Unacceptable Permits

30. March 2010 by admin.

 

When I first read articles last year regarding Great Lakes fish kills from water intakes, I was intrigued at the way that energy producers are even able to get away with permits to do this.  Do they have permits or is it  just being done and they “suffer” through paying the fines? Either way this is perverse. Save Maumee stands by our words - More Oversite - FINES for illegal activity - Action FIRST, then study and show measurable results!

Sandy Bihn RiverKeeper said it best in this article…

“Fish are important to Ohio’s economy, providing an estimated 10,000 jobs and $800 billion in economic activity.”

She said fishermen “would pay thousands in fines and serve jail time if they did what Bay Shore does each and every day.”

How many people do you think 60 million fish per year would feed? That is how many fish are being destroyed by FirstEnergy Corps.- please write your legislator - find them here…

http://www.in.gov/apps/sos/legislator/search/

FirstEnergy to install devices to divert fish
Goal is reduction of kills at Bay Shore
By TOM HENRY
BLADE STAFF WRITER

http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100330/NEWS16/3300349 - March 30, 2010
The numbers are staggering: 60 million fish - 46 million of them adults - are killed each year by the powerful intake of FirstEnergy Corp.’s coal-fired Bay Shore power plant in Oregon. Bay Shore’s intake also destroys 209 million fish eggs, and 2,247 million fish in their larval form annually by pulling them through screens and into the plant, according to a 2009 report generated by one of the utility’s paid consultants. The annual carnage is believed to be one of the worst in the Great Lakes region, although Bay Shore is just a midsized facility.

FirstEnergy’s consultant passed the report along to the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency last year after crunching 2005-06 sampling data for more than two years. The state EPA then spent the past year reviewing it. So now, after a promise to toughen up requirements, what has the state environmental regulator tentatively decided to have FirstEnergy do about the problem? Study it more.Beginning Monday, FirstEnergy will initiate a pilot project in which it will install reverse louvers - devices that resemble upside-down shutters - in the plant’s intake channel. The hope is that the slotted, angled devices will allow only a fraction of the fish from getting pounded to death against intake screens or drawn into the plant, where nearly all die. The vast majority of fish, ideally, would be diverted around the plant.The additional research is coming in lieu of a cooling tower, which can cost $100 million or more but save upwards of 90 percent of the fish swimming in the channel. Financing such a device also could raise Toledo-area electricity rates more than 6 percent, according to information in a report the utility provided last year to a government consultant.The potential impact on rates was made public during a March 3, 2009, meeting at Wynn Elementary School by Paul Novak, the Ohio EPA’s manager of surface-water permits and compliance. Ellen Raines, FirstEnergy spokesman, said talk of a cooling tower is on hold until the research with reverse louvers is completed.The Ohio EPA said in a proposed permit it issued for discussion recently that it will give FirstEnergy through the end of 2010 to see how the untested technology works, then spend nearly a year reviewing the data itself before issuing its finding by Sept. 1, 2011. If all goes as planned, FirstEnergy will have until May 1, 2013, to break ground on permanent installation and can take until Oct. 1, 2014 to have it operating. The permit would be valid through Jan. 31, 2015. That timetable doesn’t sit well with some people, such as Oregon activist Sandy Bihn. She and members of the group she founded, Western Lake Erie Waterkeeper Association, have been campaigning for quicker, decisive action at the plant, which for 55 years has sat in the confluence of one of the Great Lakes region’s most productive fish nurseries, a highly sensitive area where the Maumee River meets the Maumee Bay. They claim the Lake Erie fishery, though already one of the world’s best, hasn’t begun to scratch its potential. Saving more fish could be an economic boon for the Toledo area’s depressed economy by stimulating the region’s tourism and recreation industries, they claim. The Ohio EPA acknowledged last year and in its latest fact sheet that Bay Shore likely “impinges and entrains more fish than all of the other power plants in Ohio combined.” Impingement is the act of death or severe injury caused to fish when water intakes slam them against screens. Entrainment is the word for eggs, larvae, and juvenile fish small enough to slip through the screens and get drawn into the plant, which operate at several hundred degrees. “The permit delays action too long,” Ms. Bihn said. “Fish are important to Ohio’s economy, providing an estimated 10,000 jobs and $800 billion in economic activity.” She said fishermen “would pay thousands in fines and serve jail time if they did what Bay Shore does each and every day.” Ms. Raines and another FirstEnergy spokesman Mark Durbin said the utility believes reverse louvers have great potential to do the job affordably. The company believes it will be worth the time investing in more research, they said. “We have a responsibility to our customers and company to make the right decisions,” Ms. Raines said. Mike McCullough, an Ohio EPA environmental specialist, and Dina Pierce, an agency spokesman, said the state regulator can consider costs when setting permit requirements. A cooling tower is “still a possibility” if the reverse louvers aren’t shown to be effective enough. The Ohio EPA is attempting to get an 80 percent reduction in fish kills via impingement and a 60 percent reduction in entrainment to comply with a federal edict imposed on the states in 2004. The federal mandate came in response to a lawsuit won by national environmental groups that had claimed the government wasn’t protecting fish enough by exercising the power it has under the Clean Water Act, one of the nation’s landmark environmental laws. An April 22 meeting is being scheduled for the public to weigh in on this and other aspects of Bay Shore’s next water-discharge permit. Contact Tom Henry at:
thenry@theblade.com
or 419-724-6079.

Posted in Coal's Contribution to Water Probs. | Print | 1 Comment »

Save Maumee Earth Day Video on Public Access

27. March 2010 by admin.

 

April 3, 2010 at 2pm - COMCAST channel 55
VERIZON channel25

April 5, 2010 at 10:49pm - COMCAST channel 55
VERIZON channel 25

April 6, 2010 at 2:49pm -  COMCAST channel 55
VERIZON channel 25

April 10, 2010 at 7:49pm - COMCAST channel 57
VERIZON channel 27
OR
April 10, 2010 at 3:19pm - COMCAST channel 55
VERIZON channel 25

April 13, 2010 at 4pm - COMCAST channel 57
VERIZON channel 27

April 15, 2010 at 7am - COMCAST channel 57
VERIZON channel 27

April 17, 2010 at 5pm - COMCAST channel 57
VERIZON channel 27

April 19, 2010 at 4pm - COMCAST channel 57
VERIZON channel 27

~ Save Maumee ’s 5th Annual Earth Day 2010 ~

~ SUNDAY April 18 ~

~ 11AM - 4PM ~

all ages ~ rain or shine ~  action & education ~ Free Fun 

HOW IT WORKS:
Please bring with you:
*  family and friends
(must have parent present if under 18)
* garbage bags / shovels
* muddin’ shoes
* gloves
* ponchos
* your able body if you don’t have anything on this list!
* Save Maumee will provide these things until supplies are gone!

We are establishing projects to clean up the Maumee River . These self-supported community projects will raise awareness about the condition of our local 3 Rivers and begin the slow process of reversing years of pollution.

**Sign in and REGISTER FIRST and listen/read any information being presented about your rivers in Indiana - please sign the liability waiver, or you cannot participate.  (just keeping the lawyers happy :))

See where to find the fun here:
http://www.savemaumee.org/upcomingevents.htm

 

Among other highlights to Celebrate the Fifth year of cleansing of your riverbanks & reclamation practices…(maybe after church?)

 

 

Kickoff at 11 AM ~ Partnership for Water Quality, Matt Jones to educate us about our rivers!

• 1pm – Rain Barrel Demonstration by Lyle…

        ….DIRECTLY FOLLOWING RAINBARREL DEMO…

 

        *Enviroscape Demonstration on how OUR watershed works! – Grace Strahm

• 2:30ish – Save Maumee STOMP – as we push all the soil down with our feet from the plantings!

• 3pm – Soaring Hawk Bird Rescue Demonstration –

        ….DIRECTLY FOLLOWING Short Eared Owl / Red Tail Hawk demo…

 

        * Jain’s Edible Herb walk & identification – wanna know what that plant is?

 

 

 

 

Other things happening all day ~

 

Throughout the day your LOCAL &  LIVE entertainment:

*Dave P., - Playin’ Earth Day since 2005!

*The Wilderness – BACK for the threepete! 3X have we’ve enjoyed these guys!

*Sum MorMorz – Debut for Save Maumee !

 

*Gene Faron – Biologist will be showing you life from the water under a microscope

 

* Face Painting  - need volunteers here

 

*Andy’s Horse Tours & Rentals – Horse Rides & Buggy on the Greenway – proceeds go to Save Maumee for 2011 but fee is primarily for transportation & food costs for the horses. PRICE POSTED call for reservations: Andrea (260) 350-7613 or (260) 562-3432

 

*Sports & Spirits bringing Pizza  -  SURPRISE TIME???

 

* Snacks from the Health Food Shoppe

* Coffee from Old Crown

* REUSABLE water bottles from ACRES Land Trust

 

You will be planting:

TREES from Soil & Water Conservation District & Forestry Service: River Birch, Burr Oak, Pin Oak, Red Maple, Swamp Oak, Willow (different native kinds coming in now)

 

 Planting Seed: - Planting Midwestern Prairie Grass Erosion Control Mix and a Riparian Seed Mix suggested by Earth Source Inc/Heartland Restoration & Save Maumee / Fox Island Seed Gathering’s Seed

*A BLEND of : Big Blue Stern & Canada Wild Rye & Indian Grass & Switchgrass & Prairie Dropseed
*New York Iron Weed/Tall Iron Weed
*Bergamot/Monarda – plant plugs grown in Top Notch Tree Service Greenhouse
*Gray Headed Coneflower – plant plugs grown in Top Notch Tree Service Greenhouse
*Common Milkweed (for butterflies) – plant plugs grown in Top Notch Tree Service Greenhouse
*Common Evening Primrose – plant plugs grown in Top Notch Tree Service Greenhouse

*Yarrow -
*Mullein -

 

These retain deep tap roots that hold them in place when the area floods. (after 5 years of growth)  ALL these hearty plants are able to live through drought or flood due to their deep tap roots and are ideal for our riverbanks…it is even improving the areas plant species diversity!  Of course some need more sun than others…we will try to plant appropriately!

 

TRULY, THANK YOU!  This work could not be accomplished without YOU! We are all volunteers here!

 

 

Sidenote: We planted seed in 27 flats for Save Maumee on March 20th, 2010…if they are not ready we will NOT plant these flats on Save Maumee’s Earth Day. One section of the 85% salvage & recycled greenhouse roof blew off so we did not plant early enough in the growing season.  We’re concerned the plant plugs grown in Top Notch Tree Service/Save Maumee Greenhouse won’t be big enough.   We want them to have a better chance as larger plants to live and work on your riverbanks.  A Girl Scout Troop from New Haven/Hoagland stepped up to plant them about mid-May!

 

  Not planting blueberries - These delicious fruits come from the East Coast  - We only plant the ones that were growing here naturally before humans introduced them from distant places.  Instead Save Maumee donors have purchased blackberries & raspberries - good for jelly AND are native to this area!

 

 

TO DATE YOU & SAVE MAUMEE HAS: -REMOVED 7.5 tons of GARBAGE from the Rivers and Riverbanks of the Fort Wayne Area -PLANTED over 740 trees 700 lbs of DNR approved native riparian seed installed over 10,000 sq ft of erosion control mats planted 50 native fruit trees harvested 27 lbs worth of seed and raised awareness SUCCESSFULLY! All money came from Grateful Groove Fundraiser, Alysen Wade Lexicon Event, The Wilderness Band Fundraiser, Earth Day 2009, Canoe Clean-Up 2009, Sports & Spirits Bar & Grill, Craig Thorne and Greg Konger! Namnaste to many small monetary donors!

 

100% donations from you go only to best management practices for naturalization of riparian areas - this is what grassroots organizing is all about!

 

How do planting grasses and seeds help?

• HOLDS DOWN SOIL: The No. 1  POLLUTANT is siltation / erosion / sedimentation is the #1 pollutant in our watershed. 
• Grasses help to settle out suspended sediment in the water to help hold down the soil that could be washed away because there is nothing to hold down the barren soil when the water comes rushing down during a rain event. 
• Grasses filtrate sediment by holding water for a longer period of time so the sediment settles to the bottom instead of traveling downstream. 
• Removal of nutrients from the water before it passes downstream. 
• Plants produce enzymes which will absorb and “eat” bacteria 
• Natural removal of chemical pollutants like fertilizers and waste materials removes nitrogen, phosphorous and toxins from surface water. 
• Creating more shade helps to create Dissolved Oxygen that is needed in the water for fish and other wildlife to “breathe.” 
• Floods problems can be alleviated - grassy knolls and trees can capture, store and slowly release water over a longer period of time 
• Protect shorelines through reduction of destructive energy from fast moving / rising water 
• Alleviate pools of standing, stagnant water so West Nile will not have the opportunity to be passed on in the mosquito or human population

  ======================================================

 

Upcoming Event Calendar: 

YOU are NOT Powerless! ~ Voice visions & values more often and more loudly - SHOW UP in 2010!

Saturday September 18^th  11AM – 4PM FORT WAYNE OUTFITTERS & BIKE DEPOT LOCATION  - Cass Street behind The Bean -

 – Free canoe rental for participants for the day with a photo I.D.! It will be too late in the season for plantings…but never too late in the season for garbage removal and free paddling!  Free Canoes with I.D. from Earth Adventure on Main Street & Ft. Wayne Outfitters

 

Save Maumee Seed Harvest at Fox Island : - Saturday October 2nd OR 24th 1 PM – 4PM at Fox Island (date may change due to harvesting availability and season changes for best pickin’)

 

April 15 - Indiana State Senatorial Candidate Jack Morris will have his campaign kick off at Pint & Slice and plans to listen to Save Maumee’s views on environmental issues.  Thank You for your positive environmental views Senatorial Candidate! He’s bringing his truck to Earth Day to get the big trash on Dwenger Ave. & Glasglo Ave. -  The end of East Wayne area on the banks of the Maumee !

 

April 17 through April 22 Eagle Marsh Earth Week - check out their website for details  

http://www.lrwp.org/

April 20 – Camp Scott Constructed Wetland Walk -  8pm-9:30pm on Oxford St .

April 22  - Fort Wayne ’s Green Business Initiative at the Grand Wayne Center

http://www.regonline.com/builder/site/Default.aspx?eventid=837348

 

April 23 - Green ABC’s Debut from Waynedale Green Alliance at Anthis Career Center NOON - 2PM

http://www.fortwaynegreen.com/

May 1^nd & 2^rd  Sol-Fest at Fox Island – Celebrating the outdoors with food, music & sun.
http://allencountyparks.org/parks/fox-island/sol-fest-2008/

 

June 26, 2010 - Riverfest on the banks of the St. Joe at IPFW - check it out!  Fun includes a zip-line, hot air balloon ride, fireworks, live entertainment rivers. Come & Celebrate the positve things about our rivers!  -  Steele Dynamics Inc. is title sponsor for RiverFest, sitting at the table with Save Maumee shows their dedication to transparency and best management practice to improve the health and wealth of our rivers!

http://fortwaynehomepage.net/fulltext/?nxd_id=23485

July 24th - Upper Maumee Large Scale Clean-Up from Fort Wayne , Indiana to Defiance , Ohio - be part of the canoe fun! Still in the works - mark your calendar! 3 different launching spots so far with exit areas downstream and a party where all participants come together afterwards.  Currently we have secured places for launching in Fort Wayne , Woodburn , IN or near Defiance , OH ! More to come on this!

 

September 4th - Maumee Bay Tour - take a bus to Toledo , Ohio ’s Maumee Bay and find out about the sediment load being deposited and removed from your waterways - call Jason Roehrig for interest or reservations (419) 782-8751  

 

September 25th - Scenic River Canoe Tour and Water Monitoring in Antwerp, OH - Call Jason Roehrig for details or reservations (419) 782-8751

 

FRIENDS! 

Jerry Hay, Author - A partner in river information sharing was left off the website! SORRY JERRY! We will fix this very soon! Lots of river information & maps here  http://www.riverlorian.com/riverslist.htm

     &

Save Maumee Grassroots Org., Healing Our Waters, Save the Dunes & Indiana Wildlife Federation - Our coalition of groups from Indiana descended upon Capitol Hill to ask for support of Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funding to; aid in stopping invasive species (most notably Asian Carp), cleaning up toxic sediments, stopping polluted runoff, preventing beach contamination, restoring degraded wetlands and protecting fish and wildlife resources.  Congressional action is needed on several regional priorities. Too much time has been spent avoiding issues. We met these activists during February’s Clean Water Week in Washington D.C.   Bruce Allen & Abigail Frost represented your waterways in north-east Indiana while meeting personally with the offices of:

 

Senator Richard Lugar
Representative Mike Pence
Representative Brad Ellsworth
Representative Andre Carson
Representative Baron Hill
Representative Mark Souder

Information packets were received by:

Representative Peter Visclosky
Representative Joe Donnelly
Senator Evan Bayh

 

Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry was even there! Meeting with Mark Souder! 

 

Monthly Meetings:

 

Upper Maumee Watershed Partnership – A monthly stakeholder group for the Maumee River that includes 4 counties between Ohio & Indiana

http://www.uppermaumeewatershed.com/

 

Friends of the Rivers – A monthly stakeholder group that wants to be your friend~river lovers! Ultimate goals include making our rivers swimable and cleaner than they are now! ~NICE~ Call Dan Wire (260) 580-7415 to get involved or http://ipfwriverfest.org/

 

===============================

 Why Save Maumee chooses Earth Day?

          “So long as the human species inhabits the Earth, proper management of its resources will be the most fundamental issue we face. Our very survival will depend upon whether or not we are able to preserve, protect and defend our environment. We are not free to decide about whether or not our environment “matters.” It does matter, apart from any political exigencies. We disregard the needs of our ecosystem at our mortal peril.” ~

~~ U.S. Senator & Congressman Gaylord Nelson ~ Earth Day Founder [EPA JOURNAL, April 1980]

Posted in SM in the News! | Print | 1 Comment »

WRITE THE EPA NOW!

22. March 2010 by admin.

Got a burning water quality issue U.S. EPA needs to hear about?  Speak out now.

In April, EPA is hosting a conference called Coming Together for Clean Water. This conference will include about 100 river and water leaders charged with sharing ideas about how EPA can better address the water pollution problems facing our rivers.

In preparation for that meeting, EPA is hosting a web discussion forum where YOU can share your ideas and hence help design the discussion in April.  The web forum has three topics under discussion: the watershed approach, managing pollutants from nutrients, and stormwater pollution.  Each topic has a short introduction and a list of starter questions. A larger “discussion document” also provides food for though for your input.

  When you visit the forum, I’m sure you’ll see enough to get your thoughts flowing. In case you need a little jumpstart, ponder:

  * Topics you want to be sure are raised. For example: Concerned about CAFOs and nutrients? Protection of riparian buffers to control nutrient (and other pollution)? Addressing water quantity/flow as part of the watershed restoration approach?

*  Solutions you might have found. For example: Have you found creative ways to incorporate green infrastructure concepts into development or redevelopment? Examples of how to reach across political boundaries to embrace the watershed approach?

* Policy problems or barriers EPA needs to address to help you in your work. For example:  Are you seeing the need for better defining who needs a CAFO permit? Lack of controls for nonpoint source pollution? Funding needed to expand monitoring?

  To join the discussion: http://blog.epa.gov/waterforum/   

  Note: the forum launched on March 16, and U.S. EPA’s press materials say it will be open for two weeks.

Posted in WRITE NOW! | Print | 1 Comment »

Unable to keep phosphorus out of streams?

22. March 2010 by admin.

As you may know, Steuben County passed an ordinance to protect their lakes by restricting the use of phosphorus fertilizer.  They were subsequently told that they did not have the authority to enact this ordinance unless they obtained a waiver from the State Chemist’s office.  After much discussion intended to discourage them, they applied for a waiver.  The state chemist had to invent a process. Steuben County presented a great deal of information about the impact of phosphorus on their lakes, but the state chemist has just announced their decision to deny the waiver request.  SEE IT HERE: final-deter-state-chem.jpg

Here are some links to the news stories.

http://www.news-sentinel.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/SE/20100210/NEWS/2100337

http://www.indy.com/articles/news/thread/steuben-county-s-request-to-ban-algae-causing-fertilizers-denied

 

Basically Steuben County does not have the authority to protect its waterways!

I’d say its time to do away with the State Chemist’s pre-emptive authority AND pursue statewide restrictions on phosphorus fertilizer.

Rae Schnapp - Water Keeper Alliance

Posted in Chemicals in YOUR water, Uncategorized | Print | No Comments »

MOST POLLUTED RIVER IN USA? LOCATED IN INDIANA

21. March 2010 by admin.

United States Environmental Protection Agency says The Grand Calumet River has the most problems of any river in the USA.  The Grand Calumet is located in Indiana-along Lake Michigan between Gary, IN and East Chicago, IL.

Post Tribune:
http://www.rdmag.com/News/FeedsAP/2010/03/energy-unsafe-river-in-indiana-faces-long-recuperation/

The interesting part in this article that caught my attention was The Grand Calumet and the Maumee have several similarities.   I believe reading that the sediment with problems runs about 8-12 inches deep in the Maumee.
While the Maumee has 42 (down from 44) combined sewer overflows (CSO’s) that average discharges 71 times per year, litterally spewing millions of gallons of toilet water into local rivers anually. Allen County is the only county that can have discharging residential septic systems. All other residential systems in the state use the soil to treat their wastewater and the effluent becomes groundwater (which may or may not recharge a stream somewhere down the line). Allen is the only county that can have a pipe from the systems to the stream and there are a lot of strings attached to that permit to be sure that the effluent that is going into the stream is clean -but oversight is always underfunded.

…a few highlights from the article that reflect our own waterways …

“Historically, industry and municipalities in the region used the river as a sewer for their waste. For about a century, steel mills and treatment plants have spewed untold amounts of heavy metals, pesticides, bacteria and pollutants that can cause cancer in humans into the river.”- both rivers
“Today, elevated levels of mercury, lead, cadmium and polychlorinated biphenyls lie buried in the Grand Cal to a depth of up to 11.5 feet below ground surface, according to the EPA. The river also has problems with oil and grease and too little oxygen. EPA estimates that the Grand Calumet River and Indiana Harbor and Ship Canal contain 5 million to 10 million cubic yards of contaminated sediment up to 20 feet deep.”

The Grand Calumet has 15 CSO’s discharging an extimated 11 billion gallons of raw wastewater into the harbor and river.  About 57% of that is discharged within 8 miles of Lake Michigan….contributing to E. coli and beach closings from bacteria.

Stormwater runoff and water leached out from 11 waste disposal and storage sites located within 0.2 miles of the river continue to degrade water quality.

Five Superfund sites, the most contaminated places in the nation, are located in the area. So are 423 hazardous waste sites. And more than 150 leaking underground storage petroleum tanks. Air pollution and contaminated groundwater also affect the river, EPA says.

Today, about 90 percent of the river consists of wastewater from industry and sewage from municipal treatment plants, EPA says.

When officials assess the health of a river, they judge it based on 14 possible “beneficial uses,” such as whether people can swim in the river or eat fish from it and whether the river has the variety of bugs that would be expected in similar places.

The Grand Calumet is the only river in the United States that’s impaired in all 14 possible ways, said Gary Gulezian, director of EPA’s Great Lakes National Program Office.

The Grand Calumet River and the Indiana Harbor Ship Canal were identified in 1987 as an “area of concern.”

“Until we address the legacy sediment, we won’t have a river that can restore itself and is safe for all, for the ecosystem and for human health,” said Dorreen Carey, director of the department of environment with the city of Gary. “But in the meantime, it’s always been my position there’s lots of things we can do to contribute to cleaning up the river.”

Stormwater runoff, NPDES & combined sewer overflows to the river need to be reduced.

- NPDES is a legal straight pipe discharge called a National Pollution Discharge Elimination System Permit - they need more oversight and fines for going over legal limits or spills.

Posted in Indiana Waterways | Print | No Comments »

D.C. Update

11. March 2010 by admin.

Washington D.C.  February 24, 2010 – Great Lakes Day

Today Save Maumee Grassroots Org., Save the Dunes and Healing Our Waters met in person with representatives from the offices of:

• Senator Richard Lugar
• Representative Mike Pence
• Representative Brad Ellsworth
• Representative Andre Carson
• Representative Baron Hill
• Representative Mark Souder

  Information packets were received by:

• Representative Peter Visclosky
• Representative Joe Donnelly
• Senator Evan Bayh
• 
  
• Our coalition of groups from Indiana descended upon Capitol Hill to ask for support of Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funding to; aid in stopping invasive species (most notably Asian Carp), cleaning up toxic sediments, stopping polluted runoff, preventing beach contamination, restoring degraded wetlands and protecting fish and wildlife resources.  Congressional action is needed on several regional priorities. Too much time has been spent avoiding issues.

Great Lakes Task Force – Great Lakes Alliance – Our Healing Waters – National Wildlife Association all had speakers to brief us on issues for Hill visits along with our own agendas.  It included state-by-state planning, lobbing refresher, and education about urgent issues facing the Great Lakes and priorities. Literally millions of citizens were represented at our meetings with lawmakers.

Our group believes that congress should strengthen accountability, provide transparency, boost coordination with stakeholders and ensure a strong scientific foundation for Great Lakes restoration efforts. 

  Save Maumee Grassroots Org. representing northeast Indiana specifically asked for:

• Funding to develop and implement a watershed management plan for the Upper Maumee in Indiana/Ohio to improve the receiving waters in Ohio downstream.
• Fix failing sewers and drinking water infrastructure.
• Stronger enforcement, oversight of NPDES (National Pollution Discharge Elimination System) permits; and fines for illegally discharging more than straight pipe permits allow.
• Anti-degradation laws (passed down from federal law) need to be correlated and consistent between states and nations sharing the same receiving waters.
• Create alternative designation for wetlands to be considered a vital “protected area” to alleviate flooding, pollution and green space need.
• Floodplains should remain free and clear of structures and/or added fill dirt

 

We realize that planning is an important element, yet immediate projects on the ground action is needed through projects on the ground are how improvements are actually made!

 Our groups were also honorably received at the Canadian American Embassy with cocktails and nice appetizers!

Abigail Frost
Save Maumee Grassroots Organization Founder
Master Naturalist
Watershed Expert

www.savemaumee.org

Posted in Lobby for Clean Water Act | Print | 1 Comment »

Fluoride Safety?

11. March 2010 by admin.

“Dangerous Fluoride,” from the CBS affiliate in Atlanta, Georgia at
http://www.cbsatlanta.com/video/22781769/index.html

Neither the ADA nor the CDC could provide answers to the CBS news team. They cannot deny that fluoridation increases the risk of dental fluorosis - a problem in the United States. Their own figures show that at least 32% of American children suffer from this condition. Moreover, even though they have advised that fluoridated tap water should not be used to make up baby formula, they have not taken aggressive steps to get this message out to parents. Nor are they warning vulnerable sub-groups of the population that they are more vulnerable to fluorosis than others.  I have seen statistics of how Americans dental health has gone up…along with every other country that does NOT fluoridate their tap water.  It appears that dental health has gone up because of frequency of brushing and understanding the causes of tooth decay.

If you want to know more, check out The Fluoride Action Network at http://www.fluoridealert.org/

Posted in Fluoride | Print | No Comments »

Fact v/s Fiction about Global Warming Support

11. March 2010 by admin.

I want to keep this blog about WATER related issues, but I thought this was important to note who exactly the opposition IS when it comes to supporting “clean and green”. - I thought it was important to note! There appears to be a pattern here.

*The following groups say the danger of human-caused climate change
is a … FACT: *

U.S. Agency for International Development
United States Department of Agriculture
National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration
National Institute of Standards and Technology
United States Department of Defense
United States Department of Energy
National Institutes of Health
United States Department of State
United States Department of Transportation
U.S. Geological Survey
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
University Corporation for Atmospheric Research
National Center for Atmospheric Research
National Aeronautics & Space Administration
National Science Foundation
Smithsonian Institution
International Arctic Science Committee
Arctic Council
African Academy of Sciences
Australian Academy of Sciences
Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Sciences and the Arts
Academia Brasileira de Ciéncias
Cameroon Academy of Sciences
Royal Society of Canada
Caribbean Academy of Sciences
Chinese Academy of Sciences
Académie des Sciences, France
Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences
Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina of Germany
Indonesian Academy of Sciences
Royal Irish Academy
Accademia nazionale delle scienze of Italy
Indian National Science Academy
Science Council of Japan
Kenya National Academy of Sciences
Madagascar’s National Academy of Arts, Letters and Sciences
Academy of Sciences Malaysia
Academia Mexicana de Ciencias
Nigerian Academy of Sciences
Royal Society of New Zealand
Polish Academy of Sciences
Russian Academy of Sciences
l’Académie des Sciences et Techniques du Sénégal
Academy of Science of South Africa
Sudan Academy of Sciences
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
Tanzania Academy of Sciences
Turkish Academy of Sciences
Uganda National Academy of Sciences
The Royal Society of the United Kingdom
National Academy of Sciences, United States
Zambia Academy of Sciences
Zimbabwe Academy of Science
American Academy of Pediatrics
American Association for the Advancement of Science
American Association of Wildlife Veterinarians
American Astronomical Society
American Chemical Society
American College of Preventive Medicine
American Geophysical Union
American Institute of Physics
American Medical Association
American Meteorological Society
American Physical Society
American Public Health Association
American Quaternary Association
American Institute of Biological Sciences
American Society of Agronomy
American Society for Microbiology
American Society of Plant Biologists
American Statistical Association
Association of Ecosystem Research Centers
Botanical Society of America
Crop Science Society of America
Ecological Society of America
Federation of American Scientists
Geological Society of America
National Association of Geoscience Teachers
Natural Science Collections Alliance
Organization of Biological Field Stations
Society of American Foresters
Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics
Society of Systematic Biologists
Soil Science Society of America
Australian Coral Reef Society
Australian Medical Association
Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society
Engineers Australia
Federation of Australian Scientific and Technological Societies
Geological Society of Australia
British Antarctic Survey
Institute of Biology, UK
Royal Meteorological Society, UK
Canadian Foundation for Climate and Atmospheric Sciences
Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society
European Federation of Geologists
European Geosciences Union
European Physical Society
European Science Foundation
International Association for Great Lakes Research
International Union for Quaternary Research
International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
World Federation of Public Health Associations
World Health Organization
World Meteorological Organization

*The following groups say the danger of human-caused climate change
is a … FRAUD:*

American Petroleum Institute
US Chamber of Commerce
National Association of Manufacturers
Competitive Enterprise Institute
Industrial Minerals Association
National Cattlemen’s Beef Association
Great Northern Project Development
Rosebud Mining
Massey Energy
Alpha Natural Resources
Southeastern Legal Foundation
Georgia Agribusiness Council
Georgia Motor Trucking Association
Corn Refiners Association
National Association of Home Builders
National Oilseed Processors Association
National Petrochemical and Refiners Association
Western States Petroleum Association

^[”FACT” organizations come from “/Is There a Scientific Consensus on
Global Warming?/” at SkepticalScience.com
<http://www.skepticalscience.com/>. “FRAUD” organizations are
petitioners v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Endangerment and
Cause or Contribute Findings for Greenhouse Gases under Section 202(a)
of the Clean Air Act.] From: @K.ST Action: REJECT

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Coal-fired power plant waste storage sites with poisoned water = 101

1. March 2010 by admin.

RENEWABLE energy is sustainable, creates jobs and is a win-win for everyone except for coal interests.  “Particulate emissions from coal plants cost Hoosiers $5 billion per year in health costs.  Alternative energy create 4-5 times more jobs than fossil-fuel and nuclear investments.”  (Citizens Action Coalition, 2009)

WIND, SOLAR, GEOTHERMAL and energy efficiency are technologies that will create jobs and benefit the health, environment and pocketbooks of ALL Hoosiers and TRULY re-tool America for the future!

We cannot afford more of this!

Full Story Here - INCLUDES MAP OF CONTAMINATION SITES:
http://beforeitsnews.com/news/21085/Coal_Ash_and_Other_Pollutants_Throughout_the_U.S..html

“The analysis by EIP and Earthjustice identifies 31 additional coal-ash contamination sites in 14 states, which, when added to the 70 in the EPA’s justification for the pending rule, brings the total of coal-fired power plant waste storage sites with poisoned water to 101.”

“With data showing arsenic and other toxic metal levels in contaminated water at some coal-ash disposal sites at up to 145 times federally permissible levels, the EIP/Earthjustice report identifies 31 coal-ash waste sites where groundwater, wetlands, creeks, or rivers have been polluted with “wastes (that) contain some of the earth’s most deadly pollutants, including arsenic, cadmium, lead, selenium, and other toxic metals that can cause cancer and neurological harm (in humans) or poison fish.” The 31 sites are located in the following 14 states: Delaware (1); Florida (3); Illinois (1); Indiana (2); Maryland (1); Michigan (1); Montana (1); Nevada (1); New Mexico (1); North Carolina (6); Pennsylvania (6); South Carolina (3); Tennessee (2); and West Virginia (2).”

“U.S. coal-fired power plants generate nearly 140 million tons of fly ash, scrubber sludge, and other combustion wastes every year. The EPA has indicated that coal ash dumps significantly increase risks to both people and wildlife. For example, EPA’s 2007 risk assessment estimated that up to one in 50 residents living near certain wet ash ponds could get cancer due to arsenic contamination of drinking water.”

Highlights of the EIP/Earthjustice report include:

•	Arsenic, a potent human carcinogen, has been found at 19 of 31 sites at extremely high levels, with one site found at nearly 150 times the federal water standard. Arsenic causes multiple forms of cancer, including cancer of the liver, kidney, lung, bladder, and skin. Offsite arsenic levels in ash-contaminated groundwater from the Reid Gardner plant (Nevada) have been measured at 31 times the EPA drinking water standard of 10 micrograms per liter.
•	At least 26 of these 31 sites report contamination that exceeds one or more primary drinking water standards.
•	25 out of the 31 sites are still active disposal sites.
•	The damage is not limited to “wet” ash ponds that received extensive attention after the disastrous ash spill at the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Kingston plant in December 2008. No fewer than 13 of the contaminated sites documented in the EIP/Earthjustice report involved so-called “dry” disposal, including two “structural fills” that were advertised as “beneficial reuse” of coal ash.
•	Examples cited in the report include: a boron- and sulfate-contaminated drinking water supply that sickened people in Montana and had to be abandoned; major arsenic pollution from a coal ash dump that contributed to a Great Lake Bay becoming an “International Area of Concern”; a mile-long plume of contamination in Florida; mercury contamination of residential wells in Tennessee; and selenium levels in West Virginia surface waters at 4-5 times what is permitted under federal law.
•	The poisoned water damage could easily have been prevented with available safeguards, such as phasing out leak-prone ash ponds and requiring the use of synthetic liners and leachate collection systems. As the report notes: “Incredibly, ash and other coal combustion wastes are not subject to any federal regulations. The EPA promised to close this loophole by proposing new standards before the end of 2009. Instead, EPA’s draft rule is stalled at the Office of Management and Budget, where an avalanche of lobbyists hope it will stay buried.”    Coal Ash Spill in Tennessee -note the picture was taken almost a year from spill date

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