David Conrad, Senior Water Resources Specialist calls this threatened area “America’s Amazon.”  Why?

• Listen to the names of trees that grow in the area – sugarberry, sweet gum, water oaks, water hickory, and sweet pecan.

• Millions of rainbow-colored shorebirds and migrating waterfowl call it home – purple gallinules, roseate spoonbills, green herons, snowy egrets – the list goes on and on.

• The threatened Louisiana black bear shelters in the deeply forested region – this area is one of its few remaining habitat tracts.

• American Alligators, descendants of dinosaurs, travel in the streams, shallow ponds, and sloughs.

To experience America’s Amazon for yourself, visit the Yazoo National Wildlife Refuge web site.

The Long Road to Stopping the Yazoo Pumps

In 2008 and at the urging of National Wildlife Federation and Mississippi Wildlife Federation, the Environmental Protection Agency invoked its infrequently used veto power [called a 404(c) veto] under the Clean Water Act to deny approval given to the project by the Army Corps of Engineers.

Roseate spoonbills by National Park Service

After the veto, local interests sued EPA under a legal theory that would have greatly weakened EPA’s power to review and deny harmful projects approved by the Corps.  NWF, MWF and others intervened on EPA’s behalf. 

Then, victory! The court upheld EPA’s broad authority to review and deny Corps approved projects, effectively putting the final nail in the Yazoo pumps’ coffin.

Already a Future Threat to EPA’s Ability to Veto Bad Projects?

Unfortunately, certain Congressional members have waged a sneak attack on this very 404 (c) EPA authority.  A rider to the Continuing Resolution for the budget would strip EPA of this authority.  The Yazoo pumps project demonstrates why this authority is critical to ensuring harmful projects are stopped and money is not wasted.

Great Egret, Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, USFWS

Overturning a favorable lower court decision, the appeals court ruled that the Corps must provide more information to demonstrate the “significance” of the connection between the wetlands and the navigable Northwest River.  If the Corps cannot establish that these wetlands are protected by the Clean Water Act, the waters are slated to be destroyed to make room for residential units, joining a development that already destroyed 77 wetland acres.

4.8 acres of wetlands is about equivalent in size to a bit more than 4 football fields – by no means a small area given the important services wetlands provide.   The state of the law is allowing wetlands like these to be destroyed across the country at the expense of the cleanliness of our drinking water and the security of our communities.

Wetlands, the unsung heroes of the natural world, are essential to maintaining clean water.  Wetlands filter pollutants before they reach large bodies of water, store flood waters, and provide habitat for a wide array of species. Indeed, in the case of these specific wetlands, the Corps showed that “the wetlands ‘slow release of water maintains base flows to the Northwest River and also moderates downstream flooding during extreme precipitation events.’”  Losing these wetlands and ones like them nationwide puts our communities and our own health at risk.

What does this decision mean?
Although this decision still preserves broad legal latitude for EPA and the Corps to protect waters, it demonstrates the agencies’ on-going struggle to determine the Clean Water Act’s reach through a confusing and often inconsistent case-by-case approach.  Protecting many wetlands and small streams now requires a protracted struggle, with little clarity as to what is required to establish a “significant nexus” between wetlands and downstream traditionally navigable waters.

If the agencies had clearer guidance to determine the “waters of the United States” covered by the Clean Water Act, it’s very possible that this permit application process would have been streamlined, rather than taking more than 3 years, two court decisions, and significant expenditures of time and money by all parties involved. The Fourth Circuit decision itself suggests the agencies would benefit from agency rulemaking toward this end.

Right now the Obama Administration and the EPA and the Corps are considering releasing new guidance that would provide clearer direction on which waters are protected.  You can urge the Administration to act quickly to restore vital Clean Water Act protections for wetlands and streams.

Jim Murphy and Jan Goldman-Carter contributed to this post.

After more than a year of tug-of-war between the state of Louisiana and the Army Corps of Engineers, the Corps finally released the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (MRGO) Ecosystem Restoration Plan Draft Feasibility Report on Friday, December 17.  The Corps will accept comments about the plan from the public until January 31, 2011.  The report’s release marks an important and long-awaited step toward community protection and large-scale coastal restoration for the Greater New Orleans region.

MRGO, a deep draft shipping channel, contributed to the extensive flooding of the Lower Ninth Ward and St. Bernard Parish during Hurricane Katrina. In the Hurricane’s tragic wake, Congress directed the Corps to develop a plan to restore the areas affected by the channel.  MRGO has been a pox on the surrounding communities since construction first began in 1958, bisecting critical coastal habitat. The channel was created as a short cut from the Gulf of Mexico to the Port of New Orleans.  The deep draft channel also allowed salt water flow into the surrounding wetlands and cypress swamps, which disturbed the existing ecological balance, thereby destroying tens of thousands of acres of wetlands and cypress swamps.  The loss of these natural buffers, commonly referred to as the “first line of defense,” shepherded the Hurricane Katrina storm surge toward New Orleans, leaving communities exposed to the storm surge.  (Click on the image to see the wetland destruction.)

Now, more than 50 years after construction began, and years behind deadline, this vital plan to close the channel is ready and open for review.  The public voice is critical for both a strong restoration plan and implementation funding.  The Corps needs to hear from you to ensure a healthy and resilient coastal buffer between the New Orleans area and the Gulf of Mexico.

The MRGO Must Go Coalition, a group of 17 environmental and community organizations, will serve as a resource for the public comment period by providing insight and recommendations for the Draft Feasibility Report.  Sign up at www.MRGOmustGO.org for important updates as the comment process moves forward and to learn more about the MRGO.

“What made our jaws drop is that some of the highest threat levels in the world are in the United States and Europe. Americans tend to think water pollution problems are pretty well under control, but we still face enormous challenges.”

38 years after the Clean Water Act, our waters are still in rough shape

Protecting America’s waters requires proper management of the entire watershed.  As the authors report on their website, depending on technology to keep our waters clean isn’t cutting it.

We have to return to the basics—this means, among other things, protecting all waters in a watershed, especially the smaller waters like wetlands, headwaters, and small streams.

Although often overlooked, these smaller bodies of water naturally provide crucial services, they: filter toxins, buffer against storms, store flood waters, and shelter diverse aquatic species. With this impressive list of services, it’s no wonder one researcher stated, “We know it is far more cost effective to protect these water systems in the first place.”

We will depend even more on the functions these waters provide as the effects of climate change unfold.  Climate change will amplify the water cycle.  (The very same water cycle we learned about in elementary school.)  As temperatures increase, more water will evaporate, meaning more water will circulate through the cycle—rainfall events will be more intense and stormwater runoff more plentiful.  Or, as one author said, “Climate manifests itself through water.”

Our tool to protect these smaller waters—the Clean Water Act—has been severely limited in its effectiveness. Two Supreme Court decisions in 2001 and 2006 reduced the historic scope of the Act, leaving many smaller streams and wetlands vulnerable to pollution and destruction.  Now, it’s up to Congress to restore the historic scope of the 1972 Clean Water Act.

Urge your Senators and Representative to restore Clean Water Act protections for America’s waters and the inhabitants that live and depend on.  Even better, if you catch them on the campaign trail, speak up for wetlands.

This post is part of Blog Action Day, which this year is raising awareness about the need for clean water.

“Without these protections, Colorado’s limited and precious aquatic resources are at further risk,” said Dennis Buechler, Director Emeritus of the Colorado Wildlife Federation and the author of the report. “In some instances where protections have been removed completely, the state of law has caused unnecessary confusion.”

This confusion threatens Colorado’s streams and wetlands which provide habitat and benefits to more than 75 percent of the state’s wildlife and waterfowl. It also jeopardizes the multi-billion dollar hunting and fishing industries.

Read more about the report at nwf.org.

And among these great opportunities, I’d also like to highlight one reason in particular to pass this resolution: important new investments in conserving the Great Lakes.

In a draft outline of his budget, President Obama specifically allocated $475 million for the Environmental Protection Agency to conserve these bodies of water — the largest amount of money ever requested by a President for the Great Lakes.

It’s no wonder why. This American treasure faces among other minor threats, a “triple threat” of contaminated sediment, invasive species and sewage contamination.

I always assumed the Lakes were large enough to withstand numerous pressures, but through reading about the Great Lakes for NWF, I’ve learned that many scientists believe that a combination of pressures are rapidly moving the Lakes towards a condition of irreversible harm.

The Lakes are not only the primary source of drinking water for more than one in ten Americans, but they are also the largest freshwater ecosystem on the planet, making them an invaluable natural resource.

Conservation efforts in the budget resolution can tackle these problems:

• Contaminated Sediment—polluting water and endangering wildlife for decades: The Great Lakes suffer from an industrial legacy that has left behind 31 EPA-identified contaminated sediment areas. Toxins in these sediments wreak havoc on the lakes–poisoning wildlife, polluting water and destroying habitat.

• Aquatic invasive species—causing trouble and costing millions: Invasive species might seem like a small threat, but Great Lakes residents annually spend more than $200 million to repair damages and control these pests. Invasives overwhelm native wildlife and wreak havoc on infrastructure; the infamous zebra mussel clogs water intake pipes at an exponential rate as each female produces one million eggs per year.

• Sewage Contamination—yuck! Antiquated wastewater systems are a major pollutant source, spilling at least 23 billion gallons of sewage into the lakes every year.

Whether you live in the region or not, it’s easy to see why protecting the Great Lakes – and getting this budget passed — is critical for all Americans. Please take the time to protect this incredible resource!