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NFC: Fw: [currents] RiverCurrents Online -- Week of July 16, 1999
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listserve.
River News for the Week of July 16, 1999
CEDAR RIVER: The Cedar River in Washington state will benefit for years
to
come from the decision by the Seattle City Council to “ban all logging
and
substantially improve fish habitat in the Cedar River watershed for the
next
50 years, a move the city hopes will help save salmon.” Homeowners will
see
a “salmon surcharge” of approximately $4/yr added to their water bill,
reports the Seattle Post Intelligencer (7/13). The Cedar River, which
supplies the majority of Seattle’s water, was listed by American Rivers
as
one of the most endangered rivers of 1999 due to unchecked development
from
Seattle. In response, the city reworked their Habitat Conservation plan
to
cap the amount of water Seattle could take from the river at 25% for the
next 15 years to help protect fish runs. However, some environmentalists
and
the Muckleshoot Indian tribe still fear the city might remove too much
water
from the river, endangering salmon habitat. Also, “several
special-interest
groups already have appealed the environmental study that is the plan's
foundation, arguing it didn't sufficiently research the effects of a new
hatchery on wild fish populations.” The case will be heard by the city’s
hearing examiner in September.
* * *
DAM REMOVAL: In the wake of this month’s landmark removal of the Edwards
Dam
on the Kennebec River in Maine, the state of Pennsylvania is being
applauded
for its lead in removing dams. As reports the Philadelphia Inquirer
(7/14),
Pennsylvania has more than 5,000 dams and more river miles than any other
state, according to the state Department of Environmental Protection
(DEP).
In the last few years, some three-dozen dams have been removed, with 30
others scheduled for removal. Dams harm riverine habitat by blocking
sediment behind the barrier, smothering aquatic life and concentrating
contaminants in the muck. Water trapped in the pools in the summer
becomes
too warm for fish, and freezes too quickly in the winter. Dams also block
the migration of shad, eels, salmon, sturgeon, and other species that
return
from the ocean to spawn. Dams also pose safety hazards, especially those
that are abandoned.
In the Northwest, the western division of the American Fisheries Society
has
come down on the side of dam removal, when it comes to the Lower Snake
River
dams. The Society resolved by a 115-47 vote that the dams must be removed
if
wild runs of Idaho salmon and steelhead are to be saved, reports USA
Today
(7/15).
* * *
SALMON: The forecasts for salmon runs this summer and fall are looking
good,
reports the Seattle Post (7/13). Healthy runs of chinook, coho and other
salmon in Puget Sound and the Columbia River are all expected. Indication
of
good runs comes in the form of an increased number of early-retuning
“jacks,” those adult salmon who return to the river months ahead of the
rest of the run. More than 8,700 spring chinook jacks have already been
counted, which is the highest number since 1977.
* * *
US GROUND WATER: Much of the groundwater in the United States is
contaminated with pesticides and unhealthy levels of fertilizer
chemicals,
reports USA Today (7/15). A government report released last month, “The
Quality of Our Nation's Waters,” reveals that though the level of
contamination in many areas may pose a risk to aquatic life, it does not
violate standards established to protect human health. However, in some
shallow water areas, the nitrate levels are above federal health
standards.
As reports USA Today, “shallow ground water is the source of drinking
water
for the 80%-90% of rural residents who rely on private wells.”
* * *
AGRICULTURAL WASTE: Though poultry farmers have received the greatest
amount
of blame for the outbreak of Pfiesteria in eastern shore waters, they
also
have received $1.5 million in aid from the state and the broiler industry
through the Water Quality Improvement Act of 1998 to haul away some of
the
manure. Central Maryland dairy farmers, on the other hand, are also being
held to the state's new fertilizer and manure regulations, but have no
financial aid coming their way to help remove cow manure, which is liquid
and therefore more expensive to haul. Claiming that farmers raising
cattle,
vegetables and horses have been “blind-sighted” by the new laws, the
state
Dept. of Agriculture will be looking at how to support dairy farmers.
In a related story, it appears that poultry waste might not be the source
of
bacterial pollution in the West Virginia’s Potomac River watershed.
Studies
based on DNA testing showed coliform levels only occasionally violating
water quality standards, despite testing that took place during low
stream
flow. Pollution in a stream at “base-point” flow would come from point
sources rather than nonpoint sources such as runoff, says a state
Department
of Agriculture water-quality report. As reports the West Virginia Gazette
(7/13), “in addition to DNA samples from various breeds of chickens and
turkeys, researchers are collecting DNA material from cattle, sheep,
horses,
hogs, deer, foxes and other forms of wildlife to match against genetic
material from coliform found in the streams.” The database will allow
researchers to determine not only the species the coliform comes from,
but
the specific breed and gender as well.
* * *
ROANOKE RIVER: Part of the Roanoke River in Southside Virginia has been
suffering from harmful levels of toxic chemicals called PCBs, reports the
Richmond Times Dispatch (7/13), though the state has withheld that
information for about two decades. A report prepared by the Joint
Legislative Audit and Review Commission, the investigative arm of the
General Assembly, also said the state did not disclose other problems
with
PCBs in rivers in Culpeper and Buchanan counties. State researchers
identified the PCB contaminants in the Roanoke River in the 1970s, but
the
information “was apparently lost” within the walls of the Department of
Environmental Quality.
* * *
VIRGINIA WATER POLLUTION: River pollution information was kept from the
US
EPA and the public during the administration of Gov. George Allen,
reports
the Washington Post (7/13). The Virginia Toxics Database, which tracked
toxin pollution in several Virginia rivers, was erased from personal
computers after Allen became Governor, according to a report by state
auditors this week. EPA officials were simply told the information was
unavailable. After Gov. James S. Gilmore III (R) took office a year ago,
the information again became available. Auditors do not directly blame
Allen, and say the decision might have been made by a mid-level
bureaucrat.
* * *
MINING: The Bureau of Land Management is beginning this week to clean up
the
North Creek Mine and the Moran Tunnel in Idaho, two abandoned mines that
have been poisoning creeks in the area. Over 160 cows have died after
drinking water flowing through mine tailings near the North Creek Mine,
reports the Idaho Post Register (7/12). The BLM had removed most of the
mine
tailings almost two decades ago, but realized through 1990 samplings that
not all contamination was removed. Now that approximately $600,000 has
become available for abandoned mine cleanup in Idaho through federal
clean
water initiatives, the BLM can now renew their cleanup efforts. As
reports
Steve Moore, abandoned minelands coordinator for the BLM, “There are at
least 8,000 old mines and prospecting sites across Idaho. Of those, there
may be about 250 with tailings ponds that could be causing water
problems.”
Also in Idaho, “miners hoping to operate suction dredges on some rivers
and
streams are out of luck until the Boise National Forest and the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service complete consultation on the impacts to bull trout
habitat,” reports the USA Today (7/13). Though miners had already
obtained
permits to alter stream channels, the listing of the bull trout as
threatened has put those permits on hold.
* * *
ALABAMA STURGEON: About two-thirds of Alabama voters support listing the
state’s rarest fish, the Alabama sturgeon, on the federal endangered
species
list in March 2000, reveals a scientific poll. Once common in Alabama
rivers, fewer than a half dozen of the 3 foot fish have been caught in
recent years. State politicians are not as supportive: “We don't want
these
ugly fish in the state of Alabama,” said state Rep. Johnny Ford,
D-Tuskegee
at a recent public hearing. As reports the Mobile Register (7/11),
industry
groups and politicians warn that sturgeon protection would cripple the
Alabama economy, halting all traffic on Alabama rivers, and costing the
state up to $15 billion and thousands of jobs.
* * *
RIO GRANDE RIVER: Cities in New Mexico, Texas and Mexico are looking to
the
Rio Grande river to compensate for their increases in population and
expanding industry that is “swallowing up” the underground water supply.
Looking to convert irrigation water to municipal use, the three-city
region
of Las Cruces, El Paso and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, hopes to use the Rio
Grande as the municipal water lifeline for the region, reports the
Associated Press (7/12). Such use would mean the disappearance of
thousands
of acres of farmland in the valleys of southern New Mexico, water experts
warn.
* * *
HYDROPOWER REFORM: With the generous support of the Charles Stewart Mott
Foundation, American Rivers and the Hydropower Reform Coalition announced
a
new funding opportunity that will allow grassroots river groups in the
Southeast (Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee,
and
Virginia) to restore rivers through hydropower reform. Average grants
will
range between $2,000 -$7,000 and are intended to support the work of
local
groups addressing the negative impacts of hydropower dams throughout the
region regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Over
the next 10 years, more than 70 dams will be relicensed in the Southeast,
a
process that provides a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to impact the way
FERC dams operate. The relicensing process is lengthy, complicated and
often
expensive. These licensing proceedings often take five to seven years to
complete and may require specific technical and legal skills and
resources.
These grants are designed to aid grassroots organizations to ensure that
these complexities do not become insurmountable barriers. For more
information, please see the www.amrivers.org.
* * *
CHERRY CREEK: The poisoning of existing fish in Cherry Creek southwest of
Bozeman in Montana to accommodate the reintroduction of Westslope
cutthroat
trout is seeing opposition from the Montana Mining Association. Claiming
that the action could pose a health hazard to the area, an area in which
employees of two mining companies live, the association says the state is
not following its own regulations (such as those mining groups must
follow).
Supporters of the plan, including Trout Unlimited and state and federal
biologists, say poisoning is safe, though opponents point to a fish
reintroduction project in California that failed and contaminated a local
water supply, reports the Bozeman Gazette (7/12).
* * *
LAMAR RIVER: The Lamar River in Yellowstone’s National Park is being
destroyed by grazing elk, reports the Billings Gazette (7/14). The elk
have
removed the protective vegetation from the banks making it wider and
shallower, changes that are most likely considered irreversible. The
large
number of elk still residing in the area makes restoration of riparian
shrubs unlikely.
* * *
RAPPAHANNOCK RIVER: 224 acres of riverfront property along the
Rappahannock
River in Virginia have been added to the USFWS refuge system, thanks for
a
donation from the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, reports the Richmond
Times-Dispatch (7/14). This expands the refuge to 2,700 acres.
* * *
SALMON VERSUS BLUEBERRIES: The drought in the Northeast is pitting salmon
against blueberries, as the state of Maine tries to keep Atlantic salmon
in
seven Maine rivers off the federal list of endangered species. Maine’s
largest blueberry growers rely on watersheds of three Washington County
rivers: the Pleasant, Machias and Narraguagus – 3 out of 5 rivers in that
county that are the focus of the state salmon conservation plan. As
reports
the Bangor Daily News (7/10), “if Maine cannot find a way to protect the
salmon without crippling the wild blueberry industry, it will have failed
at
one of the most critical tasks identified under the state's salmon plan.”
Blueberry growers fear a listing of the salmon as endangered could end
their
water withdrawals in the region.
==================
For more news, visit American Rivers at www.amrivers.org