MWAC Newsletter
November 14, 2008
In This Issue:
- NEW REPORT ON CLEAN WATER ACT FROM T & I COMMITTEE
- FLOATING TO SAVE THE L.A. RIVER
- OBAMA WILL BE GREAT LAKES FRIEND
- HAVE A SAFE AND HAPPY THANKSGIVING
NEW REPORT FROM COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTURCTURE
The U.S. House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee released a report titled "Stagnant Waters: The Legacy of the Bush Administration on the Clean Water Act," detailing the Bush Administration's actions on critical clean water issues over the last eight years. Click here to read the full report.
FLOATING TO SAVE THE L.A. RIVER
An Army Corps of Engineers biologist who took part in a kayak trip to show the waterway is navigable may face dismissal for her actions.
By Heather Wylie
October 30, 2008
Los Angeles Times
A kayak trip I took this summer may cost me my job.
I am a civilian biologist working for the Army Corps of Engineers. On my personal time, I joined a trip down the Los Angeles River to protest actions by my own agency to undermine the Clean Water Act.
My superiors scoured the Internet for proof and found two photos of me on a blog. Claiming that my "participation undermined [its] authority," the corps has proposed suspending me for 30 days, a punishment one step below termination. More than two months after advocating this penalty, it has yet to make a decision.
In July, a dozen kayakers took a three-day journey down the 52-mile L.A. River; I joined them for 20 miles. The purpose of our regatta was to show that the entire river is "navigable-in-fact" -- a classification that is crucial to preventing the rollback of Clean Water Act protections throughout the watershed -- and to highlight similar threats facing waterways across the nation.
More than 30 years after its enactment, the Clean Water Act is now in legal turmoil. A 2006 U.S. Supreme Court decision, Rapanos vs. United States, first muddied the waters. The court held that to continue to regulate pollution under the Clean Water Act, the government has to prove there is a "significant nexus" between the wetlands in question and "navigable-in-fact" waters.
The term "navigable-in-fact" comes from 140 years' worth of court rulings. Waterways that have or can generate interstate or foreign commerce through boating (including seasonal, hazardous or solely recreational use) are navigable-in-fact and thus subject to the provisions of the Clean Water Act. So our kayak trip was meant to underscore that the L.A. River -- and all the streams that feed into it -- deserve protection under that law.
Last year, in response to the court ruling, the corps and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency put together a document spelling out new, more restrictive methods for analyzing which waters will continue to be subject to the law. With a big assist from the Bush administration, developers and industry successfully lobbied the agencies to use the new guidebook as an opportunity to push the majority of our nation's streams and wetlands out of reach of the Clean Water Act.
In the view of many, the restrictive standards cripple the Clean Water Act. In a memo released by Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Beverly Hills), the top EPA enforcement official complained that the change has blocked the majority of Clean Water Act prosecutions.
Fortunately, the corps' shenanigans and the attention our protest and that of others drew to the issue triggered an unusual countermove: The EPA permanently stripped the corps of any further responsibility for determining the status of the L.A. River and Arizona's Santa Cruz River.
Still, scores of other watersheds across the nation remain in jeopardy. A navigability analysis of the Gila River in Arizona has just been completed, designating only 6.9 miles as navigable-in-fact. This has enormous implications; the Gila River flows hundreds of miles across the width of Arizona, and its watershed covers vast areas of the state. The analysis focuses on a small section of the Gila near the site of a proposed development where lobbyists are pushing for relaxation of environmental protections. In response, the corps has proposed removing Clean Water Act coverage from several creeks at the site. If the EPA doesn't overturn it by Tuesday, these rollbacks will become final and set a detrimental precedent.
Legislation to restore the Clean Water Act and protect our rivers from being polluted, or our wetlands from being drained for development, is still pending in Congress. It needs to be a top priority.
I picked up a paddle to make a point about protecting the integrity of our waters, including the much-abused L.A. River, and to protest the leadership of my own agency. The Army Corps of Engineers, all the way down to the Los Angeles District, has chosen to subvert the Clean Water Act, which the agency -- like myself -- has sworn to uphold. To me, protecting our waters, our greatest public-trust resource, is not just our job; it is our patriotic duty.
As a federal employee, I did not forfeit my 1st Amendment rights to speak out or to petition my government to redress wrongs -- on my own time. To my surprise, my demonstration about the Clean Water Act has turned into a fight about the extent to which public servants will be allowed to serve the public, our true employers, while off-duty. I stand by my actions, and I have not put my paddle away.
Heather Wylie is a biologist with the regulatory division of the L.A. District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The opinions expressed are her own and do not reflect the official views of the corps. http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-wylie30-2008oct30,0,712832.story
OBAMA WILL BE GREAT LAKES FRIEND
By JOHN FLESHER
AP Environmental Writer
TRAVERSE CITY -- Barack Obama's election as president and his appointment of Rahm Emanuel as chief of staff are hopeful signs for the struggle to heal the ailing Great Lakes ecosystem, advocates said Thursday.
Obama and Emanuel, both from the Lake Michigan city of Chicago, have championed initiatives in Congress to protect the lakes. Obama released a plan in September pledging a $5 billion "down payment" toward a wide-ranging restoration that would include sewage system upgrades, toxic cleanups and wetlands repair.
Emanuel introduced a comprehensive cleanup bill in 2003, shortly after his election to the House. Although it didn't pass, he has continued working with lawmakers from both parties to build support, said Cameron Davis, president of the Alliance for the Great Lakes.
Davis, who served as an Obama campaign adviser, said he had known of the Illinois senator's commitment to the lakes since meeting him during a Lake Michigan beach cleanup a decade ago.
"It's hard to imagine how the Great Lakes could not be a priority for the new administration," Davis said in a conference call with reporters. He said he considered Emanuel "the godfather of Great Lakes restoration."
"He swims in Lake Michigan for exercise and for fun," Davis said. "I know he's got a very intimate connection to the lake that we care so much about and I can't imagine that will be lost or ignored."
The Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition, which represents more than 100 groups, also expressed high hopes for an ecosystem that scientists warn is on the verge of ruin from big-city sewage, toxins and invasive species. The lakes contain nearly one-fifth of the world's fresh surface water and 95 percent of the U.S. supply.
"The millions of people who rely on the Great Lakes now count on President-elect Obama's leadership to restore these waters, before the problems worsen and become more costly to correct," said Jeff Skelding, the coalition's national campaign director.
Advocates hope the change of administrations will bring more money to the Great Lakes Legacy Act, which cleans up highly polluted harbors and river sediments.
The House voted this year to provide $150 million a year for five years, but the Senate authorized just $54 million annually for two years.
But supporters acknowledged they would have to scrap for more funding even with a friendly administration in power, given the federal budget deficit and the economic slowdown.
"It will be very hard for a president to propose major new programs unless you can find the money somewhere to fund them," said Michael Kraft, professor of public and environmental affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. "Spending will be severely constrained." Still, he predicted the Obama administration would be more supportive simply by virtue of having more policymakers with scientific and environmental backgrounds.
than the Bush team, which drew heavily from business and industry.
"I see what is likely to be a real effort to get beyond the idea that environmental protection competes with economic development," Kraft said.
Obama's plan also calls for a crackdown on invasive species and for appointing an official to coordinate the dozens of federal programs dealing with the lakes. Davis said it was too early to speculate on who might get that job. http://www.record-eagle.com/2008election/local_story_312095711.html
HAPPY THANKSGIVING
TO SAVE OR SAVOR?
“If the world were merely seductive, that would be easy. If it were merely challenging, that would be no problem. But I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve (or save) the world and desire to enjoy (or savor) the world. This makes it hard to plan the day.”
-E. B. White
On this Thanksgiving, take a day off from saving our natural resources to truly savor them. Take the time to savor not only the natural world, but also the effort that you put forth to protect our wetlands, streams, and lakes. Enjoy spending time away from the endless fights to ensure our wetlands and natural resources are forever protected and relax in the company of your family and friends. We are thankful for all your hard work and effort that goes into protecting Michigan’s wetlands.