Richard Honour

Richard Honour

Jun 17, 2015

Group 6 Copy 87
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Wetlands, or Not; No Longer A Question.

They are wetlands because they are wet, they are adjacent because they are adjacent, and they need not have direct connectivity, or so says I.

"… the Supreme Court consistently agreed that the geographic scope of the CWA reaches beyond waters that are navigable in fact."

We observe flagrant and excessive open dumping of toxic sewage sludge in and adjacent to obvious wetlands in the Snoqualmie Forests of eastern King County, WA – obvious because the lands are wet for most of the year, and obvious because they are adjacent to adjacent wetlands and waterways, no matter the connectivity or not to 'Navigable Waters of the US, or so says the US Supreme Court.

We observe open dumping of such excessive toxic sewage sludges in, on and adjacent to lands that are wet for most of the year, so not only are such lands wet, but they are, by the stated definitions of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), wetlands.

Studying the various EPA websites tells us mixed definitions of just what is or may be a wetlands, but no matter the wordsmithing, those lands are wet, as in, wetlands:

  • Wetlands are lands where water saturation is a dominant factor determining soil development and the types of plant and animal communities living in or on the soil (Cowardin 1979, http://www.water.ncsu.edu/watershedss/info/wetlands/class.html).
  • For regulatory purposes under the Clean Water Act, the term wetlands means "those areas that are inundated or saturated by surface or groundwater at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions.
  • Wetlands are areas where water covers the soil, or is present either at or near the surface of the soil, all year or for varying periods of time during the year, including during the growing season.
  • Wetlands may support both aquatic and terrestrial species.
  • Wetlands vary widely, because of regional and local differences in soils, topography, climate, hydrology, water chemistry, vegetation and other factors, including human disturbance.
  • The prolonged presence of water creates conditions that favor the growth of specially adapted plants and promotes the development of characteristic wetland soils.
  • Non-Tidal wetlands are common along rivers and streams, in isolated depressions surrounded by dry land ("potholes"), along the margins of lakes and ponds, and in other low-lying areas where the groundwater intercepts the soil surface or where precipitation sufficiently saturates the soil.
  • Inland wetlands include marshes and wet meadows dominated by herbaceous plants, swamps dominated by shrubs, and wooded swamps dominated by trees.
  • Many wetlands are seasonal (dry one or more seasons every year), and may be wet only periodically.
  • The quantity of water present and the timing of its presence in part determine the functions of a wetland and its role in the environment.
  • Wetlands that appear dry at times for significant parts of the year often provide critical habitat for wildlife adapted to breeding exclusively in these areas.

Right now, as a nation, and as a function of the Congress and the Supreme Court, we are bringing forth the Clean Water Rule within the Clean water Act that recognizes once again the fundamental inherent value of clean water to the health, security and commerce of the US.

Current practices of open dumping or land-disposal of sewage sludge from any Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTW) or Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) in the US must now be reconsidered in light of the Clean Water Rule, no matter the commercial interests of the sludge disposal industry or the convenience of the utilities. The technology and methods exist to enhance and assure clean water, and they will be brought forth for our collective benefit.

Clean Water Rule: Streams and Wetlands Matter

http://www2.epa.gov/cleanwaterrule/clean-water-rule-streams-and-wetlands-matter

Clean water is vital to our health, communities, and economy. People depend on clean water for their health: About 117 million Americans get their drinking water from streams protected by the Clean Water Rule. Our cherished way of life depends on clean water: healthy ecosystems provide wildlife habitat and places to fish, paddle, surf, and swim. Our economy depends on clean water: manufacturing, farming, tourism, recreation, energy production and other major economic sectors need clean water to function and flourish. We are protecting the streams and wetlands that form the foundation of our nation's water resources. We need clean water upstream to have healthy communities downstream. The health of rivers, lakes, bays, and coastal waters depend on the streams and wetlands where they begin. Streams and wetlands provide so many benefits to communities by trapping floodwaters, recharging groundwater supplies, filtering pollution, and providing habitat for fish and wildlife.

In developing the Clean Water Rule, the EPA and US Army Corp of Engineers utilized the latest science, including a report summarizing more than 1,200 peer-reviewed, published scientific studies, which showed that small streams and wetlands play an important role in the health of larger downstream waterways like rivers and lakes.

Clean Water Rule: Definition of "Waters of the United States" 05/27/15

US Army Corps of Engineers, Department of the Army, Department of Defense, 33 CFR Part 328, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 40 CFR Parts 110, 112, 116, 117, 122, 230, 232, 300, 302, and 401 [EPA-HQ-OW-2011-0880; FRL-9927-20-OW], RIN 2040- AF30

Executive Summary: In this final rule, the agencies clarify the scope of "waters of the United States" that are protected under the Clean Water Act (CWA), based upon the text of the statute, Supreme Court decisions, the best available peer-reviewed science, public input, and the agencies' technical expertise and experience in implementing the statute. This rule makes the process of identifying waters protected under the CWA easier to understand, more predictable and consistent with the law and peer-reviewed science, while protecting the streams and wetlands that form the foundation of our nation's water resources.

Congress enacted the CWA "to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Nation's waters," section 101(a), and to complement statutes that protect the navigability of waters, such as the Rivers and Harbors Act. 33 U.S.C. 401, 403, 404, 407. The CWA is the nation's single most important statute for protecting America's clean water against pollution, degradation and destruction. To provide that protection, the Supreme Court has consistently agreed that the geographic scope of the CWA reaches beyond waters that are navigable in fact.

A wetlands with plants typical of a wetlands, adjacent to a sludge disposal area.

A wetlands covered in sewage sludge, but nevertheless a slope forest wetlands.

A forested wetland flowing over an access trail; the wetlands was there first. It flows to an adjacent wetlands, then to a lake, then to a stream, then to a river, and then to Puget Sound.

A collector forested wetlands that receives sludge leachate and runoff from a series of sludge disposal areas, which flows then in both directions, forming two distinct streams, as a function of rainfall, and on to rivers and the Sound.

A well-sludged slope forested wetlands directly adjacent to a wetlands supporting typical wetlands plant species.

A highly sludged slope forested wetlands directly adjacent to a wetlands supporting typical wetlands plant species. It all flows south.

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About This Project

The Precautionary Group

We've discovered a few new mushrooms thriving in this harsh environment of land-disposed sewage sludge in Snoqualmie, Washington. We're testing these mushrooms for new antimicrobial properties. Microbes that survive exposure to toxic sewage sludge engage adaptive mechanisms that transform toxins into secondary metabolites.

Blast off!

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