U.S. adopts limits on clean water law enforcement

[Neil D]

Tue Jun 5, 2007 6:25PM EDT

By Lisa Lambert

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The landmark U.S. law to fight water pollution will now apply only to bodies of water large enough for boats to use, and their adjacent wetlands, and will not automatically protect streams, the U.S. government said on Tuesday.

Environmental groups said they fear the new policy will muddy the purpose of the federal Clean Water Act and put many smaller bodies of water at risk. Democrats in Congress have introduced legislation mandating protection of creeks, estuaries and other watersheds.

The Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers wrote the new guidelines after the Supreme Court split a year ago in a case about which waters fall under the Clean Water Act.

Because of the split decision, lower courts must decide on a case-by-case basis if the law applies to smaller water areas.

Four justices said the law was restricted to protecting navigable waters such as lakes and rivers, and bodies connected to them, while four argued the law had a broader reach.

The new guidelines were intended to help workers in the field determine if a waterway fell under the act, using the argument of Justice Anthony Kennedy, who did not join either side in the decision.

Benjamin Grumbles, EPA's assistant administrator for water, told reporters during a conference the new guidelines would provide greater consistency and predictability for the public.

Now his agency will regulate waters large enough to be used by boats that transport commerce, along with wetlands adjacent to them. It will decide on a case-by-case basis to regulate other tributaries that may affect main waterways.

Continued...

[Neil D]

One-third of U.S. water estuaries in bad shape: EPA

By Lisa Lambert

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - More than one-third of the coastal waters that link America's rivers and oceans are in poor condition, the Environmental Protection Agency said in a report on Tuesday, with Puerto Rico and the Northeast coast faring the worst.

The EPA analyzed 1,239 sites in its first survey of the country's 28 major estuaries, which provide breeding grounds and shelter for fish and birds.

It found that bodies of water with large numbers of people living nearby suffered the most. While counties with big estuaries make up only 6 percent of the coastal land area, they contain more than two-thirds of the coastal population.

The impact of building communities and shipping facilities, and providing them with sewers, put the estuaries under stress.

In estuaries in Northeastern states, between 10 and 20 percent of the water was polluted, and more than 15 percent of the sediment was contaminated, the survey found. More than 10 percent of the organisms and fish in the estuaries facing the northern Atlantic Ocean suffered from chemical contamination.

Estuaries in the Southeastern states were in the best condition, the report said. Less than 10 percent of the water was polluted and about 5 percent of the sediment showed signs of toxins.

The survey also found that the entire San Juan Bay Estuary in Puerto Rico was in poor condition.

Estuaries provide more than 75 percent of the U.S. commercial fish catch, according to the EPA, and the fisheries are worth more than $1.9 billion.

Continued...

[Beryl]

We have very much the same conditions here in Australia. Pregnant women are being warned about eating too many fish because of the mercury that they contain.

It must be getting near to the end! Come, Lord Jesus, Quickly come!

Beryl