9th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that logging road sediment is point source pollution when it enters a stream. That calls into play the Clean Water Act with the requirement that permits must be obtained from EPA under the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System.
That is a whole mouthful, but what it means is logging road construction will have to change. The current construction standards that allow egg-suffocating sediment to flow into streams and rivers will have to change, at least in the states covered by the 9th Circuit.
Expect the decision to be appealed and expect the timber industry to lobby for legistative exemption from the Clean Water Act.
All those interested in salmon, steelhead and resident trout recovery should take steps to educate their federal legislators on the wisdom of resisting easing road construction standards.
If you'd like to read the opinion, cut and past this url. http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2010/08/17/07-35266.pdf
About Me
- The Fishing Writer
- First fly-caught fish was a trout on a Brown Bivisible 50 years ago. Aside from some years foolishly spent playing golf, I've been fishing ever since.