November 11, 1998
1. Alabama Enviros Score Clean Water Victory in Courts
2. AEC Staff Member Featured in New Book About Forests
3. Forever Wild Purchases Pinhoti Trail Tract
4. Beth Maynor Young Photography Show Opens
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1. Enviros Score Clean Water Victory - According to
reports from the
Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) and the law office of
Bart Slawson,
Alabama environmentalists have successfully settled two lawsuits
filed
against EPA, challenging EPA"s failure to ensure that either
it or ADEM
developed a Clean Water Act program designed to clean up the worst
polluted
waters in the state. Known as a TMDL (total maximum daily load)
lawsuit,
this suit will strengthen and force ADEM's water program to identify
surface
waters that violate water quality standards and more importantly
develop
watershed recovery plans that will bring them back into compliance.
Some of the specifics:
A.) EPA commits to preparing TMDL's for all impaired waters
on ADEM's 1996
303 (d) list within 6 years. In addition EPA will analyze and
evaluate
ADEM's water quality monitoring and assessment program and 303(d)
listing
program and recommend any necessary improvements.
B.) EPA has just disapproved ADEM's 1998 list and will propose
adding close
to 200 impaired waters to the state list within 3 months. Many
of these
waters are likely to added to the list because of their failure
to provide
suitable aquatic habitat, a violation of a water quality standard.
In
addition EPA will now have to solicit input from US Fish and Wildlife
Service
and the National Marine Fisheries Service regarding Endangered
Species.
C) Most importantly, EPA confirms that new or, in some cases,
additional
point source discharges of problem pollutants will be severly
limited, even
prohibited, in impaired waters until TMDL's are prepared and water
quality
recovered.
D) Last, EPA has agreed to prepare special water quality studies
or TMDL's
for Lake Weiss, Hurricane Creek and Shades Creek.
Special "congrats" go out to lawyer Bart Slawson
and for the Homewood
Citizens Association and environmentalist Ned Mudd who filed the
initial
Alabama TMDL case. Another round of "kudos" go to the
Southern Environmental
Law Center and The Alabama Rivers Alliance who filed the second
TMDL case.
Both cases were consolidated.
This is a major victory for Clean Water in Alabama, but a settlement
is
worthless if citizens do not actively make sure the agreement
is enforced.
For more information about the settlement and how you can get
involved
contact the Alabama Rivers Alliance at 205-322-6395.
2. New Book Features Forests, Air Pollution and Ken Wills
- Check out "An
Appalachian Tragedy -Air Pollution and Tree Death in the Eastern
Forests of
North America" as your next "must read" book. This
coffee table book is
filled with photographs documenting the dramatic adverse impacts
air
pollution has on our Southeastern forests. The photos are backed
up with
scientific data and "on the ground" accounts. Featured
in the book is Alabama
Environmental Council's Ken Wills, who worked for more than two
years in the
forests researching and gathering the information necessary to
make this
incredible book a reality. If you are interested in buying this
book you can
order it from the following e-mail address:
http://www.sierraclub.org/books
3. Forever Wild Dedicates Pinhoti Trail Land - Last
Friday Forever Wild
purchased and dedicated 394 acres in Northeast Alabama that will
close a gap
in the Pinhoti Trail and allow Alabama to connect to the famed
2100 mile
Appalachian Trail. The Appalachian Trial runs from Maine to Georgia.
A spur
into Alabama has been envisioned since the 1930's.
4. Alabama's "Ansel Adams" Beth Maynor Young's
Open House - Beth Maynor Young
will be holding an Open House November 17th and 18th between 10-5
and
November 19th between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. at her studio in Birmingham,
located
at 700 28th Street South Suite 204. The show is called "The
Beauty of Nature
and Southern Waters" and it can be previewed on the "net"
at :
http://www.cahabariverpublishing.com
I have always considered Beth the
"Ansel Adams" of the Alabama environmental movement.
For more information
about her show please call 324-1900.
Please share BEN with friends and fellow conservationists.
If you have any questions about BEN, contact Pat Byington at
205-226-7739 or pkbyington@aol.com
