This video is a short profile of Watauga Riverkeeper Donna Lisenby. It is part of an “Environmental Heroes” series created by students at UNC-Chapel Hill. Good job Donna!

Please join us for a planning meeting to discuss this situation and create a community action plan at the next Watauga River Conservation Partners meeting on Monday November 2, 2009 at 5:00 pm at the Ag Conference Center on 252 Poplar Grove Road in Boone, NC.

In September 2009 the Watauga Riverkeeper received a report on our pollution hotline about a huge water withdrawal and diversion occurring in the headwaters reach of the Watauga River just below Grandfather Mountain. On October 20, 2009-more than thirty days after the appropriate regulatory agencies were notified we went out to investigate what corrective action had been required and this is what we found:

We need your help protecting the pristine trout waters and habitat of the Upper Watauga River.  We cordially invite you to be a part of the team that gets this problem fixed. Please send a link to this video and blog post to anyone you think may be interested in learning more about this situation. Encourage them to join us at the next Watauga River Conservation Partners meeting on Monday November 2 at 5:00 pm at the Ag Conference Center in Boone. The meeting is free and open to the public.

A new coal ash study released by the Riverkeeper team yesterday, made headlines:

All North Carolina Coal Ash Ponds are Leaking Toxic Pollution to Groundwater
published by the Institute of Southern Studies in Facing South

N.C. data: Tainted water near coal-ash ponds published by The Charlotte Observer

Ash ponds linked to bad water published by The News & Observer

N.C. Coal Ash Ponds Contaminating Groundwater, Analysis Shows published by Water Online

What is a coal ash pond?

Coal ash is the stuff left over after coal is burned. It contains high levels of arsenic, boron, selenium, chromium and other heavy metals, and has been found to be toxic. Coal ash is often mixed with water and stored in unlined ponds surrounding power plants. In North Carolina these ponds range in size anywhere from 26 to 512 acres.

What did our study find?

These are the most alarming things our study found:

• Every well at every plant had a violation

• There were 681 violations, up to 380 times the standard

• This is voluntary data and has lots of gaps, so the actual contamination is probably worse than this data indicates

• Many ponds are right next to rivers or lakes, and there is probably contamination of these waters from the groundwater
• Regulators are unsure if the law requires clean up for most of these sites

For more detailed information check out the press release and the report.

Based on our findings there is no doubt that the contamination surrounding these ash ponds needs to be cleaned up. However, even the state regulators we spoke with were unclear about the specific requirements for monitoring and cleanup. This is why we need clear federal standards classifying coal ash as a hazardous waste.

What are we going to do about it?

In response to the 60 Minutes piece on coal ash last Sunday, there has been a big push from environmental groups for federal regulation of coal ash. The EPA is considering classifying coal ash as a hazardous waste and we are in support of this move. If coal ash is classified as a hazardous waste, utilities would no longer be allowed to store it ponds, they would have to store it in dry silos.

Next week we are meeting with the NC DENR groundwater regulators to discuss our findings and their plans for future regulation.

Law Enforcement officials and river conservationists collected a large amount of drugs during Watauga County’s first ever prescription drug take back event on Saturday October 3, 2009. The hugely successful event captured approximately 40,000 pills, 12 gallons of liquid medication, 2000 sharps-needles, syringes and lancets, and a glucose meter. It was so successful that it made front page news in the local Watauga Democrat.

More than 18 volunteers and 8 members of law enforcement from the Watauga County Sheriff’s Department, the State Bureau of Investigation, Blowing Rock, Boone and Seven Devils Police Departments participated in the joint operation at four separate locations.

Approximately 56 people turned in their expired, unwanted and unused medications for safe destruction. Drugs collected included hydrocodone, oxycodone, blood thinners, anti-allergens, iodine, insulin, antibiotics, steroids, hormones, anti-depressants, cough syrup, topical creams, over the counter medications, flu vaccinations, heart, blood pressure, cancer and heartburn medicine and even some pet medications. Boone Patrol Officer Toby Ragan said, “I feel it was a great success and it will probably be an annual event now that we see the outcome of what was produced today.” More than one and a half 55-gallon drums were filled with drugs dropped off by residents in the region.

“I am so happy y’all are doing this,” said one participant [names are withheld to protect anonymity]. “It makes so much sense for the health and well being of our kids and the planet - what a wonderful program.”

Other positive responses to the event included “I needed to get rid of the out-of-date drugs because I don’t want prescription drugs around my teenage son” and “Thank you so much for doing this, I didn’t know what to do with all these drugs, I am so grateful that our law enforcement is pro-actively keeping prescription drugs out of teenagers hands.”

Volunteer Crystal Simmons said, “Operation Medicine Cabinet is a result of a MountainKeepers resiliency meeting on January 24, 2009. For the High Country to create such an event is a real testament to our commitment to a healthier environment and a safer community. I give kudos to all the volunteers that helped make this event happen, and to the people that turned out to responsibly dispose of unused pharmaceuticals.”

Community partners who helped make the event such a great success included the MountainKeepers, Watauga River Conservation Partners, Boone Drug, Watauga County Recycling/Solid Waste Department, Watauga Riverkeeper/Appalachian Voices, Food Lion, The National Committee for the New River, MPrints, NC Cooperative Extension Service, Precision Printing, the Smoky Mountain Center, Towns of Boone, Blowing Rock and Seven Devils, the Watauga County Sheriff’s Office, Boone Police, the State Bureau of Investigation, Blowing Rock Police, Seven Devils Police, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and Appalachian State University.

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A broad coalition of community partners proudly announces the first ever prescription drug take back day. Dubbed “Operation Medicine Cabinet” by Captain Kelly Redmon of the Watauga County Sheriff’s Depart, the event is designed to safely dispose of drugs and keep them out of the hands of children and out of our water.

Anyone with outdated or unused prescription drugs, over the counter medications, syringes or other medical supplies are invited to drop these off at the take-back centers on Saturday October 3, 2009. It is an amnesty day, so no questions will be asked. Take-back locations will be available at the Seven Devils Town Hall and the three Food Lion stores in Watauga County: the Hwy 321 store in Boone, the Hwy 421 Deep Gap store, and the Blowing Rock store. The event will be held in conjunction with the county’s annual Hazardous Household Waste day from 9a.m. to 12 noon. The disposal of prescription drugs has long been a dilemma, and many medicine cabinets contain unused or outdated medications. Among teenagers, one of the highest increases in illegal drug use over the past several years has been in prescription drug use. The most common method of obtaining prescription drugs is by raiding the medicine cabinet of a friend or family, then taking the pills or selling them.

“From a law enforcement perspective one of our most important jobs is to work diligently and proactively to prevent drug abuse,” said Watauga County Sherriff Len D. Hagaman. “By hosting an amnesty day that allows the public to turn in any kind of unused or unwanted medications, hopefully we will keep those drugs off the street and out of the hands of children, ” he continued.

The other problem with outdated or unused prescription drugs is that people dispose of them improperly by flushing them down the toilet. If their home is connected to a local waste water treatment facility then the drugs wind up in either the Watauga or New River. “A recent investigation by the Associated Press found a whole host of pharmaceuticals-including antibiotics, pain medication, anti-depressants, sex hormones, heart and blood pressure medicine-in the drinking water supplies of more than 40 million Americans,” said Donna Lisenby, Watauga Riverkeeper.

ASU Biology and Chemistry students and faculty have conducted environmental tests to determine the effects of pharmaceutical estrogens (birth control and estrogen supplements) from the Boone WWTP on male fish populations in the South Fork of the New River. The results indicated that 60-66% of male hognose and white suckers immediately below the WWTP effluent are being feminized; tests with rainbow trout have yet to be conducted. “Although preliminary tests have shown that pharmaceutical estrogens in the river just below the WWTP are right at levels known to cause feminization, it is unlikely that these levels persist very far downstream,” said Dr. Shea Tuberty, of ASU’s biology department. “Any attempt to reduce the quantity of pharmaceuticals in water is a significant step towards environmental conservation,” Tuberty added.

Planning for the event began in January when the MountainKeepers hosted a community summit on resilience that included a dialogue about issues of concern to High Country residents. Many people in attendance recognized how important the water quality of the Watauga and New Rivers are to the environmental health of our region. They began discussing how they could proactively address the emerging prescription drug contamination threat and decided to explore the possibility of hosting an event to raise awareness while providing a free and easy way for area residents to dispose of their unused or outdated medications properly.

So community members reached out to law enforcement officials from the DEA, SBI, Sheriff’s Department as well as the Boone, Blowing Rock and Seven Devils Police Departments. They quickly learned from these law enforcement professionals that prescription drugs abuse is one of the fastest growing drug problems in the country. With misuse of prescription drugs as their common enemy, the river conservationists and law enforcement community united to fight the problem.

“It has been an amazing testament to the collaborative spirit of our community to see how enthusiastically people have united to help host Operation Medicine Cabinet,” said Wendy Patoprsty, County Extension Agent.. “Our community partners include the MountainKeepers, Watauga River Conservation Partners, Towns of Boone, Blowing Rock and Seven Devils, the Watauga County Sheriff’s Office, Boone Police, the State Bureau of Investigation, Blowing Rock Police, Seven Devils Police, the Drug Enforcement Administration, Boone Drug, Watauga County Recycling/Solid Waste Department, Watauga Riverkeeper/Appalachian Voices, Food Lion, The National Committee for the New River, MPrints, NC Cooperative Extension Service, Precision Printing, the Smoky Mountain Center and Appalachian State University just to name a few,” she continued.

“On behalf of all our partners, we are pleased to offer this new opportunity to our citizens to safely dispose of unused or unwanted medications properly and we hope you will make plans to come see us on Saturday October 3 and be a part of the community effort to save the rivers and kids from drugs.” said Watauga County Recycling Coordinator Lisa Doty.

Here is a short interview clip from the upcoming 60 Minutes show on Coal Ash. Be sure to tune in to see the whole show on Sunday October 4, 2009.

Watch CBS News Videos Online

Over the summer, the Appalachian Voices Watauga Riverkeeper crew has been working with 60 Minutes to do an investigative story about coal ash waste. We are happy to report that the show will air this Sunday on October 4, 2009. The 60 Minutes crew will provide the public with an overview or a “coal ash 101″ report. It comes in the wake of the 1 billion gallon TVA coal ash spill that occurred in December of 2008 in Harriman, Tennessee.

Shortly after the show airs we will be releasing a special report about groundwater contamination from coal ash ponds in North Carolina. We think both the 60 Minutes show and our upcoming report on NC Coal Ash Ponds will be a stunning revelation for anybody that cares about water. Be sure to tune in to 60 Minutes on Sunday night and keep an eye on our Appalachian Voices and Watauga Riverkeeper Blogs next week for some breaking news. We think the toxicity and hazards of coal ash waste ponds will be a big topic of conversation next week and we want you to be a part of it!