Issues

ISSUES

SEWAGE FROM WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANTS & LAGOONS

Sewage discharges are occurring throughout the entire Black Warrior River watershed. In order to discharge treated sewage, a facility is required to obtain a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit from the Alabama Department of Environmental Management. Black Warrior RIVERKEEPER has investigated over 50 wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and lagoons in the watershed and has found approximately 30% to be in violation of the federal Clean Water Act and the Alabama Water Pollution Control Act. Our findings indicate that partially treated and raw sewage is being discharged into streams throughout the watershed. When raw sewage is discharged into surface water it carries with it bacteria, pathogens and viruses that can be a threat to public health for many months. Unlike many complacent local authorities, we see this as a major threat that needs to be eradicated. When we find a facility that is violating its permit then we ask them to clean it up. If they do not show a good faith effort in working with us to clean up their sewage discharge then we will take necessary legal action to ensure that they will stop illegally discharging.

For more information about Black Warrior Riverkeeper's legal actions click here.

To view maps showing Wastewater Treatment Plants locations and there impact on the watershed click here.

To view maps showing Wastewater Treatment Plants locations in Jefferson County, click here.

Left: East Walker Co. WWTP discharges into the Mulberry Fork (Walker Co.) Right: Moundville Lagoon discharges into the Black Warrior (Hale Co.)

COAL MINING

The Warrior Coal Basin lies underneath the majority of the Black Warrior River watershed. This basin has been the largest, southernmost coal-producing area in North America according to the Geological Survey of Alabama. Coal mines from the past have left a dirty legacy for our generation and future generations to clean up. These old coal mines were not properly reclaimed, resulting in hundreds of acid mine drainage (AMD) sites. AMD sites pollute streams with heavy metals, sediment, and acids. These sites can be spotted easily due to the prevalence of iron which causes the stream to appear neon orange. This coloration comes from ferrous oxide, an iron bacteria. AMD sites are very costly to clean up.

Currently there are 101 active coal mines in Alabama -- 94 of these active mines are located in the Black Warrior River watershed. Strip mining (a.k.a. surface mining) and longwall mining (a.k.a. underground mining) are the methods of choice for coal extraction in Alabama. As a result, many Black Warrior streams are impaired by sediment laden with heavy metals. Coal mines transform the landscape and alter streams forever. In some instances streams are rendered biologically dead, unable to support life of any kind. Coal is transported by truck, train, and barge to be used for power production and by the steel and coke industries. Power plants that burn coal for the production of energy pollute the air and ultimately the river. Alabama Power Company's Gorgas Power Plant on the Mulberry Fork, Miller Steam Plant on the Locust Fork, and the Greene County Steam Plant on the lower Black Warrior River are old plants that need to have their pollution controls updated. APCO's parent, Southern Company, has lobbied hard in Washington, D.C. for less stringent air quality regulations. Coke plants and steel industries that use coal and its byproducts are notorious polluters, known for discharging heavy metals, acids, and petroleum products.

The entire picture of coal is a mostly untold story. From the mining of coal to the use of its products, a long trail of pollution can be followed. As consumers, we can do our part by using less energy and using energy efficient appliances. Every time you leave on household appliances -- perhaps sometimes unnecessarily -- remember that you are essentially burning coal, the dirtiest form of power.

To view maps showing coal geology or coal mines and there impact on the watershed click here. To view the location of permits click here.

For more detailed information about COAL click here.

Left: Sedimentation from a strip mine on the Sipsey Fork, near Smith Lake (Winston Co.) Right: Coal Mining on the Sipsey Fork (Winston Co.)

MERCURY & METHYLMERCURY

Mercury is a potent neurotoxin. It has been linked to all sorts of serious physical and central nervous system disorder, including mental retardation, sexual dysfunction, and even death. In adults, even at very low doses, it causes neurological dysfunctions, circulatory and immune system deficiencies. But mercury is even most dangerous to a child's developing brain. During pregnancy, a woman eating contaminated fish will pass some of that mercury on to her child through prenatal blood transfer and, later, through breast milk to a nursing infant. In fact, studies indicate that the fetus will have a larger amount of mercury in its blood than the mother because mercury concentration in umbilical cord blood is almost twice as high as found in the mother's bloodstream.

In January 2003 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that nearly 1 in 12 women of child bearing age (16 to 49) are currently exposed to levels of mercury that exceed U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) safe levels, putting more than 300,000 fetuses at risk from the harmful effects of mercury poisoning. We now know that that number was grossly underestimated. EPA scientists recently raised that estimate to 1 in 6 women based on evidence that mercury concentrations in umbilical cord blood is significantly higher than the mother's blood concentration. Using 2000 census figures, EPA determined that as many as 630,000 newborns are now at risk of serious congenital neurological and development impairment.

The largest source of airborne mercury in America are the nation's 1,100 coal-fired power plants that release more than 50 tons of deadly mercury into the air every year. Gravity pulls much of this mercury down to the ground, where it eventually ends up in our waterways. Bacteria and chemicals transform this mercury into METHYLMERCURY, which is extremely toxic. Methylmercury is dangerous because it bioaccumulates -- it builds up in living things because organisms, including people, absorb it at a faster rate than they can get rid of it. Fish absorb methylmercury as water runs over their gills, but the bigger problem lies in the food chain. When a large fish eats a smaller fish it absorbs the mercury that was in the prey's body. Over the fish's lifespan, methylmercury accumulates to dangerous levels. The larger and older the fish, the higher the potential for high levels of this potent neurotoxin. We humans, at the top of this food chain, are exposed to methylmercury when we eat the mercury-laden, larger predatory fish like tuna and swordfish.

Mercury is highly toxic. One study found that 1/70 of a teaspoon of pure mercury is enough to contaminate a 25-acre lake. In 1993, 27 states had issued advisories warning people of the dangerous levels of mercury in some fish. By 2003, 45 states and the District of Columbia had mercury fish advisories.

Alabama Power's Miller Steam Plant on the Locust Fork of the Black Warrior River discharges over 1,500 pounds of mercury per year -- Fourth-worst in America in 2003, according to the EPA.

For human consumption guidelines of mercury levels in different species of fish, please click here.

Left: Citizen fishing on Village Creek near Alabama Power's (Southern Company) Miller Steam Plant (Jefferson Co.) Right: Miller Steam Plant (Jefferson Co.)

DAMS - SAVE THE FREE-FLOWING DUCK RIVER & LOCUST FORK!!!

Dams affect flow, sediment passage, oxygen, temperature, and habitat. They have severely altered the state of Alabama 's Black Warrior River . A series of seventeen locks and dams were built on the river in the late 1800s. In the 1930s, work began to replace those dams with a more modern series of four locks and dams. The river is heavily used by barges for the transport of commercial commodities such as coal, steel, wood, and chemicals. These dams have created a number of lake-like reservoirs stealing the river’s free-flowing beauty. To view maps showing existing Locks and Dams in the Black Warrior River watershed click here.

Unfortunately, the threat of dams still looms in our watershed....

Recently Cullman County proposed a dam on the Duck River. Black Warrior RIVERKEEPER organized with WildLaw, Steve Masterson, and the Alabama Rivers Alliance to challenge this unnecessary dam on the Duck River. While the new reservoir would have provided drinking water, this water's quality would have become very polluted from the alarming waste created by Cullman County's state-leading number of industrial chicken factories (See below - "Poultry, Pathogens and Bacteria")

Proposed dam site of the Duck River, an important tributary of the Black Warrior River. (Cullman County, Alabama)

On November 27, 2002, The Birmingham News published a story revealing the Birmingham Water Works Board, Alabama Power, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' interest in damming the Locust Fork River, a free-flowing headwater of the Black Warrior River. A similar plan was proposed in the early 1990s, but was defeated by patriotic citizens in northern Alabama, many organized under the Friends of Locust Fork. The Locust Fork River is one of Alabama's last free-flowing rivers and is a priceless resource to the state. This major Black Warrior River headwater is one of the richest basins for aquatic diversity in the country; several, federally protected endangered species live in the Locust Fork, including the Plicate Rocksnail, Triangular Kidneyshell, and Cahaba Shiner.

Swann Covered Bridge on our blessed Locust Fork of the Black Warrior River (Blount County, Alabama)

POULTRY, PATHOGENS, & BACTERIA

Approximately 17% of the Black Warrior River is covered by agriculture. Poultry industry has extremely impacted the Cullman region of the Black Warrior Basin. Cullman County is the fourth largest chicken producing county in the United States, "producing" 164 million chickens per year; Cullman County produces more chickens than any other county in Alabama. Unusually high amounts of pathogens occur near the Black Warrior headwaters in the upper basin (Winston, Cullman, Blount and Walker Counties).

Two major sources of these pathogens and bacteria are poultry waste from confined animal feeding operations ("CAFOs"), and human waste from various public and private wastewater treatment facilities. In 2002, Brindley Creek, Broglen River, Eightmile Creek, and Catoma Creek, all tributaries of the Mulberry Fork in Cullman County were so polluted with pathogens, that they were listed as Federally Impaired tributaries under the 303(d) section of the Clean Water Act. Brindley and Eightmile Creeks are public water supplies that the citizens of Cullman County depend upon. As if having two polluted water supplies isn't enough, the Cullman - Morgan Water District has been working to dam the beautiful, free-flowing Duck River for another water supply reservoir. The Duck, although absent from the ADEM 303(d) List, contained not even a snail in a recent survey done by Dr. Michael Gangloff at Auburn University.

To view maps showing chicken factories locations and there impact on the watershed click here.

Left: Chicken Factory Houses near Catoma Lake part of Eightmile Creek of the Mulberry Fork (Cullman Co.)

Right: Tyson Chicken Processing Plant in Blountsville (Blount Co.)

SILTATION / SEDIMENTATION

Sedimentation, or siltation, is one of the most severe threats to the Black Warrior River. The primary sources of this muddy water are irresponsible development projects, reckless logging and mining operations, and poorly built and maintained roads, . These projects are required to use Best Management Practices (BMPs) for erosion and runoff control, which are rarely implemented correctly, maintained, or enforced. Due to manipulation of water levels by a series of four dams constructed for power generation, navigation, and flood control, the Black Warrior River has lost the characteristics of a natural free-flowing river. All of these dams cause the river to back up like a lake, altering the flow regimes of the river. Lacking the flushing attribute of flooding, the river now allows sediment to build up as sand bars, and around stream mouths and dams. This ultimately reduces the river's water bearing capacity and blocks navigation for barges and recreational users .

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is required to maintain a river channel at a depth of nine feet for commercial river navigation. By dredging the main stretch of the Black Warrior River watershed from its confluence with the Tombigbee River at Demopolis all the way up the Mulberry Fork to Alabama Power Company's Gorgas Power Plant and up the Locust Fork to Alabama Power Company's Miller Steam Plant. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has not been able to keep the Black Warrior's tributaries properly dredged over the years, especially due to budget cuts that reduced the Mobile District with the services of one dredge boat, the Snagboat ROS. http://www.sam.usace.army.mil/op/tu/Tusc_Ros.htm Unclogging stream mouths would improve tributary flow which increases the amount of oxygen in a water body, as well as opening up more habitat for fish reproduction. Many people blame the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the sedimentation issue that is hazardous for boaters and detrimental to aquatic wildlife habitat, but the accountability lies with us.

As a democratic society we have to look at the sources of all the sediment. Operations and developments are allowed to discharge or pipe pollutants into the river due to a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit issued by the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM ). Although ADEM claims that their permits are engineered to be protective of water quality, that can only be true if they regulate and enforce their permits by holding polluters financially responsible for polluting fresh water. When you see a development that has mud pouring over its silt fences (the black fabric), they are either illegally polluting without a permit or they are "legally" polluting under an ADEM permit. Call ADEM at (334) 271-7700 to report pollution AND alert your local stormwater authority (i.e. SWMA http://www.swma.com/ ). Notify Black Warrior Riverkeeper (205) 458-0095 and send us pictures if you have them. Until we demand that ADEM starts punishing polluters, we will not see them improve their enforcement of permits.

Below you can see the effects that a large-scale development and mining along a creek's banks can have.

Left: Sedimentation from coal mining has filled Daniel Creek with sediment and polluted it with heavy metals (Tuscaloosa Co.)

Right: Sedimentation from development in Birmingham makes its way into Bayview Lake of Village Creek of the Black Warrior (Jefferson Co.)

POINT SOURCE DISCHARGES

Pollutants of all kinds are being directly discharged into the Black Warrior River and its tributaries by industries, mines, municipalities, and private operations. The National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System under the Clean Water Act of 1972 called for a gradual phasing out of industrial point source discharges, but we have seen an increase, not a decrease. Please visit the "Legal Docket" section of this website for information about the 10,000+ Clean Water Act violations that Black Warrior RIVERKEEPER has addressed with legal actions against point source discharge violators. These polluters chose to violate their permits on a persistent and ongoing basis, allowing the degradation of the receiving stream. These violations were committed under the watch of the Alabama Department of Environmental Management, an agency slow to react and enforce.

To view maps showing industrial point source dischargers and their impact on the watershed click here.

Left: Point source pipe discharging into the Mulberry Fork from Alabama Power's Gorgas Power Plant (Walker County, Alabama)

Right: Sediment laden point source discharge coming from Vulcan Materials Bessemer Quarry (Jefferson County, Alabama)

COALBED METHANE

Coalbed methane extraction also continues to be a major industry as a result of coal mining. There are thousands of coalbed methane wells all over the Black Warrior River watershed. The extraction of coalbed methane involves a process known as hydraulic fracturing. Fracturing allows access to hard-to-reach energy deposits by forcing pressurized fluids deep into the earth, creating underground fissures that permit oil and gas to flow toward the surface. Once these underground cracks are opened, fine sand or ceramics mixed with a chemical gel are pumped into the fissures to keep them open so the gas can be removed. Some coal companies claim degasification in underground mines increases mine safety. However, there are more explosions in degasified mines than mines that do not use this process, according to the United Mining Workers of America.

Left: Coalbed methane well in the foreground. Miller Steam Plant in the background. (Jefferson County, Alabama)

Right: Close-up of a coalbed methane well on the Black Warrior River. (Jefferson County, Alabama)

To view maps showing Coalbed Methane wells, click here.

ENDANGERED SPECIES

There are 14 Federally listed endangered species of animals in the Black Warrior River basin. There are two endangered fish: Watercress Darter (Etheostoma nuchale) and Vermilion Darter (Etheostoma chermocki). One endangered snail: the Plicate rocksnail. Eleven endangered species of mussels including: the Triangular kidneyshell (Ptychobranchus greeni), Southern combshell (Epioblasma penita), Upland combshell (Epioblasma metastriata), and Brown pigtoe (Pleurobema hagleri).

There is one threatened amphibian, the Flattened Musk Turtle (Sternotherus depressus).

Left: Watercress Darter (Etheostoma nuchale) Right: Triangular kidneyshell

ALABAMA POWER & SOUTHERN CO. (POWER PLANTS / HYDROELECTRIC DAMS)

Three major coal burning steam power plants are located on the banks of the Black Warrior River: Miller Steam Plant, Gorgas Plant and Greene County Steam Plant. Miller Steam Plant, on the Locust Fork of the Black Warrior near Birmingham, releases approximately 1,589 pounds of mercury a year according to a 2003 EPA report.

Alabama Power’s owner, Southern Company, has spent millions lobbying for weaker environmental laws while simultaneously spending millions to “greenwash” their image with misleading advertisements. In March 2001, a Southern Company lobbyist emailed the Bush Administration requesting reform of the New Source Review Codes of the Clean Air Act and related enforcement. Southern Company succeeded as the Environmental Protection Agency retreated from high-profile enforcement actions against Alabama Power, Southern Company, and other polluters.

Left: Alabama Power's MILLER Steam Plant on the Locust Fork of the Black Warrior River. (Jefferson Co.)

Right: Alabama Power's GORGAS Plant on the Mulberry Fork of the Black Warrior River. (Walker Co.)

Flights provided by Southwings.org

QUARRIES

Right: Vulcan Materials Bessemer Quarry. Red arrow inserted to show illegal discharges. (Jefferson Co.) Left: Close-up of the same discharge.

CLEARCUTTING & BAD FORESTRY PRACTICES

Once home to majestic stands of deciduous Appalachian forests, longleaf pine stands, and river bottomland hardwood forests, Alabama now has very little of its virgin timber left. Forestry practices have culled out what was an amazing living system. Old growth trees and their extensive root systems created ideal habitat for native plants and animals, and served as a filter for rainwater and pollutants. Runoff patterns were much different then since all of the vegetation used large amounts of water. When it rained water did not rush off the land, scouring everything in its path. Eroded fields and hillsides and crumbling stream banks are a result of our forestry practices over the past several hundred years. Our forest systems were the web that held everything together.

Forestry practices are often the first assault on our forests. Before mining, road building, and development can take place, the trees must be cleared. In the olden days, man logged timber with saws and chainsaws and used horses to move trees to carts and rail. Machines can now do in a day what would take men weeks. Many foresters today operate in a haphazard and rushed manner. The result is denuded landscapes and the loss of historical artifacts, native plant habitat, and the erosion of water quality.

Unfortunately Alabama does not have a strong set of laws and regulations governing forestry practices. When it comes time to cut trees, land owners and foresters are allowed to police themselves. Best management practices are a set of voluntary erosion and sediment control measures that the Alabama Forestry Commission http://www.forestry.state.al.us can only persuade landowners to follow. If you ever see a logging operation that is allowing mud into a stream or lake, contact the Forestry Commission and make a complaint. When it comes to streamside buffers, or areas where the vegetation cannot be removed, loggers typically only have to leave around thirty feet on either side of a stream, depending on the slope. This is not enough of a buffer to protect water quality or the integrity of a stream. We all know that streams are dynamic systems that are constantly moving, so they need to have flexibility. On smaller drainages that only have running water for part of the year, there or little to no protections. Streams can be crossed. Wetlands in Alabama can be temporarily drained and logging roads can be built so long as these activities do not cause a conversion of the wetland to an upland.

Many foresters like to say that we have more forest in Alabama now than we have had in the past hundred years. A loblolly pine plantation is not a forest, it is a monocrop. These eyesores are a result of the hapless clearcutting of our diverse native forests. In losing these inspiring Appalachian forests, we are losing native plants and wildlife. Loblolly pines are being planted by the forest because they grow rapidly and return a quick monetary yield. A part of the process for large industrial operations is the widescale use of pesticides and herbicides. These chemical products have been linked to reptilian decline, and are certainly no blessing when it comes to water quality.

Clearcutting in the North River Basin (Tuscaloosa County)

STORMWATER RUNOFF

Stormwater runoff is generally recognized as the single largest threat to water quality in the United States, whether in a rural or urban setting. Rain is not the problem. But the pollution that rainwater picks up as it runs over manmade surfaces pollutes our swimming holes and poisons our drinking water. Surges in rainwater that are channeled directly into our waterways through storm drains increase the magnitude of floods. Stormwater runoff alters the amount, quality and temperature of water in our rivers and creeks. Stormwater runoff fundamentally changes the natural circulation of water - the hydraulic cycle that most people learned in elementary school.

In 2004 the Congressional Research Service (Congress' in-house scientific experts) reported that 50% of water pollution problems in the U.S. are attributed to stormwater runoff. The damage caused by stormwater runoff is largely incremental - not as evident as the brown water pouring from an industrial pipe or black smoke from a power plant. There is usually no single project, no single polluter to blame. The best solution to stormwater runoff, then is to address the problem where it falls. Fortunately, the Clean Water Act offers everyone a remedy. Citizens can petition state environmental agencies to require developers to get stormwater permits that make clear what technologies they must use to control polluted runoff from a site. They can also file suit in federal court.

What's In Stormwater Runoff?

Pollutants in stormwater runoff are substances that accumulate on paved - or impervious - surfaces during dry periods and are washed into waterways by rainfall:

- Oil, gas, grease and other residues from automobiles and gas stations, including cadmium from tires and asbestos from brake linings.

- Metals such as copper, lead, and zinc from abandoned mines, industrial sites, building and paving materials, and industrial farms.

- Animal and human waste from leaky sewage and septic systems.

- Fertilizers and pesticides.

- Sediments and soils washed from construction sites, farm fields, lawns and river banks.

- Chemical spills and chloride used to de-ice roads.

- TRASH, TRASH, TRASH. Litter from the roads enters your creeks and streams!