conserving wetlands of Tennessee.

For over thirty years, Chester McConnell has been dedicated to activism for water issues in Tennessee and across the country. In the 1970s, McConnell played a large role in preventing the channelization of the Wolf River in Fayette County, Tennessee. From the late 1970s through the 1990s, McConnell was an extremely important advocate for wetlands protection in West Tennessee.

He opposed the West Tennessee Tributaries project, a dredging and enlarging project that would have potentially drained tens of thousands of acres of wetlands in West Tennessee. In a twenty year long campaign, McConnell has prevented the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Obion Forked Deer Basin Authority from implementing projects that would effectively alter every portion of the Forked Deer and Obion Rivers.

Chester McConnell has continuously played a crucial role in watershed conservation issues in Tennessee, and has been involved in several federal and state court cases, appealed several water quality certifications before the Water Quality Control Board with great success, and promoted water issues through numerous appearances in local, regional and national media. Through all of his hard work and dedication, Chester McConnell has proven to be an invaluable resource for the protection of Tennessee’s water quality throughout the last several decades.

On July 18th, 2005, Chester McConnell was honored as the Tennessee Clean Water Network’s 2005 River Hero. Each year, the Bill Russell River Hero Award recognizes a Tennessee citizen who has shown remarkable dedication to protecting water resources in Tennessee as well as mobilizing the public to hold polluters responsible and the government accountable for enforcing clean water laws. The Tennessee Clean Water Network nominated Mr. McConnell for the National Wetlands Awards Program for his enormous contributions to conserving our state’s water resources and continued advocacy of watershed conservation over the past several decades.

Mr. Chester McConnell will be honored for this award on May 10th, 2006 in the Cannon House Building in Washington, D.C. Among the cosponsors of the National Wetlands Awards Program are the Environmental Law Institute, the United States Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S.D.A. Natural Resource Conservation Service.

Click here for more information on the Environmental Law Institute’s National Wetlands Awards Program

___________________________________________________

Tune into WUOT Knoxville, 91.9 Today

The Clean Water Act was originally passed in 1972. Since then, advocates for the act say it’s done a remarkable job in cleaning up America’s rivers, streams and lakes.

But some say it’s too restrictive and changes to the Clean Water Act may be on the horizon.

It is no secret that Knox County has it's own share of flooding and water pollution problems. Can the Clean Water help you?

On our next Dialogue, WUOT Knoxville will talk with Renee Hoyos of the Tennessee Clean Water Network. And take your calls.

Join us for the discussion. Join us for Dialogue.

TODAY at 1 PM on 91.9 FM WUOT, Knoxville. 865.974.5050

Dialogue transcript coming soon...

_________________________________________________________

Supreme Court Hears Landmark Clean Water Act Cases

(American Rivers) The Supreme Court of the United States heard a series of cases on February 21, 2006 that could radically reshape the reach of the Clean Water Act, according to experienced litigators and scholars. The cases S.D. Warren v. Maine Board of Environmental Protection, Rapanos v. United States and Carabell v. United States Army Corps of Engineers all deal with the ability of states and the federal government to protect water resources in the United States.

The first, S. D. Warren v. Maine Board of Environmental Protection, addresses whether Section 401 of the Clean Water Act, which requires activities that result in “any discharge into the navigable waters” to be mitigated, applies to hydroelectric dams since they essentially do not add anything to the water.

The S. D. Warren Paper Company has five hydroelectric dams along the Presumpscot River in Maine, and was granted a state water quality certification stipulating certain conditions for maintaining water quality standards in order to obtain a federal license from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to operate their dams. These conditions included maintaining minimum flows of water, meeting certain dissolved oxygen requirements, and allowing for adequate fish protection and passage, thereby decreasing the large environmental impact of the dams.

TCWN was able to restore 10,000 acres of biologically diverse land in the Southern Appalachians using the FERC relicensing process. This agreement protects 21 rare and endangered species and replenished flows in two previously dry stretches of river. Additionally, more that $12 million will be provided for conservation projects and recreational facilities.

If the court sides with the S. D. Warren Paper Company, then the discharge of dams will no longer be monitored by the Clean Water Act, therefore eliminating the need for companies operating hydroelectric dams to obtain Clean Water Act permits. This would in effect make them immune to water quality standards set forth by the Clean Water Act and would no longer require them to mitigate the damage that dams incur on waterways. This case is extremely important because it affects more than 2500 dams on over 500 rivers across the United States. If the S.D. Warren Company prevailed, the burden of states to meet minimum water quality standards would fall on other industries and municipalities.

The other two cases, which have been consolidated, are Rapanos v. United States and Carabell v. United States Army Corps of Engineers. They deal with the ability of the federal government to mandate minimum protections on our nation’s waterways. Both cases are disputes over commercial developments in the wetlands of Michigan that affect tributaries of the Great Lakes. In both, developers have been joined by industrial polluters to challenge the definition of “federally protected waters” under the act, arguing that they can pollute even destroy these waters without a Clean Water Act permit.

American Rivers and several other nonprofit organizations, including TCWN, have filed Amicus Briefs that side with the United States government in upholding the Clean Water Act in both cases.

Tennessee Attorney General Paul Summers has also signed on to the two Amicus Briefs. By signing onto these briefs, Summers has shown his support to uphold the Clean Water Act and his willingness to support Tennesseans in helping to maintain and protect our clean water.

Please feel free to thank him at:

Office of Attorney General
P.O. Box 20207
Nashville, TN 37202-0207
615.741.3491

Source: American Rivers

_____________________________________________________________________

US Fish and Wildlife Service Leaves out Public While Making Plans to pollute Reelfoot Lake
Draft plan outlines activities that destroys pristine habitat for sportsmen

Contact:
Renée Victoria Hoyos, Executive Director (w) 865.522.7007 (c) 865.607.6618
Al Hamilton, Vice-President of the Board of TCWN (c) 731-446-8234

(February 15, 2006) The US Fish and Wildlife Agency (USFWS) completed its Draft Environmental Assessment (EA) and Draft Comprehensive Conservation Plan (Draft Plan) for the Reelfoot Lake and Isom Lake Wildlife Refuge. This draft plan will direct activities on Reelfoot Lake for the next 20 years. The Reelfoot Lake, Lake Isom Wildlife Refuge was created in 1941 in a lease agreement with the State of Tennessee to create a sanctuary for migratory birds. TCWN provided comments to the draft illustrating a shift in the designated use of Reelfoot Lake would jeopardize the water quality and ruin Reelfoot Lake’s unique and pristine habitat

“The Network is disappointed in the Fish and Wildlife Service,” Says Renée Hoyos, Executive Director of the Tennessee Clean Water Network. “The Fish and Wildlife Service changed the designed use of the Refuge without properly notifying residents of Reelfoot and disregarded Reelfoots Lake’s Tier III water quality protection status in this draft plan.”

Given Reelfoot Lake’s Tier III protection status no pollution, or degradation, is allowed to the lake under the law. However, TCWN provided eleven pages of comments showing the USFWS draft plan will be moving away from protecting migratory birds to allowing construction, logging and land acquisition around and in the refuge. TCWN determined many of the proposed actions will negatively effect water quality and migratory bird habitat. Furthermore, the document is silent on issues that are within the USFWS authority that also impact water quality such as herbicide spraying and managing the lake water level and coordinating with the other two agencies that manage the lake, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. Nor is there any mention of how the USFWS will obtain the necessary water quality permits required for these activities.

“We want the USFWS to reopen the process to allow an open dialogue with the residents of Reelfoot Lake.” Explains Hoyos. “We also want the USFWS to uphold Reelfoot Lake’s protection status by publicly addressing TCWN’s comments and making the suggested changes to the draft plan.”

By neglecting their duties, the USFWS is setting the stage for further destruction of Reelfoot Lake that is the hunting and fishing destination for thousands of people each year. Local residents and resort owners want a say in the new plan because it will affect their livelihoods.

"I have talked with several landowners and sportsman in the last three weeks, including resort owners around Reelfoot Lake, which will be effected by plan, very few knew anything about or were aware that the USFWS was writing a long range plan effecting them.” Says Al Hamilton, of the Reelfoot Lake Watch Group. “The purpose and stated intent of the August 28, 1941 lease and cooperative agreement between the State of Tennessee and USFWS is being altered without being subject to regulatory processes that are required under the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA).

Background

Formed by a series of earthquakes in 1811-1812, Reelfoot Lake is Tennessee's only natural lake. It was recognized by the Tennessee Legislature in 1997 as an Outstanding National Resource Water given the highest protection from pollution under the law.

Unfortunately, dredging and toxic herbicide spraying on this lake are causing serious degradation and adding pollution to Reelfoot Lake where no pollution is allowed. The Tennessee Clean Water Network is working with the Reelfoot Lake Watch Group to protect this precious natural resources and hold the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation accountable to the laws set up to protect Reelfoot Lake.

The deadline for commenting on the EA and Draft Plan was January 30, 2006.

Click here to view TCWN’s comments.

______________________________________________________________________

Ragsdale, Wuethrich Jeopardize Clean Water and Individual Property Rights
Proposed County stormwater ordinance does not meet state and federal laws

Contacts: Renee Hoyos, TCWN, 865.522.7007
Cell: 865.607.6618
Mark Quarles, P.G., 615.504.0956
Joe McCaleb, Esq., 615.826.7245

(February 2, 2006) Last month representatives from the Tennessee Clean Water Network (TCWN) and the Knox County Clean Water Alliance (KCCWA) met with Knox County Stormwater Engineers to discuss non-compliance with state and federal laws in the County’s proposed stormwater ordinance. TCWN is the state’s only statewide organization solely dedicated to protecting our clean water resources and makes sure the Clean Water Act is upheld through out the state. TCWN helped form the neighborhood group, KCCWA, to address County Mayor Mike Ragsdale’s and Public Works and Engineering Department Head, Bruce Wuethrich’s refusal to protect the community’s right to clean water and property from flooding.

At the conclusion of the meeting, TCWN and KCCWA legal and technical experts drew up a memo illustrating at least eleven points in the County’s proposed stormwater ordinance where the County disregards state and federal laws; jeopardizing clean water and individual properties rights. TCWN is demanding Mayor Ragsdale and Mr. Wuethrich address these issues.

“The sheer number of times the County disregards state and federal clean water laws in their proposed stormwater ordinance is shocking.” Said Renée Hoyos, Executive Director for the Tennessee Clean Water Network.

McCaleb further warns this portion of the ordinance is not consistent with the interpretation of the Federal Clean Water Act and its stormwater regulations.

Also, Knox County is currently in violation of water quality standards. At the beginning of the meeting, Bob Wolfenbarger, KCCWA, passed around photos of water running thick with mud off of construction sites in the Beaver Creek Watershed. These photos illustrated clear violations of the Tennessee Water Quality Control Act and the Clean Water Act. Such violations should be fined several thousand dollars per day, per violation.

“On any given rainy day, any citizen can take pictures of a construction site polluting our streams with mud in Knox County.” Said Wolfenbarger. “That is how overwhelming this problem has become.”

“Under Tennessee law, as mandated by the US EPA, TDEC has the authority to stop economic development in Knox County if water quality standards do not improve.” Said Mark Quarles, P.G. from Globally Green Consulting. Quarles is retained by TCWN and KCCWA.

Another example of Mr. Wuethrich’s failure to meet federal laws is neglecting to incorporate required provisions relevant to the Threaten and Endangered Species Act.

Mary Haley, AMEC, the consulting firm hired by the County to help write their MS4 permit, stated the process of determining the occurrence of threaten and endangered species is confusing and troublesome.

“The County is not at liberty to ignore sections of the Permit it finds burdensome.” Stated Quarles.

The methods and requirements for determining the occurrence of such species are clearly provided in the County’s MS4 permit. Upon review of the list of threaten and endangered species in Knox County, federally and state protected species are present in Knox County.

TCWN is demanding Mayor Ragsdale and Mr. Bruce Wuethrich respond to this memo and address the County’s violations of state and federal clean water laws and subsequent disregard for the protection of clean water and individual property rights.

Tennessee Clean Water Network and Knox County Clean Water Alliance are open to meeting with Knox County consultants and the Department of Engineering to further address the County’s non-compliance with state and federal clean water laws and subsequent disregard for the protection of clean water and individual property rights.

Click here to read all eleven points of contention from the Tennessee Clean Water Network and Knox County Clean Water Alliance regarding the proposed Knox County stormwater ordinance.

_______________________________________________________

Bill would make insurers pay for sinkhole damage
By: Anne Paine, The Tennessean

(January 18, 2006) PORTLAND — Troy and Yvonne Givens lay sleeping in their home when something went terribly wrong.

The ground opened and one end of their $175,000 ranch-style house dropped into a growing chasm.

"There was no sound," said Yvonne, 69, her voice shaky as she recounted the horror that began six weeks ago.

That morning when she and her 70-year-old husband woke and discovered the collapse, their lives were plunged into a nightmare that drew police, fire and codes officials along with community members to help.

The Givenses may get more help this evening through a charity benefit being in their honor, but one place they couldn't get assistance was from their insurance company.

State law doesn't require insurers to offer sinkhole coverage — something the Givenses' state representative wants to change this year.

About half of Tennessee lies above karst, which is limestone etched with depressions, caves and underground streams. Collapses into the irregular geologic formations can happen with time.

Sinkholes can appear without warning throughout much of the state. Heavy rains such as those in the Midstate in the past couple of days can cause sinkholes to occur, but that's not always the case. The hole under the Givenses' house formed during dry weather.

Parts of Montgomery County are particularly vulnerable, but Rutherford and Davidson are among the many counties where sinkholes are found. Bites have been taken out of roads, homes have been damaged and swimming pools undermined.

"Generally, urbanization tends to increase the number of sinkholes that develop," said Phillip Kemmerly, an Austin Peay geology professor and consultant.

Changing the pattern of water runoff on a home site or on a new developmentcan alter nature's delicate balance, speeding erosion, for instance, of the formations underground, he said.

"You're going to have the problem whether humans are building or not, but we tend to aggravate it," he said.

The Givens home, built about 40 years ago, had shown no sign of cracks or sinking.

It was much like the other homes in the quiet subdivision next to a farm where soybeans and wheat are grown.

Neighbors now look to where the Givens' house once stood and see a jagged hole not quite filled with a mishmash of debris, including an aluminum carport awning, cinder blocks and an uprooted bush.

"It was like a slow death," Yvonne Givens said of watching for days as the hole spread and the house crumbled more.

Eventually, the remaining pieces were pushed in behind the rest to get rid of them.

Just across the street, Julie Brown said Thursday that she was not worried about her house because an expert has told neighbors that no underground caverns could be detected on nearby property.

The Givenses aren't the first in Tennessee to lose their home in this way. Others, including a group of nine neighbors in an Oak Ridge subdivision, went through a similar experience several years ago.

State Rep. Mike McDonald, D-Portland, said he doesn't want anyone else to suffer such a tragedy and find that their insurance won't take care of them.

He has introduced two pieces of legislation, one of which would require sinkhole protection to be a standard part of all homeowner's insurance policies and another that would require it to be available as an addition to a policy.

"Whether it's a $175,000 or a $5,000 home and you lose everything, it's just devastating," he said. "I would urge everyone in the state to check their insurance policy and see if sinkhole losses are covered."

Kemmerly has advised for years that city planners, geologists and others work together as development increases to try to lessen the potential for sinkhole problems.

"We've had some homes go in," he said. "We've had patios. We've had roads. We haven't had anyone seriously injured yet.

McDonald said he is optimistic about the chances of his bills making headway in the legislature, which is in the middle of a special session on ethics.

The insurance industry employs a gaggle of lobbyists on Capitol Hill. Many of the major firms offer the coverage, McDonald said. Some of his fellow lawmakers were surprised when he told them that sinkhole coverage wasn't required, he said.

(January 10, 2006) Members of the Knox County Clean Water Alliance (KCCWA) and TCWN spoke with City of Knoxville Council Members regarding water pollution issues, specifically stormwater runoff, between the City of Knoxville and Knox County last week. The City and County formed a Review Committee to request that an independent consultant look into this matter.

However, as the request for these services is written, KCCWA and TCWN assert it is a waste of time and taxpayer money because it does little to reach actionable items to protect clean water and prevent flooding.

Mark Quarles, P.G. (Globally Green Consulting) spoke on behalf of TCWN and KCCWA. Knoxville City Council members asked Quarles for his written comments on this matter.

Quarles written memo concludes, "Knox County streams have been severely impaired by the release of pollutants from the affects of urbanization. Existing ordinances have not been affective in preventing the pollution of 35 streams and their associated 357 river miles..."

Quarles goes on to explain, "The City and the County need to address water quality issues by implementing actionable items and measurable standards that restore clean water in order to prevent the loss of economic development and to protect our waters for future generations."

"My participation on this committee does not mean the TCWN endorses this effort." States Hoyos.

Hoyos considers the strength of the Network's participation is to ensure the efforts of the Review Committee result in protective measures of our waterways and that the public has access to information and meaningful participation.

TCWN, KCCWA, Mark Quarles P.G. and Joe McCaleb, Esq. plan to meet with Knox County Engineering and Public Works Department January 18th, 2006 to discuss the County's proposed stormwater ordinance and its goals for protecting clean water.

Lax enforcement of sediment pollution from construction sites continues to be a problem on the state level as well. TCWN and TN Public Employee's for Environmental Responsibility wrote a report on this issue. Click here for more information.

(January 4, 2006) Knoxville City Council members met Tuesday night to look at issues and goals for neighborhood drainage and flooding problems. The city and county are separately working on a plan to solve Knox County's stormwater problems.

There's concern among Knoxville City Council members about who's responsible for our stormwater overflow. Knox County Commissioners are in the process of developing a stormwater report. So Tuesday night, council met to develop a strategy to respond to any action the commissioners may take.

Knox County's stormwater division says the current drainage system is out of date and cannot handle the amount of water that heavy rains bring. This leads to flooding, and often sends sewage into the stormwater system, dumping eventually into creeks, streams and rivers. City and county leaders agreed in a 2001 urban agreement that Knox County would adopt stormwater discharge standards that were equal to, or exceeded the city's. Now, taxpayers money will be used to pay a consultant to evaluate that agreement, but a registered geologist hired by the Tennessee Clean Water Network tells city council members that won't lead to improved water quality.

"They're studying an urban agreement that has nothing related to stormwater, and it justs takes time and money to make that happen, and they're doing nothing to address the root of the problem, which is urbanization, which is impairing our streams," geologist Mark Quarles said.

Developer Victor Jernigan monitors the efforts of elected officials. He's concerned new restrictions may hurt his business.

"The more difficult the standards, the greater the land mass that has to be used to control the water, the less land there is for development and the greater the cost for the houses and the homes that will be built on the property eventually," Jernigan said.

Council members agreed to learn more about stormwater control, and to seek public input at a forum. They then want to meet with county commissioners in a workshop to study the problem.

"They should be addressing, writing a new ordinance that protects our rivers and streams and cleans those up that are on the 303d list, which is a list of the most impaired waters in the state of Tennessee," Quarles said.

(January 3, 2006) The McKnight Foundation launched a new initiative this year to tackle sediment and nutrient problems throughout the Mississippi River that contributes to the Dead Zone in the Gulf of Mexico. The McKnight Foundation envisions a collaborative comprised of 12 statewide groups that currently work on water quality issues to work together in a more formalized fashion to address these problems both within the state and between states using farm programs as a way to approach these problems. The Tennessee Clean Water Network was chosen as one of the twelve groups. The McKnight Foundation has allocated $3,000,000 over three years to be used for coordination activities as well as to hire one person per group to work solely on these issues.

“I am extremely excited to be participating in the 12-state coalition to reduce sediment and nutrients to the Mississippi River.” States Renée Hoyos, TCWN Executive Director.

The Dead Zone, or more scientifically the Gulf of Mexico Hypoxia, is an area along the Louisiana continental shelf that has seasonally depleted oxygen levels. In the summer, when temperatures rise, the combination of nutrients and sediment from upstream Mississippi River drain into this area of the gulf causing declines in commercial and recreational fishing, a main economic driver of this region. The Dead Zone changes seasonally and yearly. In the summer it swells to the size of New Jersey (18,000 square kilometers) and was at its largest in 1999 - 7,728 sq. miles enough to cover the water area of Minnesota, the land of 10,000 lakes.

The four main areas that the collaborative will be looking at are: 1) nutrient reduction and the development of state nutrient standards that are complimentary up and down the Mississippi River Basin; 2) Anti-degradation policies throughout the states; 3) water quality standards to make sure that all states are meeting Clean Water Act requirements; 4) Farm Bill conservation programs as a means for reducing sediments and nutrients.

“The Farm Bill is an excellent way to work with the Agricultural community to accomplish these tasks,” Hoyos continues. “Farming is a way of life in this state and we hope to make a positive impact to preserve water quality and enhance our cultural heritage.”

Tennessee Clean Water Network is pleased to be working with some very prestigious groups in the Mississippi River Basin. The twelve groups are: Environmental Law and Policy Center (Chicago, IL); Gulf Restoration Network (New Orleans, LA); Iowa Environmental Council (Des Moine, IA); Kentucky Waterways Alliance (Munfordville, KY); Louisiana Environmental Action Network (New Orleans, LA); Midwest Environmental Advocates (Madison, WI); Missouri Coalition for the Environment (St. Louis, MO); Prairie River Alliance (Champaign, IL); Tennessee PEER (Nashville, TN); Tulane Environmental Law Clinic (New Orleans, LA); and Washington University Integrated Environmental Clinic (St. Louis, MO).

Search for stormwater consultant stalls
By: Hayes Hickman, Knoxville News Sentinel

(December 19, 2005)The search for an independent consultant to review Knox County's latest proposed stormwater ordinance has been stalled before it could begin by claims that the selection committee is too pro-development.

An unpublicized and little-known review group recently was organized by Dave Hill, the city of Knoxville's chief operating officer, to draft a request for proposals and to choose an engineering consultant.

The consultant would be hired to conduct a technical analysis of whether the proposed county ordinance fulfills the terms of the 2001 city-county Urban Growth Boundary Agreement.

The agreement requires Knox County to adopt stormwater controls "at least as strict as the city's" regulations.

Hill also oversaw a similar process that preceded the county's current stormwater ordinance, which was approved by the Knox County Commission in May.

County officials described the current regulations as an interim fix enacted under public pressure to belatedly fulfill the 2001 agreement while the latest, more comprehensive ordinance was being drafted.

The eight-member selection committee's first meeting Thursday was postponed by Hill at the last minute, however, after local grassroots advocates learned of the initiative and questioned whether the committee membership was weighted with too many pro-development interests.

The members consist of Hill; Brent Johnson, the city's stormwater engineering director; Bruce Wuethrich, director of Knox County Engineering & Public Works; Chris Granju, the county's stormwater management coordinator; Don Parnell, with the Realty Trust Group and a member of the city's Industrial Development Board; Kim Henry, a board member of the Metropolitan Planning Commission who works for the SITE Inc. engineering firm; Nelson Ross, executive director of the Izaak Walton League; and Renee Hoyos, executive director of the Tennessee Clean Water Network.

Hoyos said she has speculated as to whether her own inclusion is a "token" position meant to add the appearance of legitimacy.

"I have my suspicions about the entire process," she said, highlighting the group's lack of publicity and what she considers an aggressive three-month schedule. "It looks bad."

Nor does the committee include any neighborhood association representation, Hoyos said.

Many citizens still are skeptical after the earlier process to draft the county's current stormwater ordinance, she said. The regulations on the books include minor amendments made during a private meeting with Hill and members of the Homebuilders Association of Greater Knoxville hours before the county commissioners' vote.

"The community is really distrustful because so many backroom deals have been made in the past," said Hoyos. "They want their due representation. Choosing the consultant is key."

Hill agreed with critics about the need for public oversight of the process, and he said he hopes to avoid any appearance of undue influence throughout the review.

"I'd hate for us to start the process and then have people be so critical of the process that the project is doomed from the start," he said. "But to me it's a question of when is the appropriate time to schedule the public involvement?"

Jamie Rowe, one of the first to speak out over the earlier review process, was recommended by City Councilman Bob Becker as an add-on member for Hill's new selection committee.

Rowe, who has advocated tighter stormwater controls to reduce neighborhood flooding, recently completed the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation's advanced level course in erosion prevention and sediment control. She also is a member of the state's Construction Stormwater Task Force.

"If you have qualified people who are interested in it, you shouldn't cast them aside," Rowe said.

The committee's purpose simply is to select a consultant, said Hill, emphasizing that the members will not analyze the county's draft ordinance themselves.

He said he cancelled the review group's first meeting and put the effort on hold because of the various "advocacy positions" seeking to influence the consultant's work even before the consultant has been selected.

"We have to be fair about who we invite," he said, " so we don't start getting into opinion-based recommendations based on who wants what."

Ideally, Hill said he'd rather "get this part done" and then allow the public adequate time to review and comment on the consultant's findings.

"If we find someone who is a top-notch consultant, they shouldn't have to rely on other engineering firms for their analysis," Hill said.

Lisa Starbuck also was recommended for addition to the selection committee and is part of the recently organized Knox County Clean Water Network.

Hill said he has made no decision on whether to add additional members to the committee, nor has he set a new date for the group's first meeting.

Starbuck contends that the work of the yet-to-be selected consultant already is too narrow in scope, and she'd rather the reviewer take an overall fresh look at both the city and county stormwater ordinances.

Starbuck also would prefer that the chosen consultant hear from other sources, including an engineer hired by the new Clean Water Network.

"We know from our own consultant that both the city and county ordinances may not be in compliance with federal regulations," she said. "We are trying to bring resources to help, not to create a problem."

Hill said the city and county would evenly split the review's estimated $10,000-$20,000 cost, which would keep the city's share of expenditures below the cap requiring City Council approval.

Additionally, Hill said he's wary of the city spending too much for what essentially is still a Knox County project or expanding its purpose more than need be.

The city's only interest, he said, is to ensure that stormwater runoff from the county doesn't threaten the city's compliance with federal water quality regulations.

Yet at the same time, "we're trying to be careful to not tell Knox County how to develop their policy," Hill said.

Developers Sentenced in Wetlands Case
By: Juliet Eilperin, Washington Post

(December 13, 2005) A federal judge sentenced three Mississippi real estate developers to prison earlier this month for filling in wetlands and selling the property to low-and fixed-income families, marking the end of the nation's largest wetlands criminal prosecution.

Louis Guirola Jr., U.S. district judge for the Southern District of Mississippi, ordered Robert J. Lucas Jr. to spend nine years in prison followed by three years' supervised release. His daughter, Robbie Lucas, will spend 87 months in prison followed by three years' supervised release, and a third business partner, M.E. Thompson Jr., also will serve 87 months in prison. All three will have to pay $15,000 in restitution.

The defendants, along with their two corporations, Big Hill Acres Inc. and Consolidated Investments Inc., were convicted this year of filling hundreds
of acres of wetlands during the development of a 2,600-acre subdivision in Vancleave, Miss. They sold hundreds of houses on the site despite warnings
from health officials that they were installing septic systems in saturated soil that would contaminate the property.

"The defendants in this case defrauded their customers and destroyed wetlands that are critical to the Gulf Coast ecosystem," said Sue Ellen Wooldridge, assistant attorney general for the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division. "This landmark criminal case sends a strong message that corporations and individuals who commit flagrant violations of our environmental laws will be prosecuted vigorously and will face the possibility of lengthy prison sentences."

TDEC is too slow, audit finds
By Scott Barker, Knoxville News Sentinel

(December 2, 2005) The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation is slow to start regulatory probes and often leaves cases open too long, according to a performance audit released this week by the state Comptroller's Office.

While TDEC officials concur with some of the findings, they contend that many violations are identified and corrected before formal enforcement actions begin.

The audit found that five TDEC divisions "did not always initiate enforcement action against violators in a timely manner."

Once cases went to TDEC's Office of General Counsel, the audit found, the investigations often stalled and sometimes languished for years.

The delays in many cases far exceeded the standards set by TDEC and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Comptroller's Office found.

"Timely and consistent enforcement," the audit states, "can help prevent and reduce pollution and act as an incentive for violators to comply with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or state requirements."

The Comptroller's Office reviewed data from 302 randomly selected cases handled by the five divisions from 2000-2003.

The review shows that TDEC officials waited as long as five months after issuing a notice of violation before taking further action. Sometimes it took six months to obtain a director's order, the audit states.

TDEC General Counsel Joe Sanders, however, said enforcement is just one tool toward reaching the goal of protecting the environment. Not all discovered violations, he said, lead to enforcement actions.

"Our first hope would be to catch something in the field and correct it before you get into the formal enforcement process," Sanders said.

Sanders noted that the Division of Air Pollution Control alone accounted for 1,910 enforcement orders during that time, an indication that the agency is doing its job.

The audit found that some high-priority violations of the Clean Air Act went unaddressed for three years or longer. In 91 instances, the cases lasted longer than the 270 days allowed by the EPA.

About half of the cases reviewed in the audit - 152 of 302 - were passed on to the Office of General Counsel for further action.

The Office of General Counsel doesn't have standard guidelines for the amount of time it should take to resolve a case. As of Dec. 31, 2004, the Office of General Counsel had held six unresolved water-quality cases for an average of 675 days. The audit found that the counsel's office typically took nearly a year to close the files, with some cases lasting three years or longer.

Sanders said complex cases, coupled with a long appeals process, can slow down contested enforcement actions. Bankruptcies, ownership changes and other acts outside TDEC's control can cause further delays, officials said in their formal response to the audit.

If TDEC administrators rule against a polluter, the company or agency can appeal to an oversight board, Sanders said. They can appeal an oversight board's decision to Davidson County Chancery Court, where it's handled like any other legal case and eventually could go all the way to the state Supreme Court.

"It's not surprising to me that you can have cases go several years," Sanders said.

The Comptroller's Office recommended that TDEC speed up the process through a variety of measures, including allowing inspectors to issue field citations that allow violators to pay reduced penalties in exchange for prompt compliance.

Some divisions have already implemented procedures designed to speed up enforcement. The Division of Underground Storage Tanks, for example, eliminated its backlog of old cases last year. TDEC officials also are working on an integrated computer system to keep track of the enforcement actions of all the agency's divisions, a shortcoming noted by the audit.

Has been slow to inspect long-closed landfills, though TDEC countered that it monitors more sites than the audit indicated;

Hasn't finished surveys of state park lands and hasn't updated its parks master plan;

Has made "significant improvement" in the Division of Radiological Health's X-ray inspection process; and

Has exceeded its goals for the number of inspections of underground storage tanks.

(November 5, 2005) Due to very high winds over the weekend the TCWN Board and other guest had to depart from Kirby Pocket State Park Area on the eastside of Reelfoot Lake just north of the City of Samburg. The group got to see areas in the center part of Reelfoot Lake State Natural Area along the Palestine Stumps, Rag Point Ditch,Rushing Pond,Big Starve Pond, Horse Island Ditch,Simon Pocket areas plus parts of the Reelfoot National Wildlife Refuge just to name a few.

It was interesting to review Rag Point Ditch area, which had just been worked on within the last few weeks by the USFWS Amphibious Excavator/Track-hoe. The USFWS is a partner with the TWRA in a 45-mile dredging project at the Reelfoot Lake State Natural Area. This project is a clear violation of the Reelfoot Lake 50 year Management Plan.

This dredging work is highly controversial and has some unresolved conflicts concerning alternatives of other available resources and man power to do the same thing. No environmental permit has been issued for the USFWS Amphibious Excavator/Track-hoe to operated in Tier III waters at Reelfoot Lake.

Some group members saw tree cutting sites and habitat alteration sites along Horse Island Ditch reported by the TCWN in 2004 to TDEC Officials and Corp of Engineers Officials. Members of the groupsaw a lot of different plants and wildlife and even a Bald Eagle at Reelfoot Lake.

Speed boat shuttles took some guests to areas affected by TWRA/USFWS dredging and clear cutting projects along Green Island Cutoff Canal. Inspection of two TWRA Duck Blind Site where herbicides were sprayed this past summer were also reviewed. (TWRA Duck Blind Sites - #R-183 & #R-113). Both duck blind sites have a large area of habitat alterations that is effected due to spraying of chemical herbicides. Permits should not be given to the general public for use on a Tier III waterbody without a hearing to discuss the matter with the public.

The group saw a TWRA Duck Blind (site #R-113) with an American Bald Eagle nesting site within about 100 yards.

Some members did get to see the USFWS Amphibious Excavator/Track-hoe at the Reelfoot Refuge office along with a tour of the TWRA Black Bayou Refuge were other wetlands are located at Reelfoot Lake.

The Reelfoot Lake State Natural Area is cooperatively managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA), Tennessee Division of State Parks and along with the Tennessee Division of Natural Heritage of the Tennessee with the Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC). The Natural Areas Program was established in 1971 with the passage of the Natural Areas Preservation Act. Since passage of this act, the General Assembly has designated 18,000 acres of Reelfoot Lake's land and water areas to be a State Natural Area under the protection. Reelfoot Lake and its associated wetlands are designated as Outstanding National Resource Waters - Tier III and as a Class I State Natural Area. The area provides habitat to a myriad of state and federally listed endangered and threatened species in the area.

The area provides habitat to a myriad of state and federally listed rare, endangered and threatened species in the area. The Bewicks Wren, Swainsons Warbler, and the rapidly declining Least Bittern exist on Reelfoot Lake State Natural Area. Reelfoot Lake State Natural Area is the only known breeding location for Purple Gallinules and Common Moorhens birds in Tennessee. There are also 12 rare plant species including copper iris (Iris fulva), feather foil (Hottonia inflate), and yellow water-crowfoot (Ranunculus longirostris) found in the seasonally flooded sloughs, canals, wetland areas inside of the Reelfoot Lake State Natural Area.

(October 24, 2005) TCV released its annual summary of the state legislator's performance on environmental issues. More commonly known as the scorecard, this publication reflects how our state legislators voted on bills that were particularly important to Tennessee's environment in the most recent legislative session.

Although the scorecard is mostly about legislative action, TCV released a few comments about the Bredesen Administration. This Administration supported successful legislation creating a right to appeal for persons and groups other than the permit seeker for water quality and inter-basin transfer cases. This was a real stepping stone for Tennessee environment protection, but there is always room for improvement. The Administration still has not found a way to ensure boards and commissions are structured to include equitable representation. Also, efforts have not been supported to allow stop work orders for NPDES and ARAP permits that create water pollution problems.

(September 26, 2005) TCWN received notice today that U.S. Rep. Harold Ford Jr. has shown his commitment to protect our states vital water resources by co-sponsoring Clean Water Authority Restoration Act (H.R. 1356 and S. 912). Ford Jr is only the second Tennessee Congressmen co-sponsor the Clean Water Authority Restoration Act. The first Tennessee Congressmen to co-sponsor this piece of legislation was U.S. Rep. Gordon (6th District).

The Tennessee Clean Water Network joined American Rivers at the 2nd Annual River Lobby Day earlier this month in Washington DC to show support for protection of our clean water resources. TCWN was joined by other Tennesseans to showcase Tennessee’s organized and politically active river movement to our federal decision makers. At the heart of this movement was support for the Clean Water Authority Restoration Act (CWARA).

As part of the River Lobby Day, TCWN Executive Director Renée Hoyos asked Rep. Harold Ford Jr to co-sign the Clean Water Authority Restoration Act. This act will reaffirm Congress’s original intent to protect all waters of the United States.

In 2001, the US Supreme Court issued an extremely limited decision that prevents federal agencies from protecting non-navigable, intrastate, so called “isolated waters” based solely on their use by migratory birds.

In January 2003, EPA and the Corps of Engineers issued a new guidance for their staffs on Clean Water Act jurisdiction. The guidance directs field staff to stop protecting so called “isolated” waters even though the term isolated appears no where in the Clean Water Act and almost no waters are truly hydrologically isolated.

EPA estimates that the 2003 guidance removes protections from 20 million acres of the nation's wetlands – over 6,000 miles of streams in Tennessee alone!

Thank you to our fellow Tennesseans for joining with us to show the importance of clean water protection to our Senators and Representatives. Melissa Nance (Little River Watershed Association), Linda Caraway (Johnson County Citizens for Clean Air and Water) and Susan Bryant (North Chickamauga Creek Conservancy).

We applaud our Congressmen’s actions to protect the Clean Water Act and demonstrate a commitment to healthy rivers and healthy communities.

Please feel free to contact us to learn more about our experiences at River Lobby Day.

(Sparta, TN) The Tennessee Clean Water Network (TCWN) and Tennessee Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) have released a report today on the Army Corps of Engineer's (COE) operation of the Center Hill Dam on the Caney Fork River that compromises the health of the local fishery.

“No one should be allowed to violate water quality standards.” Says Renée Hoyos, Executive Director of TCWN. “The COE is not exempt from following the law through its dam operations. If the Tennessee Valley Authority can fix their dissolved oxygen problems at their tailwaters, so can the COE.”

For well over 10 years, the COE has been violating the state of Tennessee's water quality standard for dissolved oxygen that threatens the health of the fish population in the Caney Fork River- especially trout. Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) and environmental groups have been working for years to encourage the COE to rehabilitate the Center Hill Dam to increase the amount of oxygen in the tailwater.

"Trout Unlimited has known for years that the Caney Fork could be a much better trout river if a way could be found to persuade the COE to spend the money it would take to mitigate some of the problems, such as low DO and bad flow regimes. Let's hope this is a step in the right direction." says Steve Brown, Chairman Tennessee Council of Trout Unlimited

Low dissolved oxygen decreases fish viability. Fish stocking activities by TWRA and the US Fish and Wildlife Service provide essentially all of the trout found in the Caney Fork River. Economic studies show that the Caney Fork River is the most popular fishing destination in Middle Tennessee. However, poor dam operation practices by the COE may compromise aquatic life and thus this economic driver to the region.

Though the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) has recently issued a Notice of Violation to the COE, the COE continues to degrade a thriving trout fishery.

“Staff at government agencies have known about and ignored this problem for too long,” say Barry Sulkin, Director PEER. “Although good scientists within the agencies tried to remedy this problem, it has not been given the support needed.”

Builder ordered to pay for polluting
Could reach $95,000 at Brunswick Farms

by Tom Charlier
(Memphis Commercial Appeal, 8/06/2005)

As new homes continued to take shape in the sprawling Brunswick Farms subdivision near Lakeland, state regulators this week fined one of the project's developers as much as $95,000 for polluting streams during the construction.

Wayne A. Todd was ordered to pay $25,743 in penalties and damages within 30 days, with another $69,000 to be assessed later if the required corrective actions aren't completed.

The order from Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation commissioner James H. Fyke said Todd failed to adequately prevent erosion and control sediment runoff from the site.

Brunswick Farms, covering about 200 acres north of U.S. 70 between Brunswick and Canada roads, is a five-phase subdivision that will feature more than 350 homes. The project has involved extensive clearcutting in the watershed of Oliver Creek, a stream long troubled by pollution from subdivisions.

According to the state order, inspectors visited the site in December 2003 following a citizen complaint about the lack of erosion-prevention and sediment-control measures there.

The inspectors found muddy water flowing through the piped remains of an altered stream and entering a tributary to Oliver Creek. All the trees and most of the vegetation had been removed from work areas.

Terry Templeton, Memphis field office manager for TDEC's division of water pollution control, said state officials gave Todd and his crews plenty of chances to correct the pollution problems.

"They just didn't ever seem to go far enough or complete enough to get the site under control," Templeton said.

The state does not regulate clearcutting, but it oversees water-pollution issues.

The muddy runoff from construction sites can smother aquatic life and damage streams. Developers can control erosion and pollution by putting up straw bales, silt fences, silt traps and other devices.

Todd, a partner in the firm WATCO, said he and his engineers have worked hard to prevent erosion and control runoff. They check erosion-control measures at least weekly and after every rain.

"I know I did everything I could," he said. "This is not something we take lightly."

The order this week isn't the first in which state officials have cited WATCO for pollution problems at Brunswick Farms. A 1999 order from TDEC called for a $20,000 up-front fine, with another $77,500 in penalties to be imposed if the firm didn't clean up the pollution.

Environmentalists have claimed problems like the ones cited at Brunswick Farms occur in part because of lax state regulation. Tennessee officials require builders to get only "general" stormwater permits, which are vague and not site-specific, said Barry Sulkin, director of Tennessee Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility.

Tennessee PEER, along with the Tennessee Clean Water Network, issued a report last year documenting how pollution from subdivision development has ravaged Oliver Creek.

"It (the creek) is hammered all the way down," Sulkin said. "It's in terrible shape."

Chester McConnell, a Lawrenceburg man who has worked to improve West Tennessee rivers, was honored Monday night in Memphis.

He received the 2005 Bill Russell River Hero Award from the Tennessee Clean Water Network. The award is presented to an individual who strives to protect, restore and enhance Tennessee's waters and the communities that depend on them.

As a representative of the Wildlife Management Institute and as an individual, McConnell has worked on river issues for more than 30 years. He is responsible for initiating, running and reinvigorating some of the most important river-protection campaigns in West Tennessee history, the TCWN stated in a press release announcing the award.

McConnell is credited with stopping the West Tennessee Tributaries Project, a flood-control effort that channelized most of the region's rivers and drained wetlands. He later was a part of a governor's task force to find ways to revive the WTTP in an environmentally sensitive manner during the 1990s. He also played an instrumental role in saving the Wolf River and particularly a part of the river known as the Ghost River.

More recently, McConnell fought the issuance of a permit that would have allowed the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency to build a levee and periodically flood Black Swamp. Black Swamp, an area northeast of Trimble, is considered one of the most pristine wetlands left in West Tennessee. McConnell - and other scientists - argued that the levee could ruin the wetland. In time, TWRA relinquished its permit.

"We are truly excited and honored to be recognizing Mr. McConnell for his outstanding dedication to preserving rivers in Tennessee," TCWN Executive Director Renée Hoyos said. "Mr. McConnell is an inspiration to all citizens who want clean water and healthy watersheds in their communities."

McConnell, a retired wildlife biologist, warned that the state's river issues are far from resolved.

"As with anyone who is recognized for their work, I am elated for being chosen by TCWN to receive the River Hero Award," he said. "Serious problems and threats remain to Tennessee's important river systems, but with the knowledge we have gained over the years, there is considerable hope that the future can be better."

The TCWN reported that one of the better examples of a success story is the Wolf River, which flows through Memphis. The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) planned to channelize the river and drain the adjacent wetlands. McConnell's wife, Dorothy, retained an attorney and threatened legal action to halt the channelization. The agency stopped its work and asked how to solve the problems associated with the Wolf River. McConnell responded by working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and developed the Stream Obstruction Removal Guidelines (SORG). NRCS applied the SORG to Wolf River, restoring the natural flow and largely restoring the river to its natural condition. Now, the TCWN said, many thousands of outdoor interests enjoy the natural resources of the Wolf River. More importantly, TCWN reported, the SORG have been used on several hundred streams throughout the United States.

William "Bill" Russell, the namesake for the River Hero award, was a world-renowned geneticist and longtime advocate for Tennessee waters. Together with his wife, Liane, he founded Tennessee Citizens for Wilderness Planning (TCWP) in 1966, an organization dedicated to the protection of land and water through public ownership.

Russell co-authored and facilitated the passage of the Tennessee Scenic Rivers Act in 1968, the first such comprehensive act in the nation, preceding the national act.

"Bill worked tirelessly to prevent the construction of a dam on the Obed River, a river he had come to love above all others," TCWN Director of Development and Communications Cortney Piper said. "He eventually succeeded in not only saving the Obed from the dam, but in having it designated a National Wild and Scenic River in 1976."

_____________________________________

Laws clarify appeals process on water permits
(Dyersburg State Gazette, 7/25/2005)

Legislation signed by the governor this summer should make it easier for anyone to become a "river hero."

Two acts establish a standard appeals process for persons who object to the issuance or denial of water-quality permits and inter-basin water-transfer permits.

Cortney Piper, Tennessee Clean Water Network director of development and communications, hailed the new appeals process as a victory. She said the TCWN got a bill introduced with the help of the Tennessee Conservation Voters and other environmental groups. Then Gov. Phil Bredesen introduced a similar proposal. All of the stakeholders sat down in a series of meetings last spring and hammered out a compromise, she said.

"Getting that legislation into law was one of our goals for the Right to Know, Right to be Heard campaign," Piper said.

TCWN described the new laws as the culmination of a 30-year battle and the start of an appeals process for citizens.

The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation said provisions for citizens to file complaints or appeals already existed.

Chester McConnell, who received TCWN's Bill Russell River Hero Award this week, actually used one of those provisions to halt work in Black Swamp in 2003. The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency obtained a water-quality permit to build a levee and to periodically flood the Black Swamp wetland northeast of Trimble. McConnell filed a complaint and requested a hearing before the state's Water Quality Control Board. After obtaining additional reviews of the project, TDEC asked TWRA to return the permit. TWRA complied in December 2004.

Piper said the existing appeals process was too cumbersome. Citizens didn't have a right to file direct appeals, she said. Complaints were filed with the TDEC commissioner, who had 90 days to make a ruling. Usually, Piper said, the commissioner upheld the department's actions. Then, the complainant could appeal to the Water Quality Control Board. She said the board usually told citizens that it didn't have time to deal with the issue but that it would consider it during the next meeting, three months later.

Dana Coleman, TDEC's communications director, said the existing avenues for appeal seemed to generate a bit of confusion. "This clarifies and standardizes" the appeals process, she said. "It gives third parties the same permit appeal rights as (the) parties (seeking the permits)."

The new appeals process eliminates the "separate and what some parties argued was an unequal process. It addresses that perception of fairness (and makes) it cleaner, simpler and the same process for all."

Now, an "aggrieved person" may appeal the issuance of water quality or inter-basin water-transfer permits - as long as they meet certain guidelines. Appeals may be filed by persons who submitted written comments during the public comment period or testified at a public hearing about a specific permit request. Appeals must be based on one of two things:

Appeals must be filed within 30 days of the public notice on the permit issuance or denial.

With the appeals process in place, Piper said the Right to Know, Right to be Heard campaign will focus on empowering citizens to take an active role in the implementation and enforcement of clean-water laws. The TCWN is:

In West Tennessee, the TCWN is already working with a group referred to as the Citizens Against the Haywood and Fayette County Megasite.

The Tennessee Valley Authority has established a megasite-certification program to find industrial sites with at least 700 acres of land that can be developed. TVA is eyeing a site near Stanton for a potential large-scale automotive plant.

Piper said some citizens are concerned that a massive plant like that could create two major water problems.

First, she said, the building and parking lots would cover several acres of what is now farmland. Rainfall would no longer soak into the soil and replenish the groundwater.

Second, she said, runoff from the developed site would flow into Big Muddy Creek and carry contaminants into the Hatchie River.

Piper said TCWN has provided the group with organizing tips, strategy mapping ideas and hints on working with the news media.

_______________________________________________________

Bill would make insurers pay for sinkhole damage By: Anne Paine, The Tennessean

Bill would make insurers pay for sinkhole damage
By: Anne Paine, The Tennessean