[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
NFC: rivers
*************************
River News for the Week of June 23, 2000
REFORM OF THE CORPS OF ENGINEERS: Rep. Ron Kind (D-WI) is planning to
introduce the Army Corps Reform Act of 2000. The bill requires
independent review for large ($25 million or more) or controversial Corps
projects; requires full, concurrent mitigation for project impacts and
empowers Corps' Environmental Advisory Board to oppose projects which
have environmental impacts which cannot be cost-effectively or
successfully mitigated; requires monitoring of completed projects;
creates a stakeholder advisory group to advise the Corps during project
planning; and makes economic benefits and environmental restoration
co-equal goals of project planning. The bill also ensures that Corps
projects are economically justified and environmentally sound since too
many Corps projects have not turned out to be economically justified in
reality, or have had more serious environmental impacts than the Corps
predicted. American Rivers encourages you to call or email your
Representatives and urge him/her to co-sponsor the Army Corps Reform Act
of 2000, which will be introduced by Representative Ron Kind (D-WI) this
week. For more information, please see www.amrivers.org.
* * *
MISSOURI RIVER: The Army Corps of Engineers has the legal authority to
implement a split navigation season on the Missouri River, according to
legal experts. Attorneys for the Congressional Research Service (CRS)
concluded this week that the Army Corps of Engineers "has discretion as
to its management of the Missouri flows and navigation seasons" and
likely has the ability to accommodate both Endangered Species Act duties
and river management duties. The Congressional Research Service, a
nonpartisan analytical, research, and reference arm for Congress, was
asked in April by Senators Tom Daschle (D-SD) and Max Baucus (D-MT) to
review the issue of Corps discretion in Missouri River flow management.
In the report, CRS attorneys conclude that existing laws governing the
Corps' management of the Missouri River provide the agency with wide
latitude in how it operates the river's dams. "This is clear evidence
that the Corps has all the authority it needs to properly manage Missouri
River flows," said Chad Smith, Director of American Rivers' Missouri
River Field Office. The Corps' is currently revising the Missouri River
Master Water Control Manual, the guide used by the federal agency to set
releases for six dams in eastern Montana and the Dakotas. (American
Rivers press release 6/23).
* * *
Raise $$ for River Conservation with GetOutdoors.com!
American Rivers is partnering with GetOutdoors.com, a new online resource
for everything you need to get outdoors. Through GetOutdoors.com you can
find a local trail, take a hike, and share your experience in the Reviews
area. Simply visit <http://www.getoutdoors.com> and click on "Register
Now!" After you Register, send an e-mail to goshare at getoutdoors_com with
your full name, username, and your organization name.
GetOutdoors.com will donate $1 to American Rivers conservation programs
for every member who registers and sends them an email. So check it out a
great new site and help protect our rivers at the same time.
* * *
NEW MEXICO CONTAMINATED RUNOFF: Lawsuits are being threatened against the
federal government by New Mexico's attorney general if it fails to
contain a half-century of nuclear and hazardous wastes at Los Alamos
National Laboratory when the summer thunderstorms start in earnest,
reports the Albuquerque Journal (6/21). 2,000-plus Potential Release
Sites are threatening the area, risking both human health and the natural
resources. 90 known potential release sites, which are generally old
dumps and spills, were burned by the Cerro Grande Fire and now present a
hazard. State and lab workers are now trying to secure those sites.
* * *
MERCED RIVER: After 20 years of effort, National Park Service officials
this week announced that they have finalized a comprehensive management
plan for the Merced River in Yosemite National Park. As reports the AP
(6/21), the river plan defines zoning boundaries that create a
quarter-mile wide corridor around the Merced, providing a set of
decision-making criteria to use in future development of the park.
Basically, the document restricts future development and recreational
access to environmentally delicate areas of the river, and allows for the
removal of several campsites and some visitor lodging along the river's
banks and could lead to the removal of some bridges that hamper the free
flow of the Merced. Later this summer, the Yosemite Valley Plan will be
released, dictating how development will occur in the park.
* * *
NORTHWEST SALMON: This week federal fisheries managers released a
sweeping yet simple set of rules for the Pacific Northwest that
essentially proclaim that “Thou shalt not harm endangered salmon or the
streams where they live,” reports the Seattle Post Intelligencer (6/21).
Environmentalists are unhappy with the rules, calling them vague and
unmanageable, and have since filed papers initiating a lawsuit.
Businesses are similarly unhappy, saying the plan will drive up costs.
Simply put, the plans prohibit killing or harming of 14 populations of
salmon and steelhead, but require no positive efforts to restore the fish
to their former numbers. The rules cover large areas in Idaho, Oregon,
California and Washington, including the Puget Sound region. As reports
the Intelligencer, “At the heart of the Fisheries Service's strategy is a
hope that local governments will come up with their own plans for saving
salmon.”
In a related story, Senator Slade Gorton of Washington said this week
that breaching the four lower Snake River dams would increase the odds of
saving some endangered stocks of salmon but that he remains opposed to
the action because of the economic and social costs, reports the Portland
Oregonian (6/20). Since Gorton has been one of the staunchest opponents
of breaching the dams, his statement surprised environmentalists.
* * *
BULL TROUT: The U.S. Forest Service this week has tentatively offered to
rebuild a closed dirt road near Jarbidge in northeastern Nevada that has
“become a symbol of some westerners' distrust of the federal government,”
reports the Las Vegas Review Journal (6/23). Environmentalists fear the
move will harm the habitat of endangered bull trout, which live in the
Jarbidge river near the closed road. Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest
Supervisor Bob Vaught assures those concerned that the South Canyon Road
would be rebuilt within strict federal environmental guidelines so that
it would not harm fish habitat. The Forest Service would own the road,
but would allow a right-of-way to Elko County to use and maintain the
road once it is reconstructed. In 1995, a 900-foot section of the road
was washed out in a flood. The Forest Service had planned to reopen the
road, but put its action on hold after the bull trout was placed on the
endangered species list by the Fish and Wildlife Service. The current
settlement follows three months of meditation hearings between the Forest
Service and Elko County leaders.
* * *
GREEN MILK: The sale of “green milk” has proven a success, as test
marketing in Pennsylvania, Maryland, northern Virginia and Washington,
D.C showed that consumers were willing to pay more for the milk produced
by farmers trying to clean up the Chesapeake Bay by running "clean"
farms. As reports the Lancaster Intelligencer Journal (6/25), farmers
were paid an extra 10 cents a gallon for participating in the program,
and allowing their farms to be regularly inspected for how well they
protect water quality. Inspections included evaluation of barnyard
runoff, pesticide storage and how diligently cows were kept out of
streams. As reports the Journal, the program is being evaluated and may
be extended or expanded to include other dairy products.
* * *
KISSIMMEE RIVER: This week a lock/dam on the Kissimmee River in Florida
in Highlands county was dynamited as part of a $500 million restoration
of the river. Many have called the concrete dam perhaps one of Florida's
worst environmental mistakes, reports the Miami Herald (6/20). The dam
was built about 40 years ago to provide flood control for developing
residential and business areas in the upper reaches of Central Florida,
including Walt Disney World. Through the project, the Army Corps of
Engineers “turned the meandering Kissimmee River into a 30-foot-deep by
300-foot-wide, 56-mile-long canal,” destroying 30,000 to 35,000 acres of
wetlands. State and federal governments are now a year into a 50-50
restoration of 22 of those 56 miles of river and surrounding wetlands.
The hope is to restore wetlands which act as natural filters, with a goal
of reducing the amount of harmful nutrients going into Lake Okeechobee by
about 20 percent. 320 species of fish, birds and other wildlife are
expected to benefit from the project.
* * *
COLORADO RIVER: This week the US Supreme Court granted Arizona's Quechan
Tribe the right to pursue a claim on 25,000 acres of land and the 78,000
acre-feet of Colorado River water that may go with it. Though the claim
involves less then 1 percent of the river’s annual flow, the states of
Arizona and California have been trying to block the tribe’s claim
fearing that it could aggravate future water shortages as the region's
supply dwindles, reports the Arizona Daily Star (6/20). Because of the
tribe’s 19th century treaty with the federal government, it will now have
to argue its case before a court-appointed hearing officer, who will
decide how much water, if any, the tribe will control.
* * *
RUSSIAN RIVER: Work has started on the summer dam at Veterans Memorial
Beach in Healdsburg that traditionally turns a spot on the Russian River
in California into a popular summer swimming hole for 100,000 visitors
each year. The location is expected to be open for swimming by next
weekend. Years ago, the temporary dam was constructed and the swimming
hole opened by Memorial Day, but recent years have seen the construction
postponed due to concerns for migrating fish, including salmon and
steelhead protected by the Endangered Species Act. Delaying construction
allows the fish to head upstream to spawn and to travel downstream to the
Ocean at critical times in their life cycles. The summer dam is removed
after Labor Day, reports the Santa Roa Press Democrat (6/25). Next year,
the county is planning to install a fish ladder at the location, which
will mean that the summer dam cannot be put in place and that the
swimming hole will not open for the season.
* * *
CHARLES RIVER: The state of Massachusetts this week installed a
150-foot-long fabric curtain around Magazine Beach that is intended to
keep out pollution out of the lower Charles River after more than 60
years. As reports the Boston Globe (6/20), “the Gunderboom, as the
curtain is called, will be tested this week as part of a program aimed at
increasing water clarity and decreasing bacteria at the Cambridge beach.”
The beach has been closed to swimmers since 1938, but hopes to reopen if
the curtain works in filtering pollution. As describes the Globe, the
black-felt curtain hangs from flotation devices attached by fabric to the
sea floor with anchors. Water is then pumped out of the area and passed
through the polypropylene and polyester curtain for filtration. According
to the Globe, millions of gallons a year of sewage and storm water run
into the Charles River, especially after heavy rains.
* * *
WASHINGTON STATE DAIRIES: According to a statewide inspection report
released this week, “most of Washington's 728 dairies are managing manure
properly to protect water quality," reports the AP (6/17). Dairies west
of the Cascades were found with most of the violations during the October
1998-to-June 2000 inspections, where heavy rains make managing manure
runoff difficult. In total, 299 dairies were ordered to make
improvements, with 21 fined a total of $441,000 for violations. As
reports the AP, “by 2003, all dairies are required to have a system to
protect waterways from manure and contaminated runoff, which can pollute
lakes, streams and groundwater.” A 1997 report showed that 42 percent of
state dairy farms had waste-management plans but that not all use the
practices. The most common problems identified were discharge of manure
and contaminated runoff into surface water.
* * *
AMERICA’S RIVERS: Amy Souers of American Rivers has taken off on a month
long tour across the United States, personally visiting a number of our
nation’s rivers and the organizations that are working to save them.
Check out www.amrivers.org daily for her dispatches about the rivers and
people she meets along the way! Click on the text on the front page next
to the picture of her car, and get some valuable insights into the value
and uniqueness of our nation’s rivers…
==================
To add yourself to American Rivers listserves for River Policy Updates,
Corps Reform, Snake River alerts, and action alerts on other issues,
please
visit http://www.actionnetwork.org/home.tcl?domain=AMRIVERS and
register. Thank you for your interest in rivers!
================================
For more news, please visit us at www.amrivers.org