Water Water Everywhere
By Lisa Ryan
The Public Trust Doctrine is common law in the United States, and has its origins in English common law and Roman civil law before that. It holds that the public owns the air, water, dunes, tidelands, underwater lands and other common or shared environments, and that those things cannot be privately owned. It is the foundation of both modern environmental law and the work of the international Waterkeeper Alliance, of which Hackensack Riverkeeper is a founding member. Because it is a common (not statutory) law, individual state courts are responsible for determining when it applies. As evidenced by the historic heavy dumping and pollution in our waterways and the overdevelopment of our riverbanks and beachfronts, it is not always upheld. Waterkeepers and other environmental groups fight a constant battle against corporate and other interests that would profit at the expense of clean water, taking away our rights to clean water, healthy fish and safe water-based recreation. Here are just a few examples: · The
Great Lakes region contains over 90% of America's fresh surface water and is
currently embroiled in a dangerous precedent setting situation. An agreement
(called Annex 2001) was recently reached among various stakeholders in the U.S.
and Canada and was signed by eight U.S. governors and 2 Canadian premiers.
Unfortunately, it contains a loophole that could allow bottling companies to
privatize and export Great Lakes water. Previous attempts by bottling companies
to export water "in bulk" were squashed, but the new agreement states
that water in containers of 5.7 gallons or less is a product, not a natural
resource to be managed by the public for the benefit of the public. · In
Appalachia, traditional underground coal mining contaminates groundwater and
waterways with toxic wastes, but coal companies have discovered even more
devastating methods of extracting this dirty and dangerous fuel from the earth.
In mountaintop removal mining, up to 1,000 feet of earth and rock are blown off
the tops of mountains to provide access to the thin strips of coal that run
through them. The remaining debris is dumped into neighboring valleys, streams
and lakes with no regard for the lives or health of the residents of the
community. A recent Bill Moyers television special featured a family that lives
in the runoff area of this destruction. They accidentally discovered that their
apparently clear well water turns pitch black when mixed with Pepto Bismol
(this does not happen with healthy, clean water). · The Atchafalaya Basin is an expansive system of distributaries (the Atchafalaya River flows away from the Missouri River to the Gulf of Mexico) on the Louisiana coast encompassing a half million acres of marshland and 885,000 acres of hardwood forest. This flourishing ecosystem prevents coastal erosion and protects inland communities by acting as a buffer against hurricanes and rising floodwaters. Tragically, loggers have begun illegally clearcutting mature cypress trees to make garden mulch for sale at Home Depot, Wal Mart and other major retailers, leaving the Louisiana coastline more vulnerable than ever. The Hackensack River watershed begins in Rockland County, NY. Population growth and development are probably the biggest challenges to the water supply in Rockland. The County’s drinking water is supplied almost exclusively from wells that draw on underground aquifers. After a rain, water soaks through the ground and makes its way back into the aquifers. Before the county became sewerized, water from septic tanks would also make its way back into the aquifers after being filtered on its course through the earth. Now the ever-increasing number of parking lots, roofs and other impervious surfaces cause a large percentage of rain water to run directly into storm drains to the Hudson River (out of our watershed) without recharging the groundwater. Runoff from impervious surfaces also causes flooding, silting up of our waterways, and a buildup of toxins in those waterways, as pesticides, fertilizer, automobile oil and other substances are washed in. The Bergen and Hudson County regions of our watershed experience all of these same runoff problems, but to a much greater extent because of the amount of development and impervious cover. Lake DeForest, Lake Tappan and the Oradell Reservoir provide drinking water to over a million people in Bergen and Hudson counties, but their dams have had negative impacts as well. A river that flows free remains much clearer, as silt is constantly being washed away. The Oradell Dam stops the flow out to sea and allows the ocean's tides to enter the river, making the water brackish (part salt) and creating a completely different ecosystem than the one that formerly existed in the Meadowlands. The greatest challenge in the lower watershed is the historic pollution that has contaminated the food chain of the river. Numbers and species of fish and other wildlife are increasing, but Dioxin, PCBs, Mercury and other toxins that infiltrate the river bed make them completely inedible. This situation is unconscionable when held up to the standards of the Public Trust Doctrine. The challenges to our right to clean water are many, but so are powerful and effective responses to these abuses. Right now 153 Waterkeepers, people like Captain Bill, are working around the globe, relentlessly prosecuting polluters, preserving open space, educating citizens and helping to write environmentally sound planning policy. Whenever you write a check to Hackensack Riverkeeper, take an Eco-Cruise, participate in a River Cleanup, or invite Capt. Bill to speak at your civic group or town meeting, understand that you are taking part in an important worldwide movement to save a most precious natural resource. See you at Hackensack Beach! |
Picture this: It's a hot July day, and the banks of the
Hackensack River are dotted with brightly colored umbrellas, cabanas, snack
stands and lifeguards, as the citizens of our watershed swim in the clean
water, picnic and play on an undeveloped shoreline and relax with drinks
bearing yet more umbrellas, and all this only moments from their homes! Hey, we
think it can happen someday, but if it's too much for you to imagine right now,
maybe some hard facts and a little global perspective will help inspire you.