Supplement to 2012 Petition to the EPA
Sunday April 22, 2012
The Honorable Lisa Jackson
Administrator
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Ariel Rios Federal Building
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Room 300
Washington, D.C. 20460
Regarding: Supplement to the January 14th 2010, ppetition to commence proceedings to withdraw Alabama’s authorization to administer the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
Dear Administrator Jackson,
On January 14, 2010, the fourteen undersigned organizations officially submit a petition under 40 C.F.R § 123.64(b) for the issuance of an order commencing proceedings to determine whether to withdraw approval of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program for the State of Alabama because the operation of the State program fails to comply with the requirements of 40 C.F.R. Part 123.
Petitioners maintain that Alabama’s water pollution permitting program, as currently administered by the Alabama Department of Environmental Management, is fundamentally broken and does not meet minimum federal standards. This failure is a systemic, statewide problem. Most concerning is the States refusal to commit the funds and resources necessary to carry out even the basic requirements of an NPDES program. Since the Petition, rather than improve the program, the State has systematically eviscerated the program by levying budget cuts on top of budget cuts. ADEM’s funding is now a fraction of what it was when the Petition was filed and it faces even further cuts in the upcoming year. The State of Alabama is not only jeopardizing our environment; it is putting our very health and well being at stake.
In light of these developments, the petitioners are submitting a supplement to their petition, requesting that the EPA take accelerated action to resolve the issue raised in the Petition and begin the necessary action to withdraw Alabama’s authority over the NPDES program under 40 C.F.R. § 123.63(a).
Sincerely,
Mitchell Reid
Program Director
Alabama Rivers Alliance
On Behalf of:
| Alabama Rivers Alliance, Inc.
Cindy Lowry, Executive Director 2027 Second Avenue North, Suite A Birmingham, Alabama 35203 Telephone: (205) 322-6395 www.alabamarivers.org
|
ADEM Reform Coalition
Adam Snyder, Co-Chair Casi Callaway, Co-Chair |
Conservation Alabama Foundation, Inc.
Adam Snyder, Executive Director P.O. Box 130656 Birmingham, Alabama 35213-0656 Telephone: (205) 533-6178 www.conservationalabamafoundation.org
|
| Friends of Hurricane Creek
John Wathen, Creekkeeper P.O. Box 40836 Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35404 Telephone: (205) 507-0867 |
Choctawhatchee Riverkeeper, Inc.
Mike Mullen, Riverkeeper P.O. Box 6734 Banks, Alabama 36005-6734 Telephone: (334) 807-1365 http://sites.google.com/site/chocrivkeeper/
|
Mobile Baykeeper, Inc.
Casi Callaway, Baykeeper Executive Director 300 Dauphin Street, Suite 200 Mobile, Alabama 36602 Phone: (251) 433-4229 www.mobilebaykeeper.org
|
| Black Warrior Riverkeeper, Inc.
Nelson Brooke, Riverkeeper 712 37th Street South Birmingham, Alabama 35222 Telephone: (205) 458-0095 www.BlackWarriorRiver.org |
Cahaba Riverkeeper
Myra Crawford, Riverkeeper 4650 Old Looney Mill Road Birmingham, Alabama 35243 Telephone (205) 967-2600 www.cahabariverkeeper.org
|
Coosa River Basin Initiative, Inc.
Joe Cook, Riverkeeper 408 Broad Street Rome, Georgia 30161 Telephone: (706) 232-2724 www.coosa.org
|
| Friends of the Locust Fork River
Sam Howell, President P.O. Box 245 Hayden, Alabama 35079 Telephone: (205) 681-4751 www.flfr.org
|
The Friends of Big Canoe Creek
Doug Morrison P.O. Box 10 Springville, AL 35146 Telephone: (205) 467-7620 |
Alabama Environmental Council
Michael Churchman, Executive Director 2431 Second Avenue North Birmingham, Alabama 35203 Telephone: (205) 322-3126 www.aeconline.org
|
| Sand MountainConcerned Citizens, Inc.
Willard Jones, President P.O. Box 428 Ider, Alabama 35765 Telephone: (256) 657-5704
|
The Sierra Club-Alabama Chapter
Robert W. Hastings, Vice Chair 141 North Northington Street Prattville, Alabama 36067 Telephone: (334) 491-0780 http://alabama.sierraclub.org |
Cc: Honorable Gwendolyn Keyes Fleming, EPA Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street, SW, Atlanta, GA 30303
Lance Lefleur, ADEM, 1400 Coliseum Boulevard, Montgomery, AL 36110-2059