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NFC: Fw: [currents] RiverCurrents Online -- Week of February 11, 2000
River News for the Week of February 11, 2000
DELAWARE RIVER: Plans by the US Army Corps of Engineers to dredge the
Delaware River and bay to allow for passage of larger ships are being
opposed by Delaware regulators. The $311 million project is expected to
begin this summer, but opponents say the project will be of little
benefit
to Delaware, while stirring up contaminated silt and disrupting bay and
river ecosystems. As reports the AP (2/8), supporters of the project say
the
Delaware river channel is the shallowest in the North Atlantic -- about
32
million cubic yards of soil would be dredged to make the channel 5 feet
deeper than its current 40 feet. A Corps report estimates that the
project
would save $40 million annually on the cost of moving oil up and down the
river, which is currently accomplished by smaller barges.
* * *
ELWHA RIVER: Secretary Bruce Babbitt this week traveled to Glines Canyon
Dam
on the Elwha River, applauding what he says is the final consensus
agreement
to remove the two dams blocking salmon migration up the river on the
Olympic
Peninsula. As reports the Seattle Post Intelligencer (2/11), however,
Sen.
Slade Gorton of Washington State notes that "Congress has only
appropriated
money to remove one dam and several years may pass before the fate of the
second is decided." No agreement on the removal of Glines Canyon Dam has
been reached, according to Gorton. The federal government is purchasing
the
two dams, and the lower Elwha Dam will be removed first. If salmon seem
to
benefit from its removal, then removal of Glines Canyon Dam will be
considered.
* * *
KENTUCKY RIVER: The Kentucky River continues to be monitored after nearly
500,000 gallons of crude oil spilled from a broken pipeline late January
near Winchester. As reports the Kentucky Herald-Leader (2/8)," there's no
immediate way to tell how much of the crude that escaped from a Marathon
Ashland Petroleum pipeline remains in the porous rock beneath the spill,
or
how much of that oil might find its way into the Kentucky River."
Marathon
Ashland is facing an automatic fine from the federal government, the
exact
amount to be determined in about a month. Officials still don't know what
caused the pipe to burst. Trace amounts of chemicals found in oil have
been
identified in the river near the spill site, but levels are still within
acceptable limits, even for drinking water.
* * *
HANFORD REACH: Negotiations to protect the last free-flowing stretch of
the
Columbia River in Washington, known as the Hanford Reach, have collapsed,
reports the AP (2/2). The Hanford Reach was declared the nation's most
endangered river of 1998 by American Rivers due to proposed development
of
the lands adjacent to the Reach. As reports the AP, "the proposed
compromise
would have provided federal protection for the Hanford Reach while
creating
a 12-member board of local officials, tribal leaders and members of
interest
groups to develop a plan for management of the area." Rick Leaumont of
the
Lower Columbia Basin Audubon Society says he thought an agreement was
finalized, until Sen. Slade Gorton (R-WA) "slammed the door and said no."
Gorton's staff says they did not agree to any deal and that they don't
consider a compromise when local communities are opposed to it. Gorton
has
opposed federal protection, arguing that the state and local communities
could do the job just as well.
* * *
MISSOURI RIVER: Missouri River dam reforms proposed last month by the
Northwestern Division of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers would violate
the
Endangered Species Act, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The
Fish and Wildlife Service, which must issue a "biological opinion" on
Missouri River dam reforms, wrote yesterday that the Division's proposed
dam
reforms "do not sufficiently reduce the harmful effects to listed
species"
of existing dam operations. The Division's preferred alternative would
probably result in a "jeopardy" opinion - meaning that the preferred
alternative would jeopardize the existence of three federally protected
species - the least tern, piping plover, and the pallid sturgeon. The
Fish
and Wildlife Service said that "higher spring flows and a return to lower
summer flows" is essential to the recovery of the Missouri's ecological
health. The Division's proposal - which does not increase spring dam
releases or lower summer dam releases to aid endangered fish and birds --
must still be reviewed by Corps and Clinton Administration officials in
Washington, D.C. For more information, please see:
http://www.amrivers.org/missourireject-press.html.
* * *
NW SALMON: New rules established by the state of Washington to govern the
timber industry are "flawed and probably inadequate to rescue salmon from
the brink of extinction, according to a newly released, independent
scientific review." As reports the Seattle Post Intelligencer (2/3), the
American Fisheries Society and the Northwest chapter of the Society for
Ecological Restoration conducted the review which determined the rules
were
inadequate to handle erosion, landslides, pesticide application and
stream
buffers. Logging interests say the findings are not based on good
science.
The state Forest Practices Board drafted emergency rules in late January
to
aid salmon recovery - rules that will govern forest practices and salmon
recovery for the next 50 years, with some adjustments possible over time.
The board will consider the findings of the study as it moves to make the
rules permanent over the next 17 months.
Also concerning northwest salmon, President Clinton's fiscal 2001 budget
dedicates more than $250 million on salmon preservation in the Northwest,
including "more than $50 million for plans by the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers to improve fish bypass efforts at dams on the Columbia and
Snake
rivers plus a $40.7 million study to evaluate new ways to help more fish
survive that hydroelectric system." As reports the Spokesman Review
(2/10),
the President is also asking for $100 million for the Pacific Coastal
Salmon
Initiative to be divided between Washington, Oregon, California and
Alaska.
Finally, another $2 billion has been requested to help clean up the
Hanford
Nuclear Reservation.
Finally, a recent study indicates that salmon are more than "just a
majestic
sport fish, a tasty entree, an economic resource or a cultural icon." As
reports the AP (2/8), salmon serve as a huge natural recycler that
transports organic material from the oceans to the headwaters of
watersheds,
where they leave their rotting carcasses to feed insects, bears, plants,
trees and particularly baby salmon. The journal Fisheries recently
published
the study that estimates as "little as 5 percent of the historical
biomass
of salmon are returning to their native watersheds, creating a dramatic
shortage of nutrients derived from the ocean."
* * *
STEELHEAD TROUT: Listing of the northern California steelhead under the
U.S.
Endangered Species Act has been proposed by the National Marine Fisheries
Service, which could lead to logging and development restrictions in the
northern part of the state, especially near the Eel River. The decision
by
the Service came after determination that state efforts were not
providing
sufficient protection, reports the San Francisco Chronicle (2/5). The
service will make its final decision after a 60-day comment period.
* * *
WOONASQUATUCKET RIVER: Banks along the Woonasquatucket River in Rhode
Island were named a national Superfund site this week, 14 months after
high
levels of a potentially cancer-causing dioxin were found in river
sediments.
The designation by the Environmental Protection Agency makes a stretch of
the river eligible for federal cleanup money. The agency has already
spent
$1.4 million "testing soil samples, fencing areas with potentially
harmful
levels of contaminants and erecting erosion barriers designed to prevent
contaminants from spreading downstream," reports the Providence Journal
(2/9). The designation now allows for additional money to fund permanent
solutions for the site and put those plans into action.
* * *
OTTER RIVER: Under a settlement involving alleged pollution of the Otter
River in Massachusetts, the W.J. Graves Construction Co. will be paying a
$24,500 penalty and correcting many area environmental problems. As
reports
the Worcester Telegram & Gazette (2/10), the state Department of
Environmental Protection alleges that "for several years the company had
withdrawn at least 100,000 gallons of water per day from the river
without
state approval, discharged partially treated waste water into the river
without permits, operated stone-crushing equipment without air quality
approval, and was improperly recycling, storing and labeling waste oil."
Under terms of the settlement, the company will now recirculate more than
100,000 gallons per day of wash water, stop illegal waste water
discharges
into the river and submit to DEP a plan for controlling dust from the
stone
crusher.
* * *
COEUR d'ALENE RIVER: The Coeur d'Alene River Basin in Idaho might be
removed
from the national federal toxic materials list which would mean cleanup
of
the area would "allow for water quality standards and planning that takes
in
the local situation while preserving human and environmental health,"
reports the Idaho Statesman (2/10). U.S. Sen. Michael Crapo hopes the EPA
will move towards delisting within a matter of days.
* * *
FLOODPLAINS: A recent study released by the Sierra Club shows that
development of wetlands and floodplains "invites disaster" in the Ohio
Valley, reports the Courier-Journal (2/9). Wetlands act as a sponge
across
the land, and when developed, no longer absorb excess runoff. According
to
the study, Kentucky ranked sixth nationally in flood deaths between 1989
and
1998, with 38. More careful control of development of floodplains and
wetlands may well have cut down on that number. "Destroying wetlands is
potentially disastrous, and flood-plain construction is inherently
self-defeating," says Brett Hulsey, the Sierra Club's senior Midwest
representative. He advices people to avoid building on a floodplain, to
urge
elected officials to update 100-year flood-plain maps designed to gauge
the
possibility of flooding, and to protect flood plains by discouraging all
but
the most vital development.
==================
Interested in Legislative Policy Updates? Email Suzy McDowell at
smcdowell at amrivers_org with your name, address with nine-digit zip code,
and
email to be placed on the weekly river policy update listserve.
American Rivers is also involved in a campaign to reform operations by
the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to restore habitat for river wildlife and
reduce future flood losses. To receive periodic updates on this activity,
email Suzy McDowell at smcdowell at amrivers_org with your name, address
with
nine-digit zip code, and email address.
==================
For more news, visit American Rivers at www.amrivers.org