Part 3 in the Series: Celebrating 40 years of the Clean Water Act

By Heather Jacobs Deck, RIVERKEEPER®

Swimmable

Some of my fondest memories from childhood are lazy summer days spent swimming in a Pennsylvania creek, river or lake. Such traditions carried on well into my teenage and even college years. Little and Big Pine, Clearfield Creek and the Susquehanna River were some of our favorite spots. As young children, we would "float our fannies down the Susquehanney", enjoying the river, a major tributary to the Chesapeake Bay, in old black inner tubes. That tradition still continues to this day.

Thousands like me enjoy the Tar-Pamlico River in the same
way each summer. Not a weekend day goes by when we didn't see hundreds out on the water tubing, skiing, swimming, sailing, and even diving. Water sports are just one of the many benefits a river provides. The river offers us a place for recreation, relaxation, and a way to cool down during the steamy summers.

As a child, it never crossed my mind to be concerned about the quality of the water I was swimming in and whether or not it was safe to do so. Fortunately, we lived in areas where the waters were considered fairly pristine at the time. Many in America, however, do not live in areas where they can swim without threat that such an enjoyable event will make them sick or worse land them in the hospital.

The three central goals of the Federal Clean Water Act are to ensure that every body of water is fishable, swimmable, and drinkable. In this article, we will explore whether or not the Tar-Pamlico River meets the swimmable goal.

Swimming in the Tar-Pam, Is it Safe?

The information we have currently leads us to believe that it is safe to swim in the river the majority of the time. There are definitely instances, however, when one should not risk swimming in the river or its creeks (see text box below). The river does suffer from nutrient pollution that at times leads to algal blooms and fish kills. During such events, it is strongly advised that contact with the water be avoided. It is rare, but there are times in the Pamlico River when a harmful algal bloom (HAB) has been present. A HAB may release a toxin that could impair your health or that of your pets.

Bacterial contamination is typically our top concern regarding public health and safety while swimming or engaging in other recreation that leads to contact with the water. There are locations that are more likely to have bacterial contamination issues, especially during and after rain storms. Urban areas have numerous pipes that drain the streets, parking lots, business, etc. It is a well-known fact, including in the harbor area of Washington, that after a rain storm, the bacteria content increases. Sewer spills are most likely to occur during heavy rains. If a sewer spill does occur, utility officials are required to notify the public.

Monitored waters

During a 12 year period, from 1997-2008, DWQ analyzed over 5000 samples and 2% of those samples exceeded safe bacteria levels for swimming and recreational use.  More recent data is available, but has not been compiled into a final report.

Currently, there is a 2.8 acre section of the Pungo River near Belhaven that has consistently had high levels of bacteria leading to swimming advisories. No other sections of the river are found to have routinely high levels of bacteria.

The Division of Environmental Health does routinely monitor swim beaches in the Pamlico River. The swim beach at Goose Creek State Park is one example. However, these waters are not sampled every day, but once every two weeks. If bacteria levels are found to be high, then the state would issue a swim advisory. The waters upstream of Washington are not regularly monitored for bacteria pollution. To find out if the state monitors your favorite swim beach, go to: http://portal.ncdenr.org/web/mf/testing-sites.

Enjoy the Water

Generally speaking, the Tar-Pamlico River and its tributaries are safe for recreational use. There are times that avoiding the water is warranted, when risk of exposure to bacteria and other pollution greatly increases.

PTRF will continue with its mission to improve the water quality of the river in order to greatly reduce the number of non-swim days, whether due to nutrient pollution, algal blooms and fish kills, or to bacteria and other pollutants. Having a refuge from the summer's heat is a right all citizens should be able to enjoy. 

"Breaking Eggs"

By Jerry Eatman, President of Board of Directors

We are halfway through the calendar year of 2012 and I cannot remember a time when the staff and volunteers at PTRF have faced greater challenges.  Sensing a receptive audience in the North Carolina legislative majority, large agricultural and industrial interests have pushed, largely successfully, over the last twelve months to strip the state of North Carolina of what is left of a once modest regulatory approach to protection of water quality.  The staff and volunteers of PTRF have been extremely busy over the past six months in advocating for reasonable protection for North Carolina's rivers and streams and, in some cases, PTRF has become involved in legal action to support a regulatory framework for water quality protection.  Of particular concern this year has been the explosive growth of industrial poultry operations in North Carolina.

While other states have moved to address the environmental degradation so often associated with industrial poultry operations, North Carolina has continued to leave many of these operations essentially unregulated. This approach has led to a staggering increase in the number of poultry operations in North Carolina. The lack of any meaningful permitting or monitoring regulations applicable to this business makes it impossible to know for certain how many poultry producers are operating in the State or where they are located. The staff at PTRF is doing what it can to help identify the problem locations, and has taken the lead in two high-profile poultry issues in N.C.

First, PTRF provided valuable technical assistance and organizational support to a number of local groups opposing a poultry slaughter facility in Nash County proposed by Sanderson Farms.  This facility, located in the Tar-Pamlico watershed, is being pushed through the local zoning process over the objections of hundreds of nearby residents and the City of Wilson, all who fear the resulting degradation of the local drinking water resources and of the water quality in the watershed generally.  Second, with the assistance of volunteer lawyers from EarthJustice and from a local law firm, PTRF has joined the Friends of Pocosin Lakes Wildlife Refuge and the Waterkeeper Alliance as petitioners in a regulatory action involving the massive Rose Acre Farms facility adjacent to the Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge in Hyde County. 

The Rose Acre Farms case involves efforts by DENR to maintain its permitting and monitoring authority over one of the largest egg producing operations in the world. The case involves issues of application of the Clean Water Act and has received national attention. Lobbyists for the North Carolina Poultry Federation have appeared before the North Carolina Legislature requesting relief from any regulatory controls that might result from a victory by DENR in the Rose Acre Farms case.  While this request by Poultry Federation Lobbyists should be mostly symbolic in nature since the Rose Acre Farms case involves federal regulation under the Clean Water Act, it reflects the importance of the work being done by PTRF and others at this time. Much of this work is being done by our Riverkeeper, Heather Deck, who has had to draft numerous affidavits and respond to multiple inquiries from the media.  As usual, on all matters of science and regulatory impact, Heather has been the "go-to" person for the lawyers, community organizers and many local officials dealing with these issues.  Heather has provided invaluable technical support to the lawyers working on behalf of the parties in both the Sanderson Farms case and Rose Acre Farms case.

Having read the first part of this column I hope that you are now asking yourself, "What can I do to help?"  I have two responses to that question:  first, continue to support PTRF both financially and with your volunteer efforts; and second, join the staff and other volunteers and members of the community in supporting those businesses which provide alternative products to those produced by companies which continue to operate without regard to the environmental carnage they create.

The suggestion that you begin to think about where you spend your food purchasing dollars is not as radical as it might sound.  National awareness of the environmental impact of certain industrial farming operations is contributing to a massive change in consumer habits. Unlike many industrial polluters whose products are sometimes hard to indentify and isolate, food sources have become increasingly easier to indentify. The reality is that the staff at PTRF and many of its members and volunteers have for years endeavored to limit their patronage of distributors of factory farm products. We simply cannot battle the proposed Sanderson Farms slaughter facility in Nash County on one day and turn around and buy their products at the grocery store or from the fast food restaurant the next. What has started as a gradual shift in purchasing awareness now needs to be sharpened into an effective economic instrument of change. Conservation advocates like PTRF need to begin to educate and organize their memberships on the use of consumer boycotts. It is time that we stopped funding with our consumer dollars the fees paid to lobbyists to undermine the core mission of our organization.

As with many other things, consumer awareness with respect to environmental issues has come very slowly to Eastern North Carolina. For many the options for acquiring only responsibly produced products are limited.  In the Raleigh area there are countless options for acquiring responsibly produced food and the focus on the impact of this approach is growing daily. These options will begin to be more readily available to residents of Eastern North Carolina. In the meantime, what is important is not that we all become environmentally responsible consumers 100% of the time; but that we all begin to think about what we purchase and where it came from and recognize that if we are willing to make some rather small sacrifices we can exert potentially tremendous influence on producers. This influence will be a function of organized consumer action coupled with education of local businesses. If, for example, we are going to ask our members to boycott all grocery stores and fast food restaurants which purchase products from Sanderson Farms, we need to advise those businesses of why we are asking for the boycott and identify alternative producers they could use in order to retain our business. 

If you are concerned about water quality in general and the Tar-Pamlico watershed in particular, it is easy to get discouraged after the last two sessions of the N.C. legislature. There is a sense of helplessness that comes from watching lobbyists representing big polluters steam-roll through the legislature capitalizing on the open hostility of many of our lawmakers to any form of protection for our waterways. There is also a lesson in these experiences: that there must be economic consequences to being a poor steward of the environment. We need to add to our arsenal the ability to deliver an effective economic message to those who insist of degrading the natural resources that belong to all of us. In addition to educating the public and advocating for change, we need to be a position to advise industrial polluters that our membership will systematically boycott their products and the local businesses that carry them so long as they insist on operating without any regard to protection of the environment.

Conservation groups like PTRF and Waterkeeper Alliance cannot match the economic lobbying power of the large agribusiness interests and industrial operations.  What these groups do have is loyal membership.  History is full of examples of social change brought about by organized consumer action. It is time that conservation groups like PTRF recognize that this approach may produce much more positive results than all of the legal action and advocacy activities of the organization combined.  As we have witnessed repeatedly, nothing gets the attention of big business quicker than lost profits.

Still Meaner Than a Junkyard Dog

By David Emmerling, Executive Director

Some recently received feedback from a member precipitated discussion with the staff and some reflection on my part. But before I proceed let me say to all of you that we very much appreciate it when you take the time to let us know when you are pleased with what is happening within your organization and the scope of its activities and, conversely, let us know if there are concerns about what may or may not be occurring. The latter caused the introspection.

The concern was, expressed in my words: "there is a lot more information and focus on programs and my concern is that PTRF is losing its advocacy focus". Advocacy has not suffered and in fact our program expansion and circumstances create a situation where advocacy work has increased from years past and appears to be continuing that trend.  Examples of our advocacy work would include but not be limited to opposition to Sanderson Farms expansion and the associated poultry productions operations, Martin Marietta Mine that would negatively impact Blount's Creek, Rose Acre Farm permit renewal, the Town of Creedmoor's request to discharge treated waste water into the upper Tar, and the ongoing opposition to the PCS mine expansion.  Most recently we were heavily involved as PTRF and via WATERKEEPERS® Carolina in the almost successful opposition to the fracking legislation.

In order to increase our advocacy impact we need the broadest base possible. When we have programs that involve children and their families in kayaking we create the opportunity to teach them about the river and encourage them to join us in protecting it. The same goes for fishing clinics, Operation Medicine Cabinet, school programs, restoration projects, camping platforms, and public lectures. The more people understand the river and how protecting its health means healthier kids and communities the more likely they will contact our elected officials and request actions that are in the best interest of the Tar-Pamlico River. 

Too often groups like ours are perceived as being against everything and constantly standing in the way of economic development. It is our responsibility to dispel this myth by educating more and more people about the value of river protection.  Water quality protection adds to our potential for successful economic development. Research on economic development indicates that quality public education is a critical component of attracting business to our area. Similarly, when businesses seeking to expand or relocate are asked what they want in their natural environment the number one concern and desire is for high quality water.  It almost goes without saying that this is also a top concern for individuals and families looking for a community in which to live and perhaps purchase or build a home.

So by way of reassurance to all who may wonder about our programming efforts, please know that programming is a means to an end and as the situations and the polluters require we are still ready and able to "draw a line in the sand". When our river is threatened, we are still "meaner than a junkyard dog".

Camping Anyone?

The Pamlico-Tar River Foundation is pleased to announce the construction of our first camping platform and our first tent campsite in the Tar River Camping Platform Project.  We have completed construction of the Panola Platform approximately 4 miles upstream of the wildlife ramp in downtown Tarboro.  PTRF has also completed preparation of the Joel Bourne Tent Campsite approximately 2.5 miles upstream of the wildlife ramp in Dunbar, between Tarboro and Rocky Mount.  

These two sites represent the first two sites in Phase I of this project, which will include 5-6 camping platforms between Rocky Mount and Washington along the mainstream of the Tar River. PTRF's anticipates the platforms to be open to the public by August 2012. Please visit our website ptrf.org/RiverCamping.php to reserve a campsite.

Figure 1: The Panola Platform in the final stages of construction

Figure 2: The completed Joel Bourne Tent Campsite with picnic table and firepit

RIVERKEEPER ® Update

By Heather Deck, PTRF RIVERKEEPER ®

2012 Legislative Overview

The short session of 2012 is definitely one characterized as very bad, but we were bracing for much worse. A short session is typically a session that avoids controversial issues, but this was not the case. Below is a list of just a few of the pieces of legislation that were passed that have the potential to impact the Tar-Pamlico River basin. Unfortunately, I do not have anything to report on regarding bills beneficial to our environment and the Tar-Pamlico River.  For more details on the 2012 legislative session, visit our website.

1)     Budget- Cuts funding for DENR, land conservation programs, Clean Water Management Trust Fund, and eliminates 4 sediment inspector positions.

2)     Senate Bill 229- Hodgepodge of technical corrections and anti-environmental sections, one of which weakens the Tar-Pamlico and Neuse Buffer rules.

3)     Legalize Fracking Bill (S820)- Creates a new Oil and Gas Board, dominated by industry interests that will set regulations. Legalizes fracking in 2014, requires massive rule-making in 2 years with no funds attached. 

4)     Air Toxics Program Overhaul (H952)- Effectively eliminates state control and regulation of air pollutants. State program is more protective than federal in that it takes into consideration of cumulative impacts and public health.

5)     Sea Level Rise- the anti-science bill (H819)- The original bill attempted to shield NC citizens from the truth of science and was nationally ridiculed by the likes of Steven Colbert, among others. The compromise bill, which we hope the Governor vetoes, restricts the State from defining sea level rise policies for 4 years.

PTRF successfully intervenes in Rose Acre Farms Case

A motion to intervene in the Rose Acre vs. NC State Division of Water Quality was granted for PTRF, Friends of Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge and Waterkeeper Alliance. PTRF moved to intervene in this important case since Rose Acre Farms, a massive industrial poultry facility that houses and processes more than three million birds annually, is seeking to stop North Carolina from regulating the facility's pollutant discharges to surrounding waterways and the Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge under the Clean Water Act. 

For more information, please visit previous editions of our newsletter online at www.ptrf.org.

Creedmoor Seeking Funds and Permits for new Wastewater Treatment Plant and Discharge to the Upper Tar River

The City of Creedmoor, located in the Neuse River Basin and served by the South Granville Water and Sewer Authority has made the decision to build a new wastewater treatment plant and discharge waste to the upper Tar River. We anticipate the City will begin to apply for permits in 2013. PTRF has been and outspoken in its opposition to this proposal due to the quality of the Upper Tar River and has encourage the City to find a more suitable alternative.

Mine Update

Martin Marietta Materials continues its push to obtain necessary permits for a new marine limestone mine in the Blounts Creek Watershed in Beaufort County. To date, the company has submitted some new information in response to a request by the State Division of Water Quality to characterize more completely the likely impact of a 12 million gallon per day discharge on Blounts Creek. For up-to-date information, please visit our website: http://www.ptrf.org/proposedmine.php .

Pamlico Fish Kills

The beginning of July saw the start of our annual fish kill season. To date, the Pamlico River area has experienced four fish kills. Excessive heat, nutrient pollution and low wind days led to dead water conditions that resulted in the fish kills. Algal blooms have also been reported this summer. The largest kill was on July 10th in Chocowinity Bay that included 12 species of fish and blue crab. Kills also occurred on Blounts Creek, Jacks Creek, and Little Creek (tributary to Blounts Creek).

If  you see a fish kill, please report it to PTRF or the NC Division of Water Quality immediately.

I was Grendel

By Peter Boettger

"I Was Grendel, Ruiner of Meadhalls, Wrecker of Kings!" - from Beowulf, author unknown.

Amia Calva, Picture by Duane Raver

Throughout the southeastern U.S. the fish is known by a long list of nick names including mud fish, Choupique, shoepick, cypress trout, dogfish, grindle, grinnel,  and grinner. "Grindle" is by far the more popular term in eastern NC, as in Grindle Creek that arises from Grindle swamp in Pitt County. "Grindle" is an old English derivation of "Grendel", the wretched fiend of the fen who terrorizes the Danes in Beowulf.  Probably not coincidentally, the word grendel (grindle, etc.) appears in various Anglo-Saxon charters in reference to several different wetland types. 

In the Bible Cain kills his brother, Abel, because of jealousy and is therefore punished and banished from the Garden of Eden by God.  The scholar David Williams poses a significant similarity between Grendel and Cain, in that they are both outcasts of society and forced to roam in the shadows, or the dark swamps in the case of our despised fish.

According to some deep southern residents, the grindle does have some redeeming quality as table fare.  The meat is described as "jelly-like" and can be smoked, fried as patties or stewed.  The following recipe for bowfin is featured on www.bowfinanglers.com: 

'The fish should be gutted then frozen, then allowed to defrost in the fridge so that the meat literally turns to mush when you try to clean it.

Heat a medium skillet over medium heat and pour in lime juice (lemon works in a pinch, but lime gives the fish a little extra 'zing'). Scrape your fish flesh out of the bowfin with a spoon, knife, fingers, or whatever else works. Fling the mushy stuff into the skillet and allow it to simmer in the lime juice, chopping it apart as it cooks (this gives it the right consistency for taco meat). Once it's cooked and most of the lime juice has been absorbed or cooked off, drain your meat then mix in the taco seasoning of your choice, following the directions on the package. The fish doesn't overpower the seasoning's flavor, so you get a much more potent kick than you do when you use beef.

Serve on tortillas with salsa, cheese, lettuce, sour cream and anything else you desire. Yum!!'

Peter Boettger is author of Fishing the Western Pamlico, available in the PTRF office.

2012 Pamlico-Tar River Foundation Board Nominees

Tim Kelley, Ph.D.

Tim is a Professor of Environmental Health Sciences Program at ECU. He received his PhD from the University of Georgia in Ecology. He conducts research, teaches and is active in public service. He is published and received grants on topics related to wetlands, water quality, animal waste management, and wetlands restoration. Water quality and environmental health are a passion and he looks forward to the opportunity to serve the members of PTRF and aid in monitoring and protecting our Tar-Pamlico River.

Mack Simpson

Born and raised in Greenville Mack received his BA inGeography from ECU and did graduate work in Geography and Planning.  He served as Associate Director for Community Development at ECU's Regional Development Institute and retired from that position in 2007.  He's consulted for the North Carolina Rural Center and Golden LEAF Foundation intermittently since retirement.  Pertinent, applicable areas of expertise include strategic planning, group facilitation, and grant writing.  He's an avid fisherman and amateur wildlife photographer.  He is a member of several community cultural organizations in Beaufort County. Mack advocates clear verbal and written communication on important issues in order to inform without confusing.

Emilie Kane, Ed.D.

I have lived in the Pamlico-Tar basin since 1972, where I have spent many hours on the river and creeks canoeing, boating, fishing, swimming, and enjoying nature along with my family. Protection of the special natural environment and water quality of the Pamlico-Tar watershed for future generations is my primary concern. For the past 30 years PTRF has been the most important voice for stewardship of this watershed, and we must keep it strong.

I received my education from Cornell, ECU, and NC State University. I have been a teacher, conducted ecological research, and spent 21 years in grant and contract administration. I have been a member of PTRF since 1985. During my previous terms on the Board of Directors, I served as president and secretary, and have also served on the PTRF Advisory Council and the Scientific Advisory Committee.

Steve Stadelman

I have lived in the Cedar Creek watershed of the upper Tar

River for the past 17 years near Youngsville, North Carolina, and my family and I enjoy exploring the watershed and kayaking.  

PTRF does a very impressive job of protection, education, and advocacy for our watershed, and I hope to have the opportunity to work on the Board to contribute to these efforts and the challenges ahead of us.

As for my background, I grew up exploring the hardwood forests and rivers of southwestern Ohio with my father, from whom I learned to respect and care for the environment.  I am fortunate to have had the opportunity to pursue a college education and achieve degrees in Agronomy, Geology, and Anthropology.  For the past 18 years I have worked as an environmental professional for a biotech company in Franklin County, and much of my work is to develop and implement better environmental practices.

I am a frequent, non-traditional, guest educator for the schools in Franklin County.  I teach several natural science topics and most often soils, geology, wetlands, and water quality.  I enjoy teaching, and I am encouraged by the growing environmental literacy of our young people.  Last year I began pursuit of certification as an environmental educator through the NCDENR Office of Environmental Education, and I have completed 100 hours of the required 200 hours.  I am also a Master Gardener volunteer in Franklin County, and I enjoy sharing the joy of gardening with others. 

Spotlight on PTRF Summer 2012 Interns!

By Kelsey Anderson and Kimberly Chadwick

Kelsey Anderson, 

East Carolina University 2013

Outreach Associate

Since Kelsey arrived in eastern North Carolina in 2009 to attend school at East Carolina University, she has wanted to be involved with the community in some way. Thanks to her fathers connections, one being Mike Hamer, she learned about the Pamlico-Tar River Foundation early. During her junior year in college she took an environmental planning class when the teacher urged her to become involved in the community by going on small field trips in the area. One of the options was Greenville Green Drinks. Next thing she knew, Kelsey found herself talking to David Emmerling about internship opportunities and with a follow up meeting, Kelsey had an internship for the summer.

Over the past two months Kelsey has been helping out with several different tasks under the title Outreach Associate, including the groundwork for a RIVERKEEPER® program for the Roanoke and Chowan River basins; getting Waterkeepers Carolina up and running online through social media and assisting with the branding planning for the new organization. Kelsey is in the process of taking over/ moving on with Greenville Green Drinks.

Kimberly Chadwick, East Carolina 2012

Youth Kayaking Coordinator

Kimberly attended East Carolina University and completed her B.S. of Recreation and Park Management with a concentration in Commercial and Tourism. She will soon achieve her graduate certificate in Aquatic Therapy. She has volunteered with PTRF for over two years and, with guidance from staff, was able to run our Youth Kayaking Program. Kimberly has worked this summer with the Up Stream/Down Stream Camp, A Time for Science and the Boy's and Girl's Club. Kimberly was a member of the founding committee for the Recreation and Park Management Club and also served as the Officer of Community Service for the National Society of Collegiate Scholars.

            Kimberly hopes to find a program coordinator position within the recreation community and wants to peruse her passion for youth wellness. Kimberly has always been an adventurous person and finds she is at home around the water. She spent over eight years on a swim team and enjoys kayaking and fishing. Kimberly is a huge fan of Carpaccio and wants to travel to the Galapagos Islands to go swimming with sharks.