EPA ousts Lower Dissolved oxygen Variance for trout waters in the catawba river
March 31, 2009 (Charlotte, NC) – Catawba Riverkeeper Foundation would like to announce that in a letter dated March 18, 2009 the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) voided a site specific seasonal variance for dissolved oxygen in trout waters of the Catawba River. This supports the argument of Catawba RIVERKEEPER®, American Rivers, Trout Unlimited, and Southern Environmental Law Center that not only should the 11 mile stretch of the Catawba River from the Bridgewater Dam to Morganton, NC (Tailrace) be reclassified as trout water, but that the higher dissolved oxygen standard necessary to support a trout fishery must also apply.
EPA Acting Regional Administrator A. Stanley Meiburg cited this necessity in a letter to the North Carolina Division of Water Quality stating, “In this instance, the State of North Carolina did not provide any scientific justification to show that seasonal DO criterion lower than the State’s approved trout DO criterion (6 milligram per liter) would be protective of the two trout species in the Tailrace.”
“The Catawba’s water provides sustenance for all of us along its banks, why shouldn’t the inhabitants of the Catawba be allowed to breathe easily,” commented Catawba Riverkeeper David Merryman on the issue. “The EPA has held the State of North Carolina accountable for protecting our River’s health and quality. We have to enjoy our rapidly disappearing trout streams- this ruling helps us do just that.”
Because this water had been historically stocked with trout and a naturally reproducing population had been established, American Rivers initiated a petition in 2004 to reclassify this river section which lies downstream of Duke Energy's Bridgewater Dam as Trout water. When NC denied this petition, the NC Superior Court overruled the Environmental Management Commission's denial. The court ruled the state must reclassify the water to protect all existing uses including trout. NC complied with the court's ruling and reclassified the water as Trout, but issued a site specific DO variance that allowed a lower oxygen level (4 milligrams per liter) to be met during critical summer months instead of the state DO standard for trout waters (6 milligrams per liter). Duke Energy did not want to have to meet the higher oxygen levels in discharges from their Bridgewater Dam which is undergoing relicensing by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. EPA's ruling has voided this site specific variance and requires oxygen levels be maintained at the state standard for dissolved oxygen in trout waters, 6 milligrams per liter.
