TNRCC Commissioners and Governor Bush Urged to Reject Proposal
Anglers and environmentalists have joined forces in opposition to a proposed weakening of water quality protections for Lake Sam Rayburn, a world-class bass fishing lake in East Texas. At a press conference in Austin on February 21, representatives of several groups urged members of the Texas Natural Resources Conservation Commission (TNRCC) to reject their staff's proposal to downgrade water quality standards for the lake. The downgrade would benefit a polluting paper mill.
Group spokespersons also called upon Governor George W. Bush, an avid angler, to use his influence with the three TNRCC commissioners to maintain strong water quality protections for the lake. The commissioners are all appointees of the Governor.
TNRCC Proposal Benefits Polluter
"We are opposed to lowering water quality standards to allow a polluting industry to renew a wastewater discharge permit," said Dwayne "Sparky" Anderson of Texas Clean Water Action, "especially when the proposed downgrade is based on studies done by the polluter." Anderson was referring to a proposal by TNRCC staff to divide Sam Rayburn reservoir into two segments and establish a lower water quality standard for the upper segment of the lake. Water quality in the upper reaches of the lake is dramatically affected by massive pollution discharges by the Donohue Industries Paper Mill into a tributary of the Angelina River, from which the lake is formed.
The paper mill has been operating under a permit that allows "variances" from having to meet strict water quality standards. As a result Donohue Paper Mill has been discharging almost five times the amount of oxygen-depleting pollutants and over three times the volume of aluminum that would be allowed under high water quality standards currently applicable to Lake Sam Rayburn - pollution levels that would likely have to be reduced when the mill's permit comes up for renewal. By dividing Sam Rayburn into two segments and lowering water quality standards in the new segment, the mill can avoid reducing its pollution when its variances end.
Opposition from Residents and Anglers
Walt West, a resident of the Sam Rayburn area and a retired engineer who fishes on the lake, fears that continued heavy pollution from the mill would increase the likelihood of fish kills in the lake. "Pollution, heat, and stress lowers the immune system of fish, making them more susceptible to the type of viruses we have seen in the area in recent years in large mouth black bass," said West. "TNRCC needs to clamp down on pollution from the paper mill, not extend the mill's license to pollute."
David Stewart with the angling organization S.M.A.R.T deplored the proposed downgrade of water quality standards for Lake Sam Rayburn and urged Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to intervene with TNRCC in opposition to the downgrade. "Parks & Wildlife is responsible for protecting fish and wildlife resources, and those resources could be damaged seriously by the proposed downgrade of Sam Rayburn," said Stewart. "We need Parks & Wildlife to take a strong public stand against this downgrade."
Joining in the call for rejection of the water quality downgrade for a portion of Lake Sam Rayburn were Ed Parten of Texas Black Bass Unlimited, Randi Myers Wayland of Texas Association of Bass Clubs, and other anglers and representatives of the angling industry. These spokespersons stressed the economic importance of the bass fishing industry to Texas, especially to East Texas.
Environmentalists Join Forces with Anglers
Representatives of several other groups joined the anglers and Clean Water Action in denouncing the proposed downgrade "TNRCC made a serious error in giving the paper mill a permit with such ludicrous variances," said Myron Hess of the National Wildlife Federation. "The mill has been discharging over 1 million pounds per year of oxygen-depleting pollution, severely limiting the oxygen that fish and other aquatic life need to live. If the mill had been required to meet appropriate water quality standards, that pollution would have been cut in half. TNRCC knows that it cannot allow such variances indefinitely, but TNRCC's answer is to downgrade standards, not upgrade discharges."
"TNRCC knows that Sam Rayburn Reservoir and the Angelina River are polluted," said Mary Ruth Holder of the Texas Committee on Natural Resources. "The lake is already listed by the agency as `impaired' because of pollution. It makes no sense for TNRCC to downgrade the upper reaches of the lake, allowing even more pollution to be discharged. Instead TNRCC should be focusing on cleaning up the pollution already there, in order to protect fishing and other uses of the lake."
"The proposed downgrade of water quality protections for Lake Sam Rayburn is only one of over fifty downgrades proposed by TNRCC for Texas water bodies as part of a triennial review and revision of the state's water standards," said Ken Kramer of the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club. "We will release information about other downgrades prior to TNRCC's March 21 public hearing on their proposals."
Final Action by TNRCC Commissioners
"We urge TNRCC Commissioners to reject the downgrade for Lake Sam Rayburn," concluded Anderson of Clean Water Action. "We also ask Governor Bush to persuade his appointed TNRCC Commissioners to maintain high water quality standards for the lake and to require clean up of the pollution discharges from the mill."