eco Newswire Updates On Critical Environmental And Access Issues from the ACA Conservation and Public Policy Department. By David Jenkins Developer Deliverance The Chattooga River, of Deliverance fame, needs to be delivered from the hands of greedy developers. One of the last tracks of private land along this Wild & Scenic river has been acquired by two developers who plan to build river front condominiums. These developers, Scott Fain and Earl Lovell, also threatened access rights when they stretched a cable across the West Branch of the river which read "Survivors Will Be Prosecuted." USDA Forest Service attorneys responded with a brief asserting public access rights and negotiated a temporary easement arrangement with the landowners. The agency has been trying to acquire the property in question for over 20 years. The landowners are not shy about the fact that they purchased the land to make a large profit and that they still intend to do so. While Forest Service officials are hopeful that they can get a permanent easement for public access, they currently have no ability to purchase the property and the development threat remains a very real problem. Bowers Gets ACA Green Paddle Award Rich Bowers, Executive Director for American Whitewater Affiliation (AWA) was presented with the American Canoe Association's (ACA) Green Paddle Award For Waterway Conservation. The award was presented at the ACA's National Paddlesports Conference in September. The Green Paddle Award is given to an individual whose work in waterway conservation has made large impact on waters enjoyed by paddlers. Bowers was chosen primarily for his work as Conservation Director of AWA, especially for his exceptional work in the area of hydropower relicensing. His efforts have helped restore water to numerous stretches of river across the nation. Jeff Yeager, Executive Director of the ACA said "Bowers work on the staff of AWA and before that, as a volunteer, has exemplified the dedication to waterway conservation that the Green Paddle Award was created to honor."

ACA Drags Polluters Into Court

New Approach Brings Controversy and Praise

This new approach generated a lot of controversy last summer when the ACA filed suit against some small towns in North Carolina. The Mayor of the town of Saluda, Kim Talbott, took particular offense to ACA's enforcement action against his town. Mayor Talbott immediately took his case to the press, accusing the ACA of "legalized extortion" and vowing to fight it out in court.

The town of Saluda is located in the mountains of western North Carolina near the Green River. Saluda's wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) had violated its discharge permit over 3,800 times during the past 5 years. Local residents complained about discharges of raw sewage into a tributary of the Green and cited treatment plant discharges that turned the waters of a small creek in the Pacolet basin black. One resident even caught geysers of raw sewage spewing forth from the treatment plant on video tape.

At the height of the press war, Mayor Talbott even threatened to have the town file for bankruptcy rather that pay any court imposed fines. Lorain Mason, a resident of Saluda and the mother of an ACA past president, witnessed the controversy first hand while attending Saluda's Coon Dog Festival Prade. A float went by proclaiming itself to be the float of the "Asinine Canoe Association."

During a mediation session with the ACA in July, the belligerent Mayor of Saluda finally realized the difficult position he was in. The evidence against the town was overwhelming. Additionally, the ACA had responded to the Mayor's threats by gearing up for litigation and pursuing a temporary restraining order that would immediately prohibit further pollution. Even the press reports had began to portray Saluda in a bad light.

Within days Saluda was seeking to settle the case. In July Saluda's WWTP was in compliance with its permit for the first full month in over a decade. The main part of the settlement, as it is in all the ACA cases, was an agreement by Saluda to pay stiff fines for future violations. The town also agreed to make some capital improvements and to have an ACA wastewater treatment expert help oversee the operation of the WWTP.

The ACA took action against 9 North Carolina municipal wastewater treatment plants. In addition to ending the violations, many of the settlements resulted in penalty dollars going to local conservation groups. The only outstanding North Carolina case is against the town of Wilson, whose plant discharges into the Neuse River basin. The Association also has a pending case against an oil company in Texas, has taken action against 9 municipal polluters in West Virginia, and is taking a hard look at pollution problems in Virginia.

When asked about this tough approach to cleaning up the nation's rivers, streams, and lakes, David Jenkins, ACA Director of Conservation and Public Policy, said "I would prefer that we not have to pursue such a confrontational solution to water quality problems. It would be nice if we could politely ask polluters to obey the law a get them to comply. It would be nice if the state enforcement agencies would simply do their job. Unfortunately, in many places the system has broken down, the polluters ignore the law, the state agencies ignore the violations, and a citizen suit becomes the only option available."

To handle most of these enforcement cases the ACA hired a Washington D.C. law firm. The ACA's legal fees are typically paid by the polluters. Last October, however, the ACA beefed up its enforcement capabilities by adding an attorney that specializes in environmental litigation to the ACA staff.

Officials in the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have been applauding the ACA's enforcement campaign, as have environmental groups, local paddlers, and citizens living downstream of offending discharges. However, U.S. Representative Charles Taylor (R-NC) took note of Saluda's legal defeat and has introduced legislation that attempts to stop the ACA's enforcement efforts. His bill, H.R. 2293 would amend the Clean Water Act to make it more difficult for citizens to sue municipalities for unlawful pollution.

The ACA responded to the Taylor bill by lining up a formidable group of opponents to the legislation, including the U.S. Department of Justice. While the legislation is not expected to pass, its mere introduction indicates that paddling the polluters may perhaps require as much skill as paddling the narrows of the Green.