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LEAD-IN BY HOST: And in environmental news... The protection of our nation's waterways may soon be limited due to a proposed ruling by the Environmental Protection Agency. Most vulnerable are the country's wetlands, and in Coastal Texas, the health of local waterways are at risk. Teresa Kolo has more:
STORY: The Environmental Protection Agency will soon issue a ruling that could allow many of the nations wetlands to be drained and filled. At issue is the interpretation of the term "waters of the United States" under the Clean Water Act. The goal of this ruling by the EPA is to provide a consistent interpretation of regulated waters. Currently, each district of the Army Corp of Engineers has different guidelines for determining which waters are legally regulated. Andy Sipocz, a Wetlands Biologist for Texas Parks and Wildlife, discusses the difficulty in protecting wetlands that are not clearly defined: "Right now no one is really clear in Texas as to what waters are and are not subject to federal jurisdiction. We work with a number of districts -- core of engineer districts -- and each district has totally different sets of rules. It is kind of like playing monopoly with your older brother, you always lose, you know, the rules always seem to change in the middle of the game. I welcome this proposed rule making. It has the potential to really fix things here in Texas, of course it also has the potential to mess things up more than they are. It all depends on what input is given to the Federal Government and what they do with that input." This proposed rulemaking stems from a 2001 Supreme Court decision that some have interpreted to mean that isolated wetlands do not merit protection under federal law. Sipocz: "There was a court case decided by the Supreme Court January 2001 which said that a wetland in Illinois was not subject to the Clean Water Act. In other words, that this wetland could be filled without a permit from the federal government. And that's led to a lot of speculation as to what is and is not subject to Clean Water Act jurisdiction. Prior to the Clean Water Act's passage, we had bayous that would catch on fire. You know the Kioga River in Ohio caught on fire. Buffalo Bayou, they would burn that off every now and then to get rid of the trash. I mean is that what we want to go back to?" John Jacob, an Environmental Quality Specialist for the Texas Sea Grant College Program and The Texas Agricultural Extension Service talks about the importance of the wetlands in this area: "What characterizes us -- us and I'm speaking about the whole Gulf Coast but certainly the upper Gulf Coast -- our area, our place on earth where we live: Whether they be forests or prairies or whatever are all colored by wetlands. But they're disappearing very quickly unfortunately." The concern expressed by environmental groups is that many wetlands are not directly connected to waterways and therefore, they may no longer be protected by the federal government. Jacob: "Now I would argue that there is indeed a connection. That these wetlands do have a connection that they are materially effecting the runoff. Because the water runs through these wetlands the water is cleaner than it otherwise would be". Andy Sipocz of TPWD notes that there are distinguishing characteristics to Coastal Texas. Because of these characteristics, the filtering aspects of wetlands are even more important. "Geology of our area is somewhat unique. Water runs off the land here, it does not run down into it. Almost all the rainfall either evaporates in this area or it runs off the land. If you put something on the ground it's going to end up in Galveston Bay. It's just that simple. The rain here does not soak into the ground very much at all. For the most part it runs off. So if you change your oil in your front yard and you let that oil drain onto your lawn's yard as my neighbor did ... next time it rains that oil is going to very quickly run off your lawn into the storm drain into a ditch and into Galveston Bay. It will probably be in the Bay that evening." The EPA will be accepting public comment until March 3.
Teresa Kolo, KPFT News, Houston.
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