TENNESSEE RIVERKEEPER INC

The core activities of our organization and our programs are investigating pollution, educating the public, and advocating for the river. Tennessee Riverkeeper engages in these activities to further our mission of protecting, restoring and promoting the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers.

Tennessee Riverkeeper uses a range of strategies to protect and restore the Tennessee River. The staff Riverkeeper monitors polluters and their pollution permits, responds to citizen complaints, and utilizes other methods to further protect the Tennessee River and its tributaries. When the team discovers illegal pollution, the evidence is brought to our prosecuting attorney and the team develops a strategy. Speeches by the staff to concerned citizens raise awareness about pollution threats, the watershed, and the organization's work.

Riverkeepers take a watershed approach; they don't just look at what's happening on the river, they look at what's happening on all the creeks because it all matters in the scope of a healthy river.

Pollution permit holders are identified through on-line databases maintained by the EPA and others. Tennessee Riverkeeper prioritizes facilities that are indicated to be in non-compliance. Discharge monitoring reports and other filings with the state agencies are reviewed to both confirm the on-line findings and to search for and identify other violations. When it appears it would be helpful to the investigation, the facility and/or the receiving stream will be patrolled in the most advantageous fashion, either by air, on the ground, or on the water. Water sampling is conducted where necessary to confirm a discharge or to check water quality.

Problems identified through other means are investigated in a similar manner. These problems may be identified by routine patrol or by citizen reports. Routine patrols are conducted. However, due to the size of the watershed, it is not possible to patrol every mile of every stream in the watershed. Problem areas and suspicious activities will be prioritized. Patrols are important to maintain a presence on the river and to find problems that might otherwise escape detection.

Using a variety of strategies, our staff Riverkeeper monitors the Tennessee and Cumberland River watersheds for pollution problems.. We also depend on our members and the general public to report pollution when they see it. If we determine that illegal pollution is present, the staff or volunteers collect water quality samples and have them analyze at a professional lab. When we discover an issue, we seek to resolve it, often filing legal actions against a permitted polluter who refuses to comply with their pollution permit. To date, we have filed legal action on over 39,000 violations of the Clean Water Act.

The Tennessee River is one of the most important watersheds in the Southeast. The organization speaks to schools, civic groups, and professional conventions about the Tennessee River, its economic and environmental value, the threats it faces, and how we can conserve it. We educate our members and the general public about the river year-round through newsletters, e-mails, TV interviews, newspaper articles and events.

Our staff Riverkeeper, David Whiteside, has over 17 years of experience and leadership in environmental work. Whiteside's work is nationally renowned, and he has a network of allies all of the United States and Canada. As Riverkeeper and Executive Director, David manages the day-to-day operations of the organization, while fueling growth, and investigating pollution too. Our prosecuting attorney, Mark Martin, began practicing law in 1981 after graduating from Samford University's Cumberland School of Law. Mark Martin also has prior experience enforcing environmental laws in the Tennessee River watershed. Mark was named “Legal Hero" by the Sierra Club in 2006 for his work in using citizen gathered water monitoring data as evidence of discharge violations from a large hog farm.

Here are a few accomplishments from Tennessee Riverkeeper's work in 2015:

• Addressed PFC pollution in the Wheeler Reservoir with a new legal action against the 3M Company, BFI, Decatur Utilities, and the City of Decatur to require clean up of these hazardous chemicals.
• Initiated new strategies for fighting pollution, including the use of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act's “imminent and substantial endangerment to health or the environment" provision.
• Addressed over 1,367 Clean Water Act violations in 2015 through legal actions.
• Initiated environmental enforcement actions at 6 facilities in Tennessee and Alabama.
• Expanded our education work in the Nashville area, including an event at the new Ascend Ampitheatre on the Cumberland River.
• Monitored illegal pollution from problematic facilities throughout the watershed.
• Monitored coal ash waste stored along the River. Two new EPA regulations issued this year ensure that toxins from coal ash will no longer be allowed to be discharged into our waterways.
• Participated in educational outreach events in Chattanooga, Huntsville, Decatur, Florence, and Athens, AL.
• Participated in Earth Day events throughout the Tennessee River watershed.
• Engaged volunteers of all ages in our work. Currently there are over 50 active volunteers.
• Developed new maps of the Cumberland River watershed as part of our education program.
• Continued to increase our online community: Facebook now has 11,700+ supporters, Twitter has 3,000+ followers, and Instagram has 1,800+ followers. That's a combined total of over 16,500 patriotic supporters!