Number: 2002-11
WHEREAS, stream corridors are important for maintaining healthy populations of native fish species, keeping water temperatures cool with streamside vegetation, preventing property loss from erosion during periods of flooding, and sustaining the quality of life that benefits people; and
WHEREAS, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) reported to Congress that for all assessed rivers, activities that alter the rivers’ flow regimes are the second leading source of river impairment in the nation (behind agriculture), and impacts from flow alteration is a growing concern of states; and
WHEREAS, hydrologic alteration refers to activities that change the flow of water in streams, such as: (a) instream flow regulation and modification, (b) water withdrawal, water allocation policies, and dewatering, (c) channelization, (d) dredging, and (e) construction and/or modification of dams and other water control structures; and
WHEREAS, the stated goal of the Clean Water Act is to “restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of our nation’s waters”; and
WHEREAS, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 1994 decision entitled, PUD No. 1 of Jefferson County v. Washington Department of Ecology, ruled that, “In many cases, water quantity is closely related to water quality; a sufficient lowering of the water quantity in a body of water could destroy all of its designated uses, be it for drinking water, recreation, navigation or, as a fishery”; and
WHEREAS, very few states have adopted water quality standards under the Clean Water Act to protect instream flows; and
WHEREAS, widespread apathy, lack of public awareness, and political resistance by some stakeholders have contributed to instream flows in many rivers remaining largely unprotected; and
WHEREAS, the Clean Water Act’s water quality standards could provide states with one important mechanism to protect instream flows; and
WHEREAS, the Clean Water Act’s State Revolving Fund (SRF) that has traditionally funded large engineering solutions, such as sewering and wastewater facilities, could be redirected to support efforts to allow for rainwater to infiltrate and recharge groundwater, essential for enhancing streamflow.
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation at its Annual Meeting assembled March 7-9, 2002, at Stone Mountain, Georgia, hereby supports legislation, programs, and funding that:
- correct the problem of over-allocation and unsustainable withdrawal of instream flows;
- educate the public and policy makers at all levels, including state legislators, about the causes contributing to impaired instream flows;
- alert the public to the seriousness of the problem and the irreparable and costly consequences of inaction;
- implement an array of remedies to maintain and enhance healthy aquatic ecosystems, viable fisheries, and sufficient instream flows;
- promote water conservation legislation as an important strategy to relieve the demand for new and expanded water withdrawal and allocation requests;
- encourage states to establish comprehensive water resource planning that incorporates stormwater, wastewater, and drinking water management to preserve adequate flows in streams;
- promote storm water management practices that minimize runoff loses by methods such as retrofitting impervious surfaces, rainwater storage, infiltration, and other beneficial reuse;
- encourage the beneficial reuse of recycled wastewater to sustain aquifers and instream flows;
- promote public policies, legislation, and state water quality standards that encourage conservation and recycling of water, and enhance instream flow protection; and
- monitor and regulate the use of water control structures to promote adequate instream flows for protection of fish, aquatic life, wildlife, and streamside vegetation.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation encourages the evaluation, use, and monitoring of federal and, especially state policies, laws, regulations, standards, and funding sources to enhance protection and restoration of instream flows for fish and aquatic life; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation encourages special consideration for the use of the Clean Water Act’s state revolving fund to pay for programs and infrastructure that enhances groundwater aquifer recharge.