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Lawsuit challenges Army Corps’ unlawful approval of Yazoo Pumps

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 14, 2021

CONTACTS

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A coalition of conservation organizations represented by Earthjustice filed a lawsuit today challenging the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ rushed approval of a massive drainage project in Mississippi’s South Delta, commonly known as the Yazoo Pumps, in the closing days of the Trump Administration. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in the District of Columbia, also challenges the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for abdicating its obligations under the Endangered Species Act.

The George W. Bush Administration’s Environmental Protection Agency stopped the destructive project by issuing a Clean Water Act veto in 2008, citing unacceptable damage to some of the nation’s richest wetland and water resources.

However, last spring the Corps revived the Yazoo Pumps in a calculated push that culminated in official approval of the project in the final days of the Trump administration. The unprecedented effort included illegally revoking EPA’s 2008 long-standing veto and circumventing bedrock environmental laws such as the Clean Water Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the National Environmental Policy Act. More than 55,000 citizens, scientists, and public interest groups objected to the Corps’ incomplete and inadequate analysis of the project, submitting extensive comments demonstrating that the Corps ignored the scientific data and law.

“Instead of making a decision based on the science and law, the Corps recklessly approved this ineffective, destructive, and wasteful project,” said Earthjustice attorney Stu Gillespie. “The Corps failed to inform the public about the project’s unacceptable costs and refused to consider alternatives that would provide prompt, effective and environmentally sound flood relief to communities.”

“The Yazoo Pumps would increase flood risk for many people in the area,” said Tom Kiernan, President and CEO of American Rivers. “The Corps’ continued focus on building the Yazoo Pumps is irresponsible when there are better, more cost-effective solutions available.”

“Time after time, the Yazoo Pumps have been shown to be the big lie,” said Louie Miller, State Director for the Mississippi Chapter of the Sierra Club. “The Pumps are not intended to protect communities from flooding but are designed to benefit agribusiness by draining wetlands to intensify farming.”

“Not only will the Corps’ latest proposal degrade at least 39,000 acres of globally significant wetlands but over 82 percent of the Yazoo Backwater Area will continue to flood with the Pumps in place,” said Jill Mastrototaro, Audubon’s Mississippi policy director. “This lawsuit is a last line of defense to protect birds, wildlife and people by ensuring local communities get the effective flood relief solutions they deserve.”

The Yazoo Pumps project would involve construction of a 14,000 cubic-feet-per-second pumping plant in the Yazoo Backwater Area to drain water, primarily from low-lying agricultural lands, during certain types of flood events to facilitate increased agricultural production on those lands. Although authorized by Congress in 1941 to theoretically provide flood control, the Corps admitted in 2007 that 80 percent of the project’s benefits would be for agriculture.

“The pump project’s results will contradict one of its planned purposes,” said Andrew Whitehurst of Healthy Gulf, “The Corps of Engineers estimated in its public meeting response to questions that almost 9,700 acres could be converted to crop land by the pumps even though one of the basic objectives listed by the project’s Supplemental EIS is to provide reduced levels of agricultural intensification.”

The Yazoo Pumps would drain tens of thousands of acres of ecologically rich wetlands that support over 450 species of fish and wildlife, including several federally endangered species, such as the pondberry. Also, the Yazoo Pumps would increase flood risk for downstream communities while failing to provide the promised level of relief to communities in the Yazoo Backwater Area.

Instead of the ineffective, antiquated pumps, the conservation groups are calling for commonsense solutions to reduce flood risk using natural infrastructure and non-structural approaches that can help protect people’s lives, property and livelihoods. These available measures include elevating homes and roads, and paying farmers to restore cropland back to wetlands. See: Alternative Flood Relief Solutions to the Yazoo Pumps

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April 14, 2021
Contact: Amy Souers Kober, 503-708-1145

President Biden announced today that he will nominate Tommy Beaudreau as Deputy Interior Secretary. Tom Kiernan, President and CEO of American Rivers, made the following statement:

“We congratulate Tommy Beaudreau on his nomination as Deputy Interior Secretary. I have worked with Tommy for over a decade and his extensive experience will help the agency navigate critical conservation and energy issues. The Department of the Interior plays an instrumental role in addressing some of our country’s most pressing challenges, including climate change and environmental justice.

The agency has a unique trust relationship with sovereign tribes and oversees conservation and management of thousands of miles of rivers and 500 million acres of public lands including national parks, wildlife refuges and the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.

We look forward to working with the Department of the Interior and the Biden administration to ensure investment in clean water, healthy rivers and environmental justice is a top priority.”

Harmful development threatens historic communities

Contacts: Olivia Dorothy, American Rivers, 217-390-3658, odorothy@americanrivers.org

Yvonne Story, Education, Economics, Environmental, Climate and Health Organization (EEECHO), 228-223-6885, eeecho@cableone.net

Victoria Thornton Sharpe, National Council of Negro Women, 228-234-0221, vtsharpe@bellsouth.net

Derrick Evans, Turkey Creek Community Initiatives, 617-688-0846, tccidirector@gmail.com

Alexis Hidalgo, Anthropocene Alliance, 305-781-5147, Alexis@AnthropoceneAlliance.org

Washington, D.C. – American Rivers today named Turkey Creek among America’s Most Endangered Rivers® of 2021, citing the threat that commercial developments pose to clean water, and the health, safety and heritage of local communities. American Rivers and its partners called on Mississippi state agencies to retract the development permit and evaluate the full suite of impacts on local communities and the environment.

“The America’s Most Endangered Rivers report is a call to action to save rivers facing urgent decisions,” said Olivia Dorothy with American Rivers. “Turkey Creek and its communities will suffer more pollution, flooding and injustice unless Mississippi state agencies step up to protect the creek and the area’s unique heritage.”

For years, harmful development has impacted the water quality and health of Turkey Creek as well as the health, safety and economic integrity of the African American communities of North Gulfport, Turkey Creek and Forest Heights. Now, new proposed developments could make the situation worse.

One proposed development – a staging area for military shipments – would cover 16 acres and drain more than three acres of wetlands on a site where lead and arsenic contamination exceed regulatory limits. The development could send contaminants into the creek, endangering the health and safety of local residents during storms and floods. Turkey Creek and its surrounding wetlands play a key role in mitigating flood risk, but increased development will only reduce the ability of the river and land to absorb increased inputs of water and contaminants.

“Turkey Creek is adjacent to the historically significant Forest Heights community that was established by a joint venture between the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW), supported by the Ford Foundation. We are committed to protecting Turkey Creek, Forest Heights and surrounding communities and preserving the treasured legacy of our former National NCNW President and Congressional Medal recipient, the late Dr. Dorothy Height,” explained Victoria Thornton Sharpe, President of the Gulfport Section of the NCNW.

American Rivers and its partners called on Mississippi state agencies to withhold permits and funding for development proposals until an evaluation of the full suite of impacts, including health, safety and economic impacts to the creek, and the Turkey Creek and Forest Heights communities, is completed by the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality. In addition, American Rivers urged the Biden administration’s interagency council on environmental justice to examine Turkey Creek and its associated communities as a case study to investigate the systemic racism that continues to plague development decisions.

“This Most Endangered River listing comes as our community is approaching the one-year anniversary of the death of Rose Johnson, who was a tireless advocate for Turkey Creek, where she was baptized. We will continue to speak up for the creek, and our community, in her honor,” declared Ruth Story, Executive Director of the Education, Economics, Environmental, Climate and Health Organization (EEECHO). “EEECHO and our partners are planning a public virtual tribute to Rose tonight where we will discuss this important listing and our campaign to protect this endangered treasure.”

“Rose Johnson’s neighbors and allies for a more healthy, just and sustainable Turkey Creek have long had, thanks to her, our own state and federally-funded plans for our endangered coastal stream and historic neighborhoods,” said Derrick Evans with Turkey Creek Community Initiatives. “Since 2004, this inclusive exercise in community problem-solving and African-American self-determination has led to some restoration of our eroding cultural and environmental resources. More needs to be done. As Rose would say, projects or discussions that ignore sixteen years and hundreds of pages of community visioning, planning and progress are irresponsible, disrespectful and unjust.”

Gulfport, Mississippi’s Turkey Creek is a 13-mile freshwater creek popular for fishing, swimming and canoeing, that connects with Bayou Bernard, just north of the Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport.

Turkey Creek flows through the two historically important communities of Turkey Creek and Forest Heights. In 1866, recently emancipated African Americans purchased and settled the 320 acres or “eight forties” that came to be known as the Turkey Creek community. It remained essentially undisturbed until the mid-1980s when development began to encroach upon the neighborhood. Then in 2001, the historic cemetery was largely destroyed leading the Mississippi Heritage Trust to list the community as one of Mississippi’s Ten Most Endangered Historic Places.

“Turkey Creek has a funny name, but what’s being done to it is dead serious. For almost two centuries, the creek has been at the core of two historic, African American Communities. To damage it, is to attack them. Both must be protected and respected,” said Stephen F. Eisenman, Co-founder, Anthropocene Alliance.

The annual America’s Most Endangered Rivers report is a list of rivers at a crossroads, where key decisions in the coming months will determine the rivers’ fates. Over the years, the report has helped spur many successes including the removal of outdated dams, the protection of rivers with Wild and Scenic designations, and the prevention of harmful development and pollution.

Other rivers in the region listed as most endangered in recent years include the Big Sunflower River (2020 & 2018), Buffalo National River (2019 & 2017) and Mobile Bay Rivers (2017).

The public is invited to a “Tribute to Rose Johnson and Discussion of Turkey Creek Endangered Rivers Designation” on April 13, 2021, at 7pm Central Time on Zoom (https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83325572992?pwd=Z1N5cEVpYVFORlpxcWg1N1ltMzJkdz09).

AMERICA’S MOST ENDANGERED RIVERS® OF 2021

#1: Snake River (ID, WA, OR)
Threat: Four federal dams on the lower Snake River

#2: Lower Missouri River (MO, IA, NE, KS)
Threat: Outdated river management

#3: Boundary Waters (MN)
Threat: Sulfide-ore copper mining

#4: South River (GA)
Threat: Pollution due to lax enforcement

#5: Pecos River (NM)
Threat: Pollution from proposed hardrock mining

#6: Tar Creek (OK)
Threat: Pollution from Tar Creek Superfund Site

#7: McCloud River (CA)
Threat: Raising of Shasta Dam

#8: Ipswich River (MA)
Threat: Excessive water withdrawals

#9: Raccoon River (IA)
Threat: Pollution from industrial agriculture and factory farming

#10: Turkey Creek (MS)
Threat: Two major developments

Factory farm pollution threatens drinking water

Contacts:
Olivia Dorothy, American Rivers, odorothy@americanrivers.org, 217-390-3658
Phoebe Galt, Food & Water Watch, pgalt@fwwatch.org, 207-400-1275
Abigail Landhuis, Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement, abigail@iowacci.org, 515-250-048

Washington, D.C. – Today, American Rivers declared Iowa’s Raccoon River one of America’s Most Endangered Rivers® of 2021, citing the grave threat that factory farms and industrial agricultural pollution pose to drinking water supplies. American Rivers and its partners Food & Water Watch and Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement, call on the Region 7 administration of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to investigate, monitor and enforce Iowa’s factory farm pollution violations to safeguard public health in the state.

“The America’s Most Endangered Rivers report is a call to action to save rivers facing urgent decisions,” said Olivia Dorothy with American Rivers. “We’re sounding the alarm because pollution in the Raccoon River is putting drinking water supplies and public health at risk.”

The Raccoon River is polluted by more than 700 factory farms that confine thousands of animals. Waste from these industrial operations is spread on fields, often at rates that exceed the soil’s ability to absorb it. The manure runs off into rivers and streams where it contributes to a clean water crisis impacting millions of people. Iowa’s legislature has given these polluting operations free rein, relying on an insufficient voluntary strategy to reduce agricultural pollution in rivers and lakes. This voluntary approach has failed to reduce dissolved nutrient levels and water pollution, while factory farms continue to expand unabated, with 300-600 new factory farms added to the state each year.

The Raccoon River suffers from this unhindered factory farm pollution. Des Moines Water Works, the largest water utility in Iowa, utilizes the Raccoon River to provide drinking water to more than half a million people. The utility was forced to invest in one of the world’s most expensive nitrate-removal systems as a result of consistently unsafe levels of agricultural pollutants in the waterway.

Factory farm pollution, combined with drought conditions fueled by climate change, has also increased outbreaks of toxic algae in the river, which harm ecosystem health, limit the ability of people to safely enjoy river recreation and contribute to the growing dead zone downstream in the Gulf of Mexico.

“Iowa’s legislature has failed to protect us from corporate agriculture’s pillaging of our environment,” said Food & Water Watch Iowa Organizer Emma Schmit. “While our legislators write blank checks to industry executives and turn a blind eye to the dangerous pollution and public health crisis coming out of the tap, we call on the EPA to act where our elected officials will not. As one of the most endangered rivers in the country, the Raccoon River’s factory farm pollution crisis requires national intervention.”

”The state of Iowa has favored the profits of massive agribusinesses over the interests of Iowans for far too long. We cannot continue to disregard the serious harms of unrestricted agricultural pollution,” said Abigail Landhuis, a community organizer with Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement. “While the factory farm industry rakes in massive profits throughout Iowa, rural residents, independent family farmers and Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian and Pacific Islander communities are enduring disproportionate hardships as our water, our soil, and our climate are devastated by corporate polluters.”

American Rivers and its partners Food & Water Watch and Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement call on the EPA to immediately ramp up its Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) inspections and enforcement actions in the Raccoon River watershed.

The annual America’s Most Endangered Rivers report is a list of rivers at a crossroads, where key decisions in the coming months will determine the rivers’ fates. Over the years, the report has helped spur many successes including the removal of outdated dams, the protection of rivers with Wild and Scenic designations and the prevention of harmful development and pollution.

Other rivers in the region listed as most endangered in recent years include the Lower Missouri River (2021 and 2020) and Upper Mississippi River (2019 and 2020).

AMERICA’S MOST ENDANGERED RIVERS® OF 2021

#1: Snake River (ID, WA, OR)
Threat: Four federal dams on the lower Snake River

#2: Lower Missouri River (MO, IA, NE, KS)
Threat: Outdated river management

#3: Boundary Waters (MN)
Threat: Sulfide-ore copper mining

#4: South River (GA)
Threat: Pollution due to lax enforcement

#5: Pecos River (NM)
Threat: Pollution from proposed hardrock mining

#6: Tar Creek (OK)
Threat: Pollution from Tar Creek Superfund Site

#7: McCloud River (CA)
Threat: Raising of Shasta Dam

#8: Ipswich River (MA)
Threat: Excessive water withdrawals

#9: Raccoon River (IA)
Threat: Pollution from industrial agriculture and factory farming

#10: Turkey Creek (MS)
Threat: Two major developments

Excessive water withdrawals threaten regional water security

Contacts:
Shanyn Viars, American Rivers, sviars@americanrivers.org, 607-426-8283
Patrick Lynch, Ipswich River Watershed Association, plynch@ipswichriver.org, 978-412-8200

Washington, D.C. – American Rivers today named the Ipswich River among America’s Most Endangered Rivers® of 2021, citing the grave threat that excessive water withdrawals pose to ecosystem health and regional water security. American Rivers and its partners called on the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection to better implement existing laws and improve regulations to avoid a water crisis that would be devastating for people, businesses and river health.

“The America’s Most Endangered Rivers report is a call to action to save rivers facing urgent decisions,” said Shanyn Viars with American Rivers. “We’re sounding the alarm because pumping streams dry threatens not only the Ipswich River ecosystem, but the security of this region’s water supply and viability of local economies. This is a key moment, and what we do for the Ipswich River could serve as a litmus test for improving climate and river policy throughout the country.”

The Ipswich, a coastal river just north of Boston that flows through suburbs and farms before reaching the Atlantic Ocean, is an iconic river in Massachusetts. Unfortunately, even in non-drought years, stretches of the Ipswich River’s tributaries are pumped dry. Dry riverbeds result in fish kills, ecological damage, loss of recreation and threats to the quality and security of the water supply. American Rivers called the Ipswich River “the poster child” for the state’s outdated water system. Eighty percent of Ipswich water is exported out of the watershed and more than 90 percent of withdrawals are exempt from regulation. Climate change is exacerbating the threat, with more severe and extended droughts creating increased risk to water supplies.

“Our communities and residents are increasingly worried about having enough clean water for critical needs,” said Patrick Lynch with the Ipswich River Watershed Association. For Lynch’s group, the last two droughts have been a wake-up call. “Solutions need to come from all levels. We’re proposing ways for residents, towns, and state agencies to help safeguard our limited water supplies and address the climate crisis.”

American Rivers and its partners called on the state to implement more balanced regulations that will reduce conflict between communities and spur greater collaboration between water users.

“Massachusetts is fortunate to have so many protected natural spaces around our rivers and wetlands, like the Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary,” said Heidi Ricci, Director of Policy at Mass Audubon. “But these waterways are drying up due to unsustainable water use practices, worsened by climate change. We need strong leadership from our state agencies to help our communities become more climate resilient, and to protect these precious land and water resources for people and wildlife.”

“I’ve lived in Middleton my whole life. In many areas on my side of town we only have well water. We’ve already lowered the pump in our well. With frugal use, we hope it continues to give drinking water. It is very expensive to have a new well, a deeper well, drilled. All the unregulated use is hurting both residents and the health of our ecosystems. Our rivers are turning into puddles. We need to fix this. It is only fair and equitable that we all respect the water we have and follow the same rules. We can’t sustain life in our communities or in our rivers if we don’t work together,” said Sandy Rubchinuk, Retired School Teacher, Middleton Stream Team President.

The Ipswich River is the main source of drinking water for 350,000 people and businesses in 14 communities. It also provides excellent recreation opportunities for residents and visitors. Paddlers flock from the Greater Boston area to the river, which also offers five million people access to hundreds of trails within an hour’s drive. The Ipswich River feeds into the Great Marsh, the largest salt marsh in New England, and supports a multi-million-dollar shellfish industry.

The Ipswich River was previously included on the list in 1997 and 2003, which led to significant improvements in water policy that must now be strengthened in the face of climate change.

AMERICA’S MOST ENDANGERED RIVERS® OF 2021

#1: Snake River (ID, WA, OR)
Threat: Four federal dams on the lower Snake River

#2: Lower Missouri River (MO, IA, NE, KS)
Threat: Outdated river management

#3: Boundary Waters (MN)
Threat: Sulfide-ore copper mining

#4: South River (GA)
Threat: Pollution due to lax enforcement

#5: Pecos River (NM)
Threat: Pollution from proposed hardrock mining

#6: Tar Creek (OK)
Threat: Pollution from Tar Creek Superfund Site

#7: McCloud River (CA)
Threat: Raising of Shasta Dam

#8: Ipswich River (MA)
Threat: Excessive water withdrawals

#9: Raccoon River (IA)
Threat: Pollution from industrial agriculture and factory farming

#10: Turkey Creek (MS)
Threat: Two major developments

Proposed raising of Shasta Dam threatens Indigenous culture and ecological health

Contacts:
Amy Merrill, American Rivers, 510-809-8010, amerrill@americanrivers.org
Gary Mulcahy, Winnemem Wintu Tribe, 916-214-8493, gary@ranchriver.com
Ron Stork, Friends of the River, 916-442-3155 X220, rstork@friendsoftheriver.org

Washington, D.C. – American Rivers today named Northern California’s McCloud River among America’s Most Endangered Rivers® of 2021 because of a Trump-era proposal to raise Shasta Dam. This proposal poses a grave threat to the river’s health and to the culture, religion and identity of the Winnemem Wintu Tribe.

American Rivers and its partners are calling on the Biden administration to overturn the Trump administration’s plan to raise Shasta Dam.

“The America’s Most Endangered Rivers report is a call to action to save rivers facing urgent decisions,” said Amy Merrill with American Rivers. “Raising the height of Shasta Dam poses too great a threat to the river and the Winnemem Wintu Tribe’s sacred sites. This is the year to kill this misguided proposal once and for all.”

The McCloud River is located in Northern California. Over 77 miles long, it originates in the Cascade Range beneath Mount Shasta. It travels through Siskiyou County and Shasta County and is a tributary of the Pit River. The Pit River in turn connects to the Sacramento River, which flows into Shasta Reservoir and meets Shasta Dam north of Redding.

During the Trump administration, then Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt advanced plans to increase the height of Shasta Dam by 18.5 feet and to expand Shasta Lake by more than 200 billion gallons. Bernhardt is a former lawyer and lobbyist for Westlands Water District in the Central Valley, which long advocated for raising the dam as a way to secure more water for big agricultural interests hundreds of miles south of the dam.

Increasing the height of the dam would cost taxpayers more than $1 billion and would flood more than 5,000 acres of forest and riverside habitat, harming McCloud River’s wild trout fishery and providing questionable benefits (if not harm) to the salmon that spawn downstream of the dam.

“Raising the height of Shasta Dam would decimate more of the McCloud River,” said Ron Stork with Friends of the River. “It would destroy sacred tribal sites and harm the overall health of the river – and at a huge cost to taxpayers. Naming the McCloud one of America’s Most Endangered Rivers shines a light on this threat and also illuminates that the Biden administration should take action to protect the river.”

The McCloud River is home to the Winnemem Wintu Tribe, which has relied on and cared for the river since time immemorial. “Winnemem” means “middle water people,” referring to the river’s position between the Sacramento and Pit Rivers. The construction of Shasta Dam in 1945 devastated the Tribe’s way of life, displaced tribal members and flooded ancestral lands, burial grounds and most of the tribe’s sacred cultural sites. The giant dam stopped salmon from returning to their spawning grounds in the heart of Winnemem territory. An additional increase of Shasta Dam’s height would severely impact the Tribe’s ability to practice their culture and religion by either permanently or seasonally flooding approximately 39 sacred sites along the McCloud River.

“Winnemem are unique to the McCloud River,” said Winnemem Chief Caleen Sisk. “We have a certain language that is related to those sacred sites, that is related to that river, to the things that make Winnemem people Winnemem. The McCloud is the only river that can make us that— and we’ve already lost so much. To the tribe, Shasta Dam is a weapon of mass destruction.”

Chief Sisk further expounded on past events, saying, “In 1941, the U.S. government left us with NOTHING— no land, no homes, no salmon, no subsistence. Meanwhile, the county and state continue to get rich off taking our lands and water. We have no land on the river now. We are the undisputed indigenous people of this watershed, yet we have to continue to battle the discriminatory policies associated with being ‘unrecognized without rights of tribal status.’ We have to fight to have our ceremonies on the river. This will not only be a flooding of sacred places on the river; it is also another genocidal ordeal for the Winnemem Wintu Tribe to try to survive.”

On his first day in office, President Biden issued executive orders initiating reviews on Trump administration regulatory rollbacks. Included in this suite of reviews is the proposal to raise the height of Shasta Dam.

“American Rivers urges Department of Interior Secretary Deb Haaland to complete a swift review of this project, give full consideration to its injustice and illegality, and kill the project for good by publishing a Record of Decision that clearly states this project is illegal in California under the California Wild and Scenic Rivers Act,” said Merrill.

Recognizing its rich fish and wildlife habitat, scenic beauty, and pristine waters, California listed the McCloud River under the state’s Wild and Scenic Rivers Act in 1989, protecting the river from a dam raise. Several rare and endangered wildlife and plant species live along the McCloud, including the Shasta snow-wreath, Shasta salamander, McCloud River redband trout and Pacific fisher. Raising Shasta Dam would override California state law and set a dangerous legal precedent for other protected rivers.

The annual America’s Most Endangered Rivers report is a list of rivers at a crossroads, where key decisions in the coming months will determine the rivers’ fate. Over the years, the report has helped spur many successes including the removal of outdated dams, the protection of rivers with Wild and Scenic designations, and the prevention of harmful development and pollution.

AMERICA’S MOST ENDANGERED RIVERS® OF 2021

#1: Snake River (ID, WA, OR)
Threat: Four federal dams on the lower Snake River

#2: Lower Missouri River (MO, IA, NE, KS)
Threat: Outdated river management

#3: Boundary Waters (MN)
Threat: Sulfide-ore copper mining

#4: South River (GA)
Threat: Pollution due to lax enforcement

#5: Pecos River (NM)
Threat: Pollution from proposed hardrock mining

#6: Tar Creek (OK)
Threat: Pollution from Tar Creek Superfund Site

#7: McCloud River (CA)
Threat: Raising of Shasta Dam

#8: Ipswich River (MA)
Threat: Excessive water withdrawals

#9: Raccoon River (IA)
Threat: Pollution from industrial agriculture and factory farming

#10: Turkey Creek (MS)
Threat: Two major developments

Toxic pollution threatens public health

Contacts:
Jessie Thomas-Blate, American Rivers, 609-658-4769, jthomas@americanrivers.org
Rebecca Jim, Local Environmental Action Demanded (LEAD) Agency, 918-520-6720, leadagency@att.net
Dr. Bob Nairn, Center for Restoration of Ecosystems and Watersheds, University of Oklahoma, 405-325-3354, nairn@ou.edu
Alexis Hidalgo, Anthropocene Alliance, 305-781-5147, Alexis@AnthropoceneAlliance.org

Washington, D.C. – American Rivers today named Tar Creek among America’s Most Endangered Rivers® of 2021, citing the serious threat that toxic pollution from one of the country’s biggest Superfund sites poses to public health. American Rivers and its partners called on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the State of Oklahoma to develop a cleanup plan that protects Tar Creek and the health of local Indigenous communities and other residents. Indigenous people from nine tribes make up more than 20 percent of the population in the county, with many individuals having ancestry in multiple tribes.

“The America’s Most Endangered Rivers report is a call to action to save rivers facing urgent decisions,” said Jessie Thomas-Blate with American Rivers. “We’re sounding the alarm because toxic wastewater has been threatening this creek and surrounding communities for too long. It is unacceptable. Action must be taken now to address this injustice.”

What was once the world’s largest lead and zinc mine has left a legacy of toxic waste, polluted water and contaminated soils – turning Tar Creek orange, killing aquatic life and threatening human health with heavy metals (specifically lead, cadmium, arsenic and manganese). One million gallons of contaminated water per day are discharged into Tar Creek. Indigenous subsistence lifestyle and cultural practices, hunting and fishing by local residents, and recreational activities have all been impaired or threatened.

“Water connects us and when that water is damaged, we look away as it flows by. We have done that long enough. It is time to recognize we are nothing without clean water. We must be that voice, we must be that force that speaks for our water. We demand a clean Tar Creek,” said LEAD Agency’s Rebecca Jim, Tar Creekkeeper.

“For 42 years, acid mine water and toxic runoff has been pouring down Tar Creek through the jurisdictions of three of our nine local tribes and two of our cities before its juncture with the Neosho River on its way into our drinking water lake under the eyes of the state and the EPA,” said LEAD Agency’s Earl L. Hatley, Grand Riverkeeper. “To date, they have no plan for stopping this toxic offsite release. How much longer must we wait? When will our lives matter?”

Tar Creek is a tributary of the Neosho River, which joins the Spring River to form the Grand River. Tar Creek and the Grand River feed a major drinking water source for thousands of Oklahomans – the Grand Lake ‘O the Cherokees, created by Pensacola Dam. The watershed is a destination for anglers, hunters, conservationists, artists, recreationists and nature lovers.

“Tar Creek has run red for decades, but its problems are not irreversible. With focused determination, collective dedication and adequate resources, we can see Tar Creek run clear again,” said Dr. Bob Nairn, Center for Restoration of Ecosystems and Watersheds, University of Oklahoma. “Designation as one of America’s Most Endangered Rivers may be considered long overdue, but it is crucially necessary to raise national awareness and ensure necessary resources are coupled with existing local resolve and commitment.”

American Rivers and its partners called on EPA, FERC and the State of Oklahoma to address historic and ongoing contamination in Tar Creek and throughout the Grand Lake watershed in conjunction with the relicensing of the Grand River’s Pensacola Dam. American Rivers also called on the EPA Region 6 Administrator to conduct a new Remedial Investigation and health risk assessment that is more protective of human health and the environment.

“The time is long past when this kind of pollution can be tolerated. The people who live near Tar Creek, the aquatic life in the river or on its banks — and indeed the river itself – have rights that need to be protected,” said Stephen F. Eisenman, Co-founder, Anthropocene Alliance.

“You don’t play at Tar Creek, you don’t swim in it, and if you see a fish you don’t dare catch and cook it – because it’s poisoned,” said Martin Lively, resident of Miami, Oklahoma. “As a community, we’ve come to fear Tar Creek, and rightly so. But 40 years of danger and fear is long enough. Tar Creek deserves to be clean and healthy, and we deserve the chance to become proud of Tar Creek again. I want to take my nieces and nephews to play there, for them to learn to skip rocks and find crawdads, to explore the natural world. I want to see students hanging out in the summer enjoying the big flat rocks along the banks. I want to overhear people say, “I’ll meet you at the creek.” Most of all, right now, I want government officials to do the right thing, not to cut corners or settle for “good enough.” Cleaning Tar Creek the right way is hard, but it’ll be worth it.”

Other rivers in the region listed as most endangered in recent years include Lower Missouri River (2020 & 2021) and Buffalo National River (2017 & 2019).

AMERICA’S MOST ENDANGERED RIVERS® OF 2021

#1: Snake River (ID, WA, OR)
Threat: Four federal dams on the lower Snake River

#2: Lower Missouri River (MO, IA, NE, KS)
Threat: Outdated river management

#3: Boundary Waters (MN)
Threat: Sulfide-ore copper mining

#4: South River (GA)
Threat: Pollution due to lax enforcement

#5: Pecos River (NM)
Threat: Pollution from proposed hardrock mining

#6: Tar Creek (OK)
Threat: Pollution from Tar Creek Superfund Site

#7: McCloud River (CA)
Threat: Raising of Shasta Dam

#8: Ipswich River (MA)
Threat: Excessive water withdrawals

#9: Raccoon River (IA)
Threat: Pollution from industrial agriculture and factory farming

#10: Turkey Creek (MS)
Threat: Two major developments

Mining threatens clean water, cultural values

Contacts:
Sinjin Eberle, American Rivers, 720-373-0864, seberle@americanrivers.org
Frank “Pancho” Adelo, Upper Pecos Watershed Association, 505-757-3600, upwa@pecoswatershed.org
Ralph Vigil, NM Acequia Commission & Local Organic Farmer, 505-603-2879, molinodelaisla@gmail.com
Joseph “Brophy” Toledo, Jemez/Pecos Pueblo, 505-382-9589, facebroz@gmail.com

Washington, D.C. – American Rivers today named the Pecos River among America’s Most Endangered Rivers® of 2021, citing the urgent threat that mining poses to clean water, cultural values and the local recreation economy. American Rivers and its partners called on the New Mexico Mining and Minerals Division to deny the exploratory mining application for the Tererro Mine.

“The America’s Most Endangered Rivers report is a call to action to save rivers facing urgent decisions,” said Sinjin Eberle with American Rivers. “Some places should be off-limits to risky mining projects, and the Pecos River is one of those places. This river is far more precious for its cultural, historical, economic, ecological and recreational values than for the potential short-term earnings that might be derived from destructive mining.”

Comexico LLC, a Colorado subsidiary of Australian mining company New World Resources Ltd., has acquired 20 federal mining claims in the Jones Hill area southwest of Tererro, New Mexico, and surrounding Santa Fe National Forest lands along the banks of the Pecos River. The company’s proposed gold, copper, zinc, lead and silver mining project could adversely impact more than 5,000 acres and five tributaries of the Pecos, plus the Pecos River’s mainstem. The area is already dealing with the harmful legacy of mining. Waste from former mines has contaminated the river and caused fish kills, and millions of tax-payer dollars have been spent on clean-up efforts.

“The Pecos River is a crown jewel of rivers not only for New Mexico, but for the entire Southwest. This became very evident with the current pandemic as thousands of visitors flocked to Pecos for serenity and beauty,” said Frank “Pancho” Adelo, President, Upper Pecos Watershed Association. “Beyond the insidious effects of climate change, a large scale mine could render the Pecos a dead river— destroying not only vital habitat for wildlife, but also refuge for a significant population of southwestern citizens.”

American Rivers and its partners with the Stop Tererro Mine Coalition— a formidable coalition of approximately thirty stakeholders formed by local citizens to coordinate a response to the proposed exploratory hard rock drilling— is calling on the New Mexico Mining and Minerals Division to deny the exploratory mining application and the U.S. Forest Service to adequately assess the environmental impacts of the mining proposal.

“The Pecos River is a source of life for our acequias, farms and communities. Any threats to the river’s water quality put our traditions and livelihoods at risk,” said Ralph Vigil, Owner and Operator of Molino de la Isla Organics, LLC. “Now is the time to permanently protect the Pecos River from out-of-state mining companies and others who have no interest in preserving our way of doing things around here. The fact that the state is considering an Outstanding National Resource Waters designation for the river proves this is no place for a mine.”

The Pecos River and its waters are considered sacred to the Pecos, Jemez and Tesuque Pueblo Peoples. The river holds remarkable cultural history, with still-vibrant, millennia-old ties to traditional Indigenous and historic Spanish communities. The name “Pecos” is a Spanish derivative of the Indigenous Towa term for the Pecos Pueblo, [p’æyok’ona]. The river is rich in biodiversity, home to increasingly rare native Rio Grande cutthroat trout, the critically endangered Mexican spotted owl and northern goshawk, and elk, deer, black bear, mountain lion and turkey. Recognizing the Pecos’ many outstanding values, Congress voted to add more than 40 miles of the river to the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System in 1990.

“Mining activities from 1927 to 1939 in Tererro is what drove my ancestors away. They knew that the water was not good and was killing them,” said Joseph “Brophy” Toledo, member of the Jemez/Pecos Pueblo. “We find this activity later on in history too, and today we find species in peril along the Pecos River due to drainage from the Tererro mine and the contaminants that are still in the water. Our medicinal properties are being uprooted because of this.”

Other rivers in the region listed as most endangered in recent years include the Gila River (2019), Lower Rio Grande (2018), and Lower Colorado River (2017).

AMERICA’S MOST ENDANGERED RIVERS® OF 2021

#1: Snake River (ID, WA, OR)
Threat: Four federal dams on the lower Snake River

#2: Lower Missouri River (MO, IA, NE, KS)
Threat: Outdated river management

#3: Boundary Waters (MN)
Threat: Sulfide-ore copper mining

#4: South River (GA)
Threat: Pollution due to lax enforcement

#5: Pecos River (NM)
Threat: Pollution from proposed hardrock mining

#6: Tar Creek (OK)
Threat: Pollution from Tar Creek Superfund Site

#7: McCloud River (CA)
Threat: Raising of Shasta Dam

#8: Ipswich River (MA)
Threat: Excessive water withdrawals

#9: Raccoon River (IA)
Threat: Pollution from industrial agriculture and factory farming

#10: Turkey Creek (MS)
Threat: Two major developments

Sewage pollution threatens public health, perpetuates injustice

April 13, 2021

Contacts:

Ben Emanuel, American Rivers, 706-340-8868, bemanuel@americanrivers.org
Jackie Echols, South River Watershed Alliance, 404-285-3756, southriverwatershedalliance@gmail.com
Revonda Cosby, Arabia Mountain Heritage Area Alliance, 404-561-3323, revonda@arabiaalliance.org
Marlena Reed, The Nature Conservancy, 404-253-7246, marlena.reed@tnc.org
Brionte´ McCorkle, Georgia Conservation Voters, 404-333-8784, brionte@gcvoters.org
Jason Dozier, Intrenchment Creek Community Stewardship Council, 404-913-6419, jasondozier@gmail.com
Ricky Leroux, Sierra Club Georgia Chapter, 404-607-1262, X234, ricky.leroux@sierraclub.org
Fletcher Sams, Altamaha Riverkeeper, 404-985-9606, fletcher@altamahariverkeeper.org

Washington, D.C. – American Rivers today named the South River among America’s Most Endangered Rivers® of 2021, citing the egregious threat that ongoing sewage pollution poses to clean water and public health. American Rivers and its partners called on the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to address this longstanding injustice.

“The America’s Most Endangered Rivers report is a call to save rivers needing urgent action,” said Ben Emanuel with American Rivers. “The sewage pollution in the South River has gone on too long. EPA and the Department of Justice should enforce clean water standards now to safeguard public health in south DeKalb County communities.”

DeKalb County’s failure to maintain and upgrade its sewage system causes sewage to repeatedly overflow from pipes and spill into the South River, before reaching treatment facilities. The EPA and the county negotiated a consent decree to upgrade the sewer system to stop pollution, but after more than a decade of little to no action, the county’s deadline is being extended. The plan leaves out too many communities – which are predominantly Black. Sewage pollution poses a public health threat, fouls homes and neighborhoods and harms property values. The county’s poor record in fixing the problem and the lenience from state and federal authorities only perpetuate this longstanding environmental injustice for south DeKalb neighborhoods and downstream communities.

Jackie Echols, Board President of South River Watershed Alliance, is at the forefront of this issue. “It has taken EPA many decades to take note of the environmental injustice that continues to take place in south DeKalb County in real time. Before us right now is a once in a lifetime opportunity to fix an urgent problem, but only if EPA and DOJ step up,” she states.

It is the responsibility of the EPA to negotiate and enforce actions that achieve the goals of the Clean Water Act for all, regardless of race, socio-economic status or geography. American Rivers and its partners called on the EPA and the DOJ to take all necessary actions to restore Clean Water Act protections to the South River and the entire impacted community.

“Access to clean, unpolluted water should not be considered a privilege in our country,” said Georgia Conservation Voters Executive Director Brionte´ McCorkle. “Until we address the sewage pollution crisis at the South River, we cannot bring true equity and justice to all of our communities in America, especially the Black, poor and other minority communities that have often been at the forefront of environmental injustice and racism.”

“Few would argue that the South River’s ongoing struggle with pollution isn’t due to its urban roots nor the social/economic makeup of communities that stand to benefit most from a cleaner healthier river. Environmental injustice is the river’s legacy,” said Eric Grant, local river user. “I am doing my part to help ensure that pollution isn’t a major part of its future. Achieving justice for the river can be as simple as using it for recreation. Either we use it, or we will lose it.”

Flowing through the ancestral lands of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation from just north of Hartsfield Jackson International Airport through Arabia Mountain National Heritage Area into Jackson Lake at the head of the Ocmulgee River, the South River has struggled for decades with extreme environmental impacts concentrated in the two most densely populated municipalities in metropolitan Atlanta– the City of Atlanta and DeKalb County. Outside of the city, the South River has become an important source of water recreation where none previously existed. Only twenty minutes from downtown Atlanta, the river attracts canoeists and kayakers from throughout the metro area.

Other rivers in the region listed as most endangered in recent years include the Okefenokee Swamp and St. Marys River (2020) and Ocklawaha River (2020).

AMERICA’S MOST ENDANGERED RIVERS® OF 2021

#1: Snake River (ID, WA, OR)
Threat: Four federal dams on the lower Snake River

#2: Lower Missouri River (MO, IA, NE, KS)
Threat: Outdated river management

#3: Boundary Waters (MN)
Threat: Sulfide-ore copper mining

#4: South River (GA)
Threat: Pollution due to lax enforcement

#5: Pecos River (NM)
Threat: Pollution from proposed hardrock mining

#6: Tar Creek (OK)
Threat: Pollution from Tar Creek Superfund Site

#7: McCloud River (CA)
Threat: Raising of Shasta Dam

#8: Ipswich River (MA)
Threat: Excessive water withdrawals

#9: Raccoon River (IA)
Threat: Pollution from industrial agriculture and factory farming

#10: Turkey Creek (MS)
Threat: Two major developments

Copper mining threatens clean water, local economy, cultural values

Contacts:
Jessie Thomas-Blate, American Rivers, jthomas@americanrivers.org, (609) 658-4769
Jeremy Drucker, Save the Boundary Waters, jeremy@savetheboundarywaters.org, (612) 670-9650
Jen Parravani, The Wilderness Society, jparravani@tws.org, (202) 601-1931
Tania Lown-Hecht, Outdoor Alliance, tania@outdooralliance.org, (202) 780-9650
Brett Mayer, American Canoe Association, bmayer@americancanoe.org, (434) 409-9026

Washington, D.C. – American Rivers today named the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness among America’s Most Endangered Rivers® of 2021, citing the grave threat proposed copper mining poses to clean water and America’s most popular wilderness. American Rivers and its partners called on the Biden administration to permanently protect the Boundary Waters from sulfide-ore copper mining by issuing a federal mineral withdrawal, and urged Congress to pass legislation to forever protect this national treasure.

“The America’s Most Endangered Rivers report is a call to action to save rivers facing urgent decisions,” said Jessie Thomas-Blate with American Rivers. “Sulfide-ore copper mining pollution poses an unacceptable risk to the clean rivers, streams and lakes of the Boundary Waters, and this is the year we must finally stop these mining proposals once and for all.”

“The Boundary Waters is America’s most popular Wilderness, a vibrant and fragile ecosystem, and a cornerstone of a local economy that sustains thousands of livelihoods,” said Tom Landwehr, Executive Director of the Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters. “It needs to be permanently protected from the threat of sulfide-ore copper mining.”

The Boundary Waters and the Kawishiwi River are threatened by a massive sulfide-ore copper mine proposed on the South Kawishiwi River and Birch Lake, which flow into the Boundary Waters. Hardrock mining poses an unacceptable risk to the region’s clean water, economy and cultural values. Acid mine drainage harms water, aquatic and terrestrial species, forests and soils, and poses a serious risk to human health by, among other things, increasing mercury in fish. Studies show that sulfide-ore copper mining along lakes and streams that flow into the Boundary Waters would put at risk not only premier fishing, hunting and other recreation on Superior National Forest lands, but also the sustainable economy of northeastern Minnesota. An independent peer-reviewed economic study by Harvard Professor James Stock demonstrated that a ban on copper mining in the Boundary Waters watershed would result in more jobs and more income for the region.

Voyageur Outward Bound School’s base is on the Kawishiwi River, right next to proposed mining sites. “Voyageur Outward Bound School’s mission is critically tied to the health of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Since 1964, the Boundary Waters has been our classroom and where we serve our students. Any pollution that could threaten these waterways

or land threaten our mission to change lives by using the Wilderness to provide unparalleled opportunities for personal growth, self-reliance, confidence, teamwork and compassion,” said Jack Lee of Voyageur Outward Bound School.

Anishinaabe people (including the Ojibwe or Chippewa) have a deep traditional and cultural relationship to these lands and waters. They harvest wild rice in the Boundary Waters region, maintain treaty rights to hunt, fish and gather on these lands, and have called for the protection of this important landscape. In 2016, three bands of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe (Fond du Lac, Grand Portage and White Earth) and one Canadian First Nation (Lac La Croix) requested that the U.S. federal government ban sulfide-ore copper mining on federal public lands. In 2020, the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, consisting of six bands, stated its support for legislation introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Congresswoman Betty McCollum that would ban sulfide-ore copper mining on federal lands in the Boundary Waters watershed, part of the 1854 Ceded Territory.

“The nation’s most polluting industry is seeking to build sulfide-ore copper mines at the doorstep of the nation’s most visited Wilderness Area,” said Amanda John Kimsey, Campaign Manager with The Wilderness Society. “The consequences of building this type of toxic mining on the edge of the Boundary Waters would have cascading effects on regional tourism, recreation and hospitality industries, endanger beloved wildlife, and cause irreparable damage to lands and waters where Anishinaabe people retain fishing, hunting and gathering rights. This is the wrong place for the wrong mine. Pollution from sulfide-ore copper mining is nearly impossible to contain and can last for hundreds, sometimes thousands of years. This report rightfully acknowledges the urgent threat facing the Boundary Waters and should reaffirm to Congress that it’s time to pass legislation that permanently protects the Boundary Waters watershed.”

American Rivers and its partners called on the Biden administration to re-initiate the process for a 20-year federal ban on sulfide-ore copper mining on public lands in the Boundary Waters watershed, starting with a two-year pause on mineral leasing and robust study on the risks of mining in this unique and treasured place. American Rivers also urged Congress to pass Representative Betty McCollum’s Boundary Waters Wilderness Protection and Pollution Prevention Act which would permanently ban sulfide-ore copper mining on Superior National Forest lands in the watershed of the Boundary Waters. This bill was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives Natural Resources Committee in September 2020 and is expected to be reintroduced soon in the 117th Congress.

“The Boundary Waters is an incredible resource for outdoor recreationists and one of the most stupendous locations for flatwater paddling in the country,” said Tania Lown-Hecht, Outdoor Alliance Communications Director. “The landscape draws visitors from across the country and supports a resilient outdoor recreation economy that has been increasingly important over the past year. The proposed mining and the history of mining-related pollution put the Boundary Waters at enormous risk. We hope elected officials move to permanently protect the region by withdrawing the watershed from proposed mining, preserving this special landscape and all the benefits it provides to local communities.”

“The Boundary Water offers a wild and pristine paddling experience in the continental United States that is second to none,” said Brett Mayer with American Canoe Association. “There are more than one thousand lakes of varying size and 1,200 miles of canoeing routes that stich together a patchwork of backcountry campsites and offer an opportunity for truly profound paddling experiences. There is also an incredible concentration of canoe and kayaking outfitters offering instructional experiences for paddlers of all skill levels to progress. Pollution from sulfide

mining risks irreparably damaging a hallowed landscape in the world of paddling and it has been our longstanding hope that elected officials move to permanently ban sulfide-ore copper mining in the watersheds of the Boundary Waters.”

The Boundary Waters contains 1.1 million acres of interconnected rivers and lakes along the U.S.-Canada border. This wilderness lies within the Superior National Forest and has more than 1,200 miles of canoe and kayak routes and 237.5 miles of hiking trails. Its granite cliffs, boreal forest and clean waters are home to moose, black bear, lynx, bald eagles, loons, wolves, walleye, lake trout and smallmouth bass. The Boundary Waters attracts more than 150,000 visitors per year for its world-class canoeing, kayaking, camping, hiking, fishing and other outdoor recreation activities. This, in turn, has created vibrant, wilderness-edge communities that thrive in a clean environment but will be devastated with the opening of a mine.

Explorers Amy and Dave Freeman, who work as wilderness canoe and dogsled guides, spent a whole year travelling through the Boundary Waters to bear witness to its beauty and inspire others to work to protect it. “There is a primal enchantment aroused when you wake to a blanket of mist covering your temporary home deep in the Boundary Waters. We make pilgrimages to wild places; we have to slow down, unplug, and just be. This is the real world — wild and free. The border encircling the Boundary Waters Wilderness is an imaginary line drawn on a map. In this instance the water flows out of the wilderness and eventually back in. How would this water change if it flowed past an industrial mining zone? How would the character of our nation’s most popular wilderness area change if it was located downstream of our nation’s most toxic industry?” The Freemans wrote a book about the experience: A Year in the Wilderness (Milkweed Editions).

The annual America’s Most Endangered Rivers report is a list of rivers at a crossroads, where key decisions in the coming months will determine the rivers’ fates. Over the years, the report has helped spur many successes including the removal of outdated dams, the protection of rivers with Wild and Scenic designations, and the prevention of harmful development and pollution.

The Boundary Waters were included on the list in 2018 and 2013 for this same mining issue. Other rivers in the region listed as most endangered in recent years include the Menominee River (2020), Upper Mississippi River (2019), and Big Darby Creek (2019).

AMERICA’S MOST ENDANGERED RIVERS® OF 2021

#1: Snake River (ID, WA, OR)
Threat: Four federal dams on the lower Snake River

#2: Lower Missouri River (MO, IA, NE, KS)
Threat: Outdated river management

#3: Boundary Waters (MN)
Threat: Sulfide-ore copper mining

#4: South River (GA)
Threat: Pollution due to lax enforcement

#5: Pecos River (NM)
Threat: Pollution from proposed hardrock mining

#6: Tar Creek (OK)
Threat: Pollution from Tar Creek Superfund Site

#7: McCloud River (CA)
Threat: Raising of Shasta Dam

#8: Ipswich River (MA)
Threat: Excessive water withdrawals

#9: Raccoon River (IA)
Threat: Pollution from industrial agriculture and factory farming

#10: Turkey Creek (MS)
Threat: Two major developments

Poor flood management threatens public safety

Contacts:
Eileen Shader, American Rivers, 570-856-1128, eshader@americanrivers.org
Paul Lepisto, Izaak Walton League of America, 605-224-1770, plepisto@iwla.org
George Cunningham, Sierra Club Nebraska, 402-669-2236, cunningham.geo@gmail.com
Caroline Pufalt, Missouri River Network, Sierra Club, 314-721-7207, carolinepufalt@gmail.com
Rachel Bartels, Missouri Confluence Waterkeeper, 314-884-1473, rachel@mowaterkeeper.org

Washington, D.C. – American Rivers today named the lower Missouri River among America’s Most Endangered Rivers® of 2021, citing the serious threat that poor flood management poses to public safety. American Rivers and its partners called on states and local governments to implement multi-benefit projects that reduce flood risk and restore lost habitat in coordination with impacted communities.

“The America’s Most Endangered Rivers report is a call to action to save rivers facing urgent decisions,” said Eileen Shader with American Rivers. “We’re sounding the alarm because flooding is getting worse and communities are more at risk than ever. We know that many levees are too close to the river and that moving levees back will give the river room to flood safely and restore valuable floodplain habitat. It’s time for the Army Corps, lower Missouri River states, willing landowners and all those who care about the Missouri River to work together to improve public safety and restore the Missouri River.”

Communities along the Lower Missouri are facing increasing flooding with climate change, yet river managers continue to rely on an antiquated flood control system that actually increases flood risk. In recent years, more than 850 miles of levees in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska have been damaged during floods. Meanwhile, federal, state and community officials continue to rebuild existing levee systems to maintain and even intensify floodplain development– putting more people and taxpayer dollars at risk.

“The Missouri River, the people that depend on it, and the American taxpayer, demand management practices that protect the river’s health and its fish and wildlife,” said Paul Lepisto of the Izaak Walton League of America. He continued, “we must implement new approaches, give the river more room, and reconnect portions of the Missouri back to its historic floodplain.”

The river and its communities need more effective flood management. States and local governments located in areas where catastrophic flooding has occurred must commit to non-structural and nature-based solutions, including setting back levees to give the river room, preventing development in the Missouri River floodplain that contributes to rising flood waters and increased flood risk, and funding relocation and flood mitigation projects for communities already located in flood-prone areas.

“When we talk about flooding, the focus is often on property damage and economic impact, but a flooding event is also an environmental and public health hazard,” said Rachel Bartels,

Director at Missouri Confluence Waterkeeper. “Here in Missouri, we have coal ash, radioactive waste, abandoned lead mines and a variety of other toxic accidents waiting to happen. When an area floods, this chemical soup becomes part of our water system, potentially impairing your drinking water or your favorite fishing stream.”

The Missouri is America’s longest river, flowing more than 2,300 miles, with a watershed encompassing one-sixth of the United States. Once a wide, meandering, dynamic river that spread out over its ecologically rich floodplains, today’s Missouri River has been constricted to meet conflicting water resource demands, including flood control, navigation, irrigation, hydropower, water supply, water quality, recreation and fish and wildlife habitat. The lower Missouri River from Sioux City to St. Louis is artificially confined by hundreds of miles of levees that have destroyed the dynamic features of the river, including side channels, chutes, shallow and slack water areas, sandbars and islands. This loss of diverse habitat has resulted in the federal listings of multiple species.

“Folks along the Missouri River know floods are increasing, but sometimes it’s hard to break from failed, outdated so called “solutions.” Citizens and taxpayers need leadership to advance the changes we have long known are needed,” said Caroline Pufalt with Missouri River Network, Sierra Club. “The Missouri River needs room to expand and connect with its historical floodplain. By doing that in some places, we can help protect other places where towns and farms can more safely enjoy proximity to the river.”

The lower Missouri River was previously listed in 2020 as well. Other rivers in the region listed as most endangered in recent years include the Upper Mississippi River (2019 & 2020), Tar Creek (2021), and Buffalo National River (2017 & 2019).

AMERICA’S MOST ENDANGERED RIVERS® OF 2021

#1: Snake River (ID, WA, OR)
Threat: Four federal dams on the lower Snake River

#2: Lower Missouri River (MO, IA, NE, KS)
Threat: Outdated river management

#3: Boundary Waters (MN)
Threat: Sulfide-ore copper mining

#4: South River (GA)
Threat: Pollution due to lax enforcement

#5: Pecos River (NM)
Threat: Pollution from proposed hardrock mining

#6: Tar Creek (OK)
Threat: Pollution from Tar Creek Superfund Site

#7: McCloud River (CA)
Threat: Raising of Shasta Dam

#8: Ipswich River (MA)
Threat: Excessive water withdrawals

#9: Raccoon River (IA)
Threat: Pollution from industrial agriculture and factory farming

#10: Turkey Creek (MS)
Threat: Two major developments

Salmon recovery action must be part of national infrastructure investment

April 13, 2021

Contact:
Amy Souers Kober, American Rivers, 503-708-1145, akober@americanrivers.org
Rein Atteman, Washington Environmental Council, 206-631-2625, rein@wecprotects.org

Washington, D.C. – American Rivers today named the Snake River America’s #1 Most Endangered River of 2021, pointing to perilously low returns of Snake River salmon and the urgent need for lawmakers and communities to come together to develop a comprehensive economic revitalization plan that not only invests in salmon recovery and honors national obligaions to Native American tribes but also invests in clean energy,agriculture, technology and tourism.

“The America’s Most Endangered Rivers report is a call to save rivers in need of urgent action,” said Tom Kiernan, President of American Rivers. “We’re facing a critical choice on the Snake River. We can either stay with the status quo, which means failing salmon runs, more costly ligitation, increasing energy insecurity and broken promises to tribes. Or we can choose to invest in salmon recovery and infrastructure solutions that create a future of abundance and prosperity for the region. We think the choice is clear and we’re calling on the Northwest congressional delegation to take action now.”

Once the largest salmon producer in the Columbia River Basin, today Snake River salmon runs are at the brink of extinction. The loss of salmon is a crisis for the entire web of life, from black bears to Southern Resident killer whales. It is also an existential threat to Northwest tribes who depend on the fish for their cultures and identities.

“Salmon are critical to the cultural lifeways of Columbia-Snake River Basin tribes, like my own people of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, Oregon, and are integral to regional identity, economies, and even the orcas and the Puget Sound,” said Alyssa Macy, CEO of Washington Environmental Council / Washington Conservation Voters. “Removal of the four dams is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for salmon restoration that will benefit Tribal Nations, local economies, environmental ecosystems, and the Southern Resident Orca population for generations to come.”

Scientists say that removing four dams on the lower Snake River in eastern Washington must be part of a Snake basin salmon recovery plan. It is estimated that by 2080 the Snake River Basin will provide two-thirds of the coldest, most climate resilient stream habitats for salmon and steelheadon the West Coast. Congressman Mike Simpson (R-ID) has proposed a $33.5 billion framework to remove the dams, recover salmon, and revitalize the region’s infrastructure and economy.

American Rivers and Washington Environmental Council called on the Northwest congressional delegation to build on Congressman Simpson’s proposal and advance a comprehensive salmon recovery solution that includes lower Snake River dam removal, as well as robust job-creating

investments to replace the dams’ energy, transportation and irrigation services. This critically important legislation must be included in President Biden’s national infrastructure package.

“A well-crafted, comprehensive solution would benefit the nation as a whole by saving iconic salmon and Souther Resident orcas, bolstering clean energy and strengthening the economy of one of the most dynamic regions in the country,” Kiernan said.

The Snake River is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, flowing more than 1,000 miles from its headwaters in Wyoming to the confluence with the Columbia at the Tri-Cities in Washington. The Snake Basin is home to 50 percent of the current cold water habitat for Pacific salmon in all of the lower 48, and once produced 40 percent of the prized Chinook salmon and over half steelhead in the Columbia River Basin.

Salmon are at the heart of the cultures of Northwest Native American tribes, integral to religion, identity and physical sustenance. Abundant returns of salmon are also critical to local economies, driving lucrative fishing, recreation and tourism.

Wild salmon returns plummeted by over 90 percent following construction of the four federal dams on lower the Snake River. In recent years, fewer than 10,000 wild Chinook salmon have returned to spawn. Today, 13 Columbia-Snake salmon and steelhead populations are protected under the Endangered Species Act. Scientists believe that all four salmon and steelhead populations in the Snake River Basin will go extinct without urgent action.

The threat posed by the dams is exacerbated by climate change, which is warming up the Snake River and making conditions even more dire for salmon. In 2015, for example, 96 percent of the Snake River sockeye died trying to navigate through lethally warm waters to cooler tributaries and spawning grounds upstream. While the dams are heating up the major river thoroughfares for salmon, scientists estimate that the essential habitat above the dams will continue to provide clean, cold water.

Other rivers in the region listed as most endangered in recent years include the Puyallup River (2019), Green-Dwiamish and Willamette rivers (2018) and the South Fork Skykomish and Green-Toutle rivers (2017).

AMERICA’S MOST ENDANGERED RIVERS® OF 2021

#1: Snake River (ID, WA, OR)
Threat: Four federal dams on the lower Snake River

#2: Lower Missouri River (MO, IA, NE, KS)
Threat: Outdated river management

#3: Boundary Waters (MN)
Threat: Sulfide-ore copper mining

#4: South River (GA)
Threat: Pollution due to lax enforcement

#5: Pecos River (NM)
Threat: Pollution from proposed hard rock mining

#6: Tar Creek (OK)
Threat: Pollution from Tar Creek Superfund Site

#7: McCloud River (CA)
Threat: Raising of Shasta Dam

#8: Ipswich River (MA)
Threat: Excessive water withdrawals

#9: Raccoon River (IA)
Threat: Pollution from industrial agriculture and factory farming

#10: Turkey Creek (MS)
Threat: Two major developments