Judge rejects Georgia's Motion to Dismiss Water Wars Case
By Jeff Gill
June 19, 2015 11:35 a.m.
A Maine lawyer overseeing the latest legal battle in the tri-state water wars has denied Georgia's motion to dismiss a lawsuit by Florida in the U.S. Supreme Court.
 Georgia based its motion on what it deemed as Florida's failure to include the U.S. as a party. "Georgia ... has not carried its burden to demonstrate that dismissal is appropriate," Ralph I. Lancaster said in an order filed Friday. Brian Robinson, Gov. Nathan Deal's spokesman, refused to comment. Representatives for Florida couldn't be reached for comment.The two states and Alabama have battled over water sharing issues for more than two decades.
The latest tussle, focuses on ......
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DRINKING WATER,
An American Perspective
June 22, 2015
T. Luke Owen, President
NPDES Training Institute
The human body can last weeks without food, but only days without clean water. The body is made up of 50 to 75 per cent water. Water forms the basis of blood, digestive juices, urine and perspiration, and is contained in lean muscle, fat and bones.
 It's not uncommon to run across social media posts that talked about the importance of drinking water every day! Articles like this are great because they remind us about one of the resources we take for granted most in our country, drinking water and water quality! It's amazing the amount of pollution our drinking water publicly owned treatment systems remove from our rivers and lakes before it's shipped via underground pipes to our homes. It makes me wonder how most Americans have yet to connect the Safe Drinking Water Act and Clean Water Act dot's together on this issue? So let's try......
 I think we all can agree that drinking untreated stormwater runoff will not help this young girls body and brain work better like it would if it were coming from an American water faucet. The National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) of permits became federal law in 1972 in the United States of America with the specific purpose to remove pollutants from our surface waters so we could have the quality of life that Americans demanded! At the time, American's KNEW we needed to do something about our polluted waters and they supported enforcement of the laws that eventually cleaned up a bunch of our surface waters! The result of the NPDES and Safe Drinking Water Act compliance and enforcement is that we have cleaner water today than 40 years ago, even while America has more than doubled in population!
Today however, very few American's have heard of NPDES or know what it means, let alone how much they owe their very lives to it. At the end of the day, it's critical that we continue spreading the word about America's clean water, and the system that must be complied with and properly enforced if we are to continue growing as a healthy society!
CLEAN surface waters are critical to our human existence and quality of life, yet they are more stressed today than ever before in our history. Spreading the word louder and more frequently about the Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act is key to our country's future. Accountability for the water quality of others down stream is threatened today, but yet it's what makes Americas water quality cleaner than the water you'll find outside of our borders. So, while we argue about EPAs Clean Water Rule, Georgia's recent decision to not protect wetlands and salt marshes with buffers, and drink and fish from our treated water resources; we must not forget about the very system that ensures our future quality of life!
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STILL ON TARGET TO DISMANTLE
the CLEAN WATER RULE
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Just because an executive order was used to force the Clean Water Rule into existence, it doesn't mean the story is over! As you can imagine, there is A LOT OF OPPOSITION to the USEPAs Clean Water Rule, mostly due to a perceived expense to big business. Remember, it was big corporations and powerful politicians that fought against the Clean Water Act before it was passed into law in 1972.
The article below does a pretty good job of explaining the ongoing saga.
.....Legislation championed by Republican Rep. Bill Shuster of Pennsylvania to block the new rule recently cleared the U.S. House. Barrasso's bill, has made headway in the Senate. The legislation, named Federal Water Quality Protection Act, recently passed through a key committee and could be headed for a floor vote. A spokeswoman said Barrasso "will look for any opportunity to pass this bill into law - including opportunities to attach it to must-pass legislation."
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Georgia Supreme Court: Buffer Rule Doesn't Apply to Wetlands & Marshes
Georgia's law protecting waterways from encroachment byconstruction projects does not apply to marshes and wetlands, the state Supreme Court ruled Monday.
In a 6-1 decision, the justices found the 25-foot buffer required by the Erosion and Sedimentation Act can only be enforced along the banks of state waters edged by "wrested vegetation," where the force of flowing water has torn away the vegetation and there is a clear demarcation between water and vegetation.
The case arose from a plan to create a 960-acre fishing lake in Grady County by building a dam that would flood various creeks and wetlands. Environmental groups challenged a variance for the project issued by the state on the basis the application failed to address its impact on nearby wetlands.
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MS4 CECI Classroom & Stream Monitoring Course
"Straight from the horses mouth"! We have federal and state stormwater regulators communicate the most recent information in our NPDES Training Institute courses!
Stormwater professionals and government officials in the business for decades say the MS4 CECI course is the most effective stormwater training course they've ever attended.
The MS4 Compliance and Enforcement Certified Inspector (MS4 CECI) credential is highly sought after by federal, state and municipalities as well as consultants from all over the United States?
"This was the Best, most thorough storm water class that I've ever taken.
"Luke has a way of communicating potentially boring & complicated issues in a way that made the class fun and challenging at the same time. Great Course!"
"The instructor took the time to make sure we understood our material. I feel like he really cares about what he's training!"
"Excellent Course! Video's and Interaction with Instructor!"
Upon successful completion of the course, you will receive a Certificate of Completion and a MS4 CECI photo ID card when you pass the test.
Call us at 678-469-5120 and speak with Rita, or sign up at ms4training.com.
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We are here to Help YOU!  We can set you up so you can perform your own inspections and water sampling, or we can do them for you. Contact us anytime at 678-469-5120 or info@npdestraining.com |
