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EPA
says
Klamath River
is impaired by
toxins
By
Nathan Ruston
The
In a reversal last week
of a decision in 2006, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
determined the
The EPA listed the
segment of river from the
The EPA’s about face is
a result of a lawsuit by the environmental group Klamath Riverkeeper,
which filed a complaint in July last year challenging the agency’s
original decision to go along with the recommendation by California’s
top water quality agency not to make the listing.
As part of a settlement
agreement with Riverkeeper, the EPA agreed to reconsider the algae toxin
and based its reversal on key data that wasn’t reviewed because it
never made it from the local agency to the state water regulators who
made the decision, according to EPA documents.
The lawsuit is one of a
series of legal actions by the Klamath Riverkeeper, tribes and fishermen
who have been pressuring the Oregon-based utility company that owns the
The dams are blamed for
deteriorating water quality conditions and a build-up of toxic algae
last year that led state health agencies to post warnings along an
estimated 100 miles of the
Several sections of the
Klamath River are already listed as impaired under California’s 2006
Clean Water Act Section 303(d) for “nutrients,” “organic
enrichment/low dissolved oxygen” and “temperature” that requires
local water regulators to implement measures —
called total maximum daily loads — aimed at reducing the impairments
to an acceptable standard.
Regina Chichizola, of the
Klamath Riverkeeper, stated in a news release that she couldn’t
believe the EPA failed to act previously to list the river as impaired
for toxic algae because the toxin from the algae exceeded international
safety standards by as much as 4,000 percent.
The groups say the
EPA’s action comes at a critical time when PacifiCorp is nearing the
final phase of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s re-licensing
process for the hydroelectric dams.
Chichizola said the
listing puts in jeopardy the company’s ability to obtain clean water
certification from
“We hope today’s
announcement signals a commitment by the agency to stop PacifiCorp’s
toxic pollution of the
But PacifiCorp
spokesperson Art Sasse declined to address specifically the
environmental group’s comments, but said the company has always taken
the algae situation “as a very serious matter.”
“There is no way we are
going to dignify the rhetoric of the Riverkeeper’s news release,”
Sasse said in a telephone interview Friday.
Sasse said the algae is a
naturally occurring substance that has always been in the river and is
fed from nutrients upstream.
“We don’t anticipate
that this will affect our clean water permits in any significant way,”
Sasse said.
Peter Kozelka, TMDL
coordinator for the EPA’s Region Nine, said Friday in a phone
interview that the reversal of the EPA’s previous decision isn’t
common.
Kozelka said the
“Other people may feel
differently about this,” Kozelka said.
The EPA’s action is
considered final, although federal regulations require a public review
and a 30-day public comment period, which is expected to be opened soon
to solicit comments to potentially revise the decision if the EPA
determines it is warranted.
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Source:
http://eurekareporter.com/article/080321-epa-says-klamath-river-is-impaired-by-toxins