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WATERKEEPER PROGRAMS
I What is a Waterkeeper?
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What is a Waterkeeper?
“When we save a river, we save a major part of an ecosystem, and we save ourselves as well because of our dependence – physical, economic, spiritual – on the water and its community of life.”
- Tim Palmer, The Wild and Scenic Rivers of America
What is a Waterkeeper?
An informed environmental advocate,
A consistent voice on the water,
A flexible coalition builder,
A thorough investigator,
A trusted spokesperson,
A dependable listener,
A community servant,
A dedicated scientist,
A dynamic educator,
An resolute leader,
A trusted expert,
An economist,
A visionary.
Waterkeepers are full-time, privately-funded, non-governmental advocates for an identified river, lake, bay, or sound. They are recognized by their community, local government, and media as the voice for that particular body of water. They advocate compliance with environmental laws, respond to citizen complaints, identify problems which affect their identified bodies of water and devise appropriate remedies to address these problems.
Waterkeepers employ a variety of strategies to curb pollution, including:
§ Monitoring water quality
§ Investigating point and non-point pollution sources
§ Attending municipal board meetings
§ Educating and motivating the public to act on behalf of the water
§ Participating in environmental scoping sessions
§ Devising solutions to water quality problems
§ Pursuing litigation to enforce compliance with environmental laws
A Demonstrated Record of Watershed Protection
The Waterkeeper model of watershed protection has resulted in cleaner waterbodies and the return of hundreds of their lost species. The work of our Waterkeeper programs appears in American newspapers daily, highlighting our unequaled success in organizing communities to restore their waterways and providing a community voice for clean water for drinking, fishing and recreation. Commencement Baykeeper in Washington State, for example, developed a Clean Boating/Clean Marina Education Campaign that teaches boaters and marina operators how to minimize the release of toxic pollutants into waterways when performing boat maintenance and fueling. Buzzards Baykeeper’s “River Herring Discovery Program” operates a classroom and field curriculum in local schools focusing on the importance of herring to the bay’s ecosystem, posts signage about herring on affected rivers and distributes fact sheets about herring; while the Hackensack River’s eco-tours increase public awareness of the lower Hackensack River watershed as a vital natural and recreational resource.
The Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper won a billion dollar lawsuit against the City of Atlanta and set a national precedent on requirements to reduce millions of gallons of raw sewage spills during rain storms. Atlanta was also hit with a $2.5 million fine and had to pay $30 million for the removal of trash from urban streams and for the purchase of local parks.
State health officials are on the verge of approving commercial shellfish harvesting in parts of Puget Sound for the first time since 1969 because of a lawsuit by the Puget Soundkeeper to reduce sewage spills from the City of Bremerton.
Santa Monica Baykeeper sued the federal Environmental Protection Agency to clean up rivers and beaches in the Los Angeles area. The lawsuit resulted in detailed plans to eliminate summer beach closures within the next 3 years and a $168 million local commitment to reduce trash in area rivers.
Together, the Hackensack Riverkeeper and the New York/New Jersey Baykeeper fought developers for years and helped win protection for 8,400 acres of wetlands in the heart of the Meadowlands – just miles from New York City.
Punta Abreojos Coastkeeper in Baja California assisted in the capture and arrest of Baja’s most notorious sea turtle poacher, who confessed from his jail cell to killing nearly 5,000 endangered sea turtles. They also helped fight off Mitsubishi in its attempt to build the largest industrial salt harvesting facility in the world right in the middle of one of the most important gray whale nurseries.
Petitcodiac Riverkeeper in Canada uncovered evidence of a closed landfill leaking deadly pollutants into a nearby creek. The evidence led to the prosecution of City of Moncton officials and an engineering firm for violations of the Canadian Fisheries Act. The City pled guilty and must clean up its mess.
Delaware Riverkeeper is fighting the Salem Nuclear Generating Station, which kills over 3 billion fish a year that get sucked into the power plant. Along with dozens of Waterkeepers – including the Hudson Riverkeeper – they successfully sued the Environmental Protection Agency to reduce the number of fish killed from power plants across the country. The fight continues as the power industry refuses to own up to its responsibility.
In addition to these successes, Waterkeepers are continuing their work:
§ Forcing regulatory agencies to enforce Clean Water Act permits for sewage treatment, storm water, industrial, oil and gas and agricultural operations;
§ Insisting that Total Maximum Daily Loads be defined for impaired waters and that temperature loads be included along with chemical and bacterial pollutants;
§ Leading efforts to reduce fish mortality in cooling water intake systems, which presently kill billions of fish each year;
§ Investigating ways to reduce invasive species, including having ballast water treated at sewage treatment plants with excess capacity; and
§ Restoring kelp beds in southern California and oyster beds along the Atlantic Coast as vital wildlife habitat and working to remove obstacles to historic fish migration routes.
And much more….
For more information about the work of local Waterkeepers, visit Contact Us.
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