Protecting waters should be higher priority, experts sayCallie Dobson, basin planner for the N.C. Division of Water Quality, provided an overview of DWQ’s draft Little Tennessee River Basinwide Water Quality Plan to about 25 interested citizens at a Dec. 3 public meeting at the Swain County Administrative Building in Bryson City.

After the presentation, Dobson solicited public comments that she said would be considered in drafting a final plan.

Basinwide plans for each of North Carolina’s 17 major river basins are revised by DWQ every five years. The first plan for the Little Tennessee basin was completed in 1997. Dobson said DWQ was mandated by the federal EPA to restore and protect surface water quality but the emphasis was on restoration.

Dobson pointed out the greatest danger to water quality basinwide was non-point source pollution like sedimentation created by erosion from development and poor agricultural and forestry practices and stormwater runoff. Many of those at the meeting, however, expressed particular concern about point source pollution, particularly a pending permit for an RV park along the Little Tennessee in Macon County below Lake Emory Dam.

Mark Cantrell of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Asheville office said he felt the use of the conjunction “and” in “restore and protect” meant equal consideration should be given to protecting non-imparied waters. Consulting fisheries biologist William “Bill” McLarney agreed, saying he thinks the intent of the EPA mandates clearly weigh as heavily towards protection as restoration.

Tom Massie, regional director for the Clean Water Management Trust Fund, said there were systemic problems throughout DWQ’s monitoring, sampling and classification systems that needed to be addressed.

One issue raised was DWQ’s practice of using only benthic macroinverterbrate sampling to determine water quality. McLarney noted that organisms such as fishes and mussels make up a far greater percentage of the total biota but are neglected by the benthic sampling.

McLarney and Cantrell both believe the federal language allows for site specific remedies to be applied to basinwide plans. McLarney said he plans to submit specific language prepared with the help of the Southern Environmental Law Center that could be inserted in the plan and would prohibit new point source discharge and place restrictions on high-density development along the Little Tennessee downstream of Lake Emory.

Dobson, who went to school at Western Carolina University, invited comments in writing and wrote down some of the concerns expressed. She said she was personally in favor of doing all that was possible to protect and restore water quality across the basin, but she said she had to work within the parameters and guidelines of DWQ.

“I’m not someone who sits in Raleigh and writes plans about basins I’ve never seen and don’t care about.” Dobson said.

To learn about the Little Tennessee Basinwide Plan you can call DWQ Planning Branch at 919.733.5083 or visit the website http://h2o.enr.state.nc.us/basinwide/. Comment in writing to Callie Dobson, NCDENR, Division of Water Quality/Planning. 1617 Mail Service Center. Raleigh, NC 27699-1617.

 

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