CELEBRATE • CLEAN WATER ACT TURNS 40 • ADVOCATE WATERKEEPER WATERKEEPER® 100% 8 PCW PAPER VOLUME SOUNDKEEPER AND THE CLEAN WATER ACT ARE HELPING TO TURN THE TIDE , NUMBER 1 WINTER WINTER WINTER 2012 2012 AN UP STYLE ISN’T BORN. IT’S GROOMED. Every guy needs a wingman to make him look good. Created just for men, MITCH™ is sulfate-free hair care that cares for the planet. NEW from Paul Mitchell®, a proud supporter of Waterkeeper Alliance. Only guaranteed when sold in salons and schools that carry Paul Mitchell. www.mitchtheman.com CONTENTS Volume 8, Number 1, Winter 2012 24 42 PHOTO: TOM REESE TOM PHOTO: puget soundkeeper chris wilke struggles with a piece of debris during a cleanup 28 of the duwamish river, which empties into puget sound. FEATURES 42 Bremerton’s Fisherman’s Tale As the Clean Water Act comes under attack in the U.S. Congress, the amazing success story of Puget Soundkeeper and the City of Bremerton underscores the act’s enormous value, particularly its provision for citizen action. 24 A Peaceful Invasion of Iraq 28 Go Jump In a Lake NEWS & UPDATES 32 Mapping the Waters We Love 6 Letter from the President 36 The People vs. Goliath 12 Ripples 46 On the Water 48 Conference Recap 4 Waterkeeper Magazine Winter 2012 LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT ROBERT F. KENNEDY, JR. Clean Water Safeguards Headed Down the Drain? THIRTY-NINE YEARS AGO, CONGRESS SIGNED INTO LAW A HISTORIC PIECE OF LEGISLATION THAT WOULD, FOR MORE THAN THREE DECADES, TURN THE TIDE OF OUR POLLUTED WATERWAYS AND HOLD BIG POLLUTERS ACCOUNTABLE FOR THEIR ACTIONS. When the Clean Water Act was enacted, the Cuyahoga River was foundation of the Clean Water Act, which has become a global model so polluted that it literally caught fi re, the majestic Hudson River’s for water protection. fi shery was gone, and Lake Erie was declared all but dead. This bold Seeking to strip the federal government’s authority to regulate legislation put forward by visionaries in Congress returned control of water quality standards and weaken the U.S. Environmental our nation’s waterways to the citizens of the United States as part of Protection Agency’s power to enforce the law when states fail to the public trust. However, today the concept of the public trust, the protect waterways, this approach will start a race to the bottom, commons, is being quickly eroded by corporate polluters and their as shortsighted and self-interested state politicians dismantle their cronies in Congress who are determined to return to the era of using clean water laws in payback to their supporters, including the nation’s out nation’s waterways as open sewers, toxic dumps, and landfi lls. worst polluters. Despite the fact that the Clean Water Act has been responsible These bills, amendments, and budget riders propose to gut for providing millions of Americans with opportunities to swim, the Clean Water Act and jeopardize the environmental health of our drink, and fi sh in clean water, every branch of our federal government waterways and the lifeblood of our communities across the country, - the legislative, executive, and judicial - have taken aim at the Act. all without public debate. We must take action. This Congress must The courts have worked to narrow the defi nition of “waters of the face the same public backlash that the l04th Congress faced when it United States,” the Bush Administration used its power to narrow took aggressive action to despoil the waters we use for swimming, that defi nition even further, and Congress made efforts to chip away drinking, and fi shing. at the Act. Even the states have joined the party, cutting clean-water Waterkeeper Alliance and our partners will work every day to enforcement budgets every time they face a fi scal challenge. Now, remind Americans, and the world, that we have indeed come a long however, our Congress is launching the most aggressive, nefarious way from 1969, when the Cuyahoga River was burning. But we still attacks on our right to clean water in the nation’s history. have a long way to go to protect all of our waterways. Congress’ 1972 As the Clean Water Act moves into its 40th year, it faces a crisis goal was to have eliminated all discharges of pollutants into the not of its own doing, but one engineered by members of Congress nation’s navigable waters by 1985. Almost two decades later, in 2002, who put the interests of the public aside to do the bidding of the the EPA mournfully acknowledged that water quality in many parts of corporate polluters who fi ll their campaign coffers. If their efforts the country was in steady decline. succeed, they will cripple contemporary American democracy and Waterkeeper Alliance is offi cially launching its Clean Water Act undermine the most extraordinary body of environmental law in the (CWA) 40 Campaign to celebrate, activate, and advocate for the Clean world. We cannot allow that to happen. Water Act during the 40th anniversary of this landmark legislation. For the past several months, a myriad of bills before the U.S. Throughout 2012, Waterkeeper Alliance will be working with partners House of Representatives either have been laden with extraneous to engage communities across the nation to stand up for their basic amendments and anti-environmental “riders” that seek to dismantle right to swimmable, drinkable, and fi shable water. We will not stand our environmental protections piecemeal or, in the case of one of for any attacks on our communities that undermine the clean water these bills, the cynically named “Clean Water Cooperative Federalism protections that our streams, rivers, lakes and estuaries have been Act of 2011 (H.R. 2018J,” seeks to take a sledgehammer to the very afforded over the past 40 years. 6 Waterkeeper Magazine Winter 2012 EVENEVEE T SES RIESS WATERKEEPER ALLIANCE LAUNCHES SPLASH EVENT SERIES On October 1st, the inaugural event in Waterkeeper Alliance’s There’s still plenty of work to be done to get this river in shape.” SPLASH Series of 2011 took place in Hackensack, New Jersey, More than 60 species of marine life use the river as well as 265 as about 75 paddlers launched kayaks and canoes into the species of birds, according to Sheehan. Hackensack River. The Hackensack River Paddle was a non- “As the ecosystem becomes healthier, this is a great thing,” competitive four-mile paddle from River Barge Park in Carlstadt, Sheehan said. “We’re working to make the river healthy enough to Laurel Hill County Park in Secaucus. so people can enjoy it.” Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., the president of Waterkeeper He pointed out that the Clean Water Act will be 40 years old in Alliance, was there to kick off the series, which is designed to 2012. “When the legislation passed in 1972,” Sheehan said, “it was raise money and awareness for clean water. “Today,” he said, a promise to the American people that the nation’s waterways “we’re trying to reconnect people to the Hackensack River and would be drinkable, swimmable and fi shable. We’re committed the Meadowlands.” to keeping that promise.” Kennedy praised the work of Hackensack Riverkeeper Bill Each of the events scheduled for the 2011-2012 Splash series Sheehan, who was an advocate for the river long before he took is designed to suit the interests of the local community, and the organization’s helm in 1997. “Bill was the fi rst guy to stand features post-event festivities the whole community can enjoy. up and say this is one of the most important resources in North A broad range of water-based activities—swimming, paddling, America,” Kennedy said of the 45-mile river, which runs through boating and fi shing—is being offered, and supporters are northern New Jersey, and the Meadowlands, which is at the encouraged to participate either as individuals or in a team. river’s mouth. SPLASH events will take place in Charleston, S.C., Santa Monica, “The river is still not there,” Sheehan said, “but it’s getting better. Calif., Miami, FL., and Washington, D.C. NATIONAL FOUNDING SPONSOR: NATIONAL PRESENTING SPONSOR: CELEBRATE • CLEAN WATER ACT TURNS 40 • ADVOCATE WATERKEEPER WATERKEEPER® WATERKEEPER MAGAZINE ON THE COVER: A harbor seal in Puget Sound, one of a group that favors Elliott Bay where they have their pups SSOUSOUNSOUNDKEEPEROUOUNUNU DKEEDKEKKEEPERP ANDNDD THETHTHEHE CLEACLEANLEALEAANWANNW WAWATERATERTETER ACTAACCT AREARREE HELPHELHEHHELPINGELPELELLPINGINNGNG TTOOOT TTURNUURNRN THETTHHEHE TIDETIDTIDEDDEE annually in sight of downtown Seattle. Photographer: Tom Reese 17 Battery Place, Ste. 1329, New York, NY 10004 www.WATERKEEPER.org WINTER 2012 The offi cial magazine of Waterkeeper Alliance MISSION: Waterkeeper Alliance connects and supports local Waterkeeper Globally, the paper industry is the single programs to provide a voice for waterways and communities worldwide. largest industrial consumer of water and the Tom Quinn Editor BoyBurnsBarn/John Turner Art Direction third greatest emitter of greenhouse gases. Robert E. Murphy Consulting Editor Rick Dove Photographer John Wathen Photographer Getting the Paper (More) Right! Board of Directors You will notice that this copy of WATERKEEPER magazine is different from copies Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Grey Hecht PRESIDENT produced in the last few years. Although we are very proud of the paper selection Donna Lisenby Karl Coplan choices we have made in the past, we have found that the industry has moved Mark Mattson forward. Today we can print on a 100% Post Consumer Waste paper that provides CHAIRMAN, PACE UNIVERSITY ENVIRONMENTAL LITIGATION CLINIC Joe Payne dramatically better environmental savings at lower cost, without sacrifi cing the print Deb Self quality that our readers expect. TREASURER Glenn R.