Fall - Boone Watershed Partnership

A Publication of the
Boone Watershed
Partnership, Inc.
The Boone Watershed
News
Volume 5, Issue 3
Summer 2013
Inside this issue:
Message from the President
A noble vision of the BWP’s
early leadership almost 18
years ago was that a watershed-wide organization
could help provide cleaner
water in the region for future generations. Through
hard work by many Board
and Technical Advisory Committee members and other
partners since, the Boone
Watershed Partnership has
been able to make this vision a reality. Our new
members have really
pitched in and brought fresh
ideas and energy that will
ensure that the organization
is continuing to prosper and
grow. I am personally proud
to be associated this group
of folks who are doing their
part to make Earth and our
waters cleaner for my
grandchildren and greatgrandchildren!
Gary Barrigar
President, BWP
Stream Project Updates 2
Board Member Profile
Fracking—What it is.
3
Fracking in Tennessee
4
BWP Out and About
5
Annual Awards Ceremony
6
Upcoming Events
8
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From the Editor
As I sit at my computer composing this
newsletter, I look out my window to see
the leaves turning color, the shadows
lengthening and the days shortening
anticipating the coming of Fall. Summer
has been jammed packed with activities
and Boone Watershed Partnership has
had its plate full.
In this issue, Gary’s updates on our
stream restoration projects show that
all are well underway and significant
progress is being made in repairing the
works of man and nature to ultimately
improve the quality of the water.
In addition, you will read about several
individuals and organizations that were
recognized for outstanding achievements receiving BWP Aquatic Stewardship awards at our 17th Annual Awards
Ceremony. Without these dedicated
people and organizations, our group
would not be as successful as it is.
Tourism in a distressed, rural
county.
As I have been out into our community
as a BWP ambassador, I have been
Hope to see you at one or all
asked about “Fracking” and how it
events.
affects our water. This controversial
Deborah Wilkinson-editor
subject is explored in two articles, what
is it and what is going on in Tennessee.
Hopefully, these will give you a place to
start in understanding this process and
getting more information to become
more knowledgeable on the subject.
And back to fall. BWP has a full slate of
activities that it is supporting as evidence by our list of upcoming events.
We hope that you will get involved in
some way. Our General Meeting in October features Gabby Lynch from the
Nature Conservancy who is directing the
Chapter’s land acquisition program,
leading the development of the Doe
Mountain Recreation Area in northeast
Tennessee (a pilot project seeking to
spur economic growth via Adventure
BWP Mission: To partner with local users, regional, state and federal
entities, educators and others to identify and address water resource
issues in the Boone Watershed.
Clean Water: We All
Need It!
Do your part
to conserve and
protect our
water!
The Boone Watershed News
Page 2
BWP Stream Project Updates
Sinking Creek Stream Restoration Project
Sinking Creek Wetlands Education Center
The Sinking Creek Stream Restoration Project is addressing all
nonpoint sources of pollution in Sinking Creek, a 303(d) statelisted stream. Sinking Creek is listed due to high levels of E. coli
and is posted, warning the public to avoid contact with the water. After phase 1 of the Sinking Project, which included 24
sewer hook-ups, 5 septic tank/drain field repairs and 1 agricultural project, was completed, BWP found another opportunity
to help clean up the creek through a wetlands enhancement.
The City of Johnson City has been a vital partner in restoring
Sinking Creek, and the development of an environmental education center on approximately 28 acres of city property has
been approved by the City Commission. A committee made up
of City representatives and Boone Watershed Partnership representatives selected Tysinger Engineering to develop a preliminary design, which is now complete.
With the knowledge that constructed wetlands have been
effectively used to treat wastewater in numerous locations, and
wetlands are commonly used in storm water best management
practices, BWP is working to enhance an existing wetlands
owned by the City of Johnson City along King Springs Road in
Johnson City to further improve the water quality of Sinking
Creek. After months of planning, developing an engineering
design and writing permit applications, the construction work
on the 2.1 acres site is almost completed! This wetlands, which
is a part of a 28 acre parcel, will feature many native plants and
trees and will serve as a natural laboratory for area students
(see Sinking Creek Wetlands Park, below). Tree planting is
scheduled for late October or early November. Volunteers are
still needed to help remove invasive plants and litter, as well as
plant the trees. Contact Gary for more information.
The annual Jacob Francisco Memorial Century & Awareness
Walk raises funds for the park. Many volunteers from the community including the Johnson City Rotary Club, East Tennessee
State, Jacob’s Project and others are working to make the park
a reality. Over $15,000 has been raised to-date. Additional
money is being sought from donors, grants, etc., which will
feature raised boardwalks over the wetland and trails with education exhibits about the importance of clean water and the
natural history of wetlands.
Beaver Creek Restoration Project
In March 2013, the Boone Watershed Partnership received a
grant to fund the Beaver Creek Restoration Project to assist
homeowners and landowners along Beaver Creek in Bristol and
Sullivan County, TN with solutions to bank erosion and other
(Continued on page 7)
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Kathleen Moore: Board Member Profile
by Martha Podren
In her 19 years at East Tennessee State University (ETSU), Kathleen Moore has taken on
a wide range of responsibilities, ranging far from her original position there as the University’s first horticulturalist. She helped to plan ETSU’s Arboretum, moving on to become the Director of Grounds and Turf Management, where she oversaw maintenance
of the outdoor athletic venues. Later, she took on solid waste and recycling, where she
still has responsibilities, as well as in facilities management.
But she has stayed true to her landscaping background with a strong interest in the
environment and sustainable use of natural resources. When the University asked her
to head its sustainability initiative, she started reaching out to faculty and students to
engage them in environmental projects through the Community Service Programs.
Last year, she decided to focus more intensely on water quality and stream clean-ups. Partnering with the Boone Watershed Partnership and the Washington County Economic Development Council, ETSU volunteers from the Community Service Programs
cleaned up a mile of shoreline along Brush Creek, the creek that runs between ETSU and downtown Johnson City.
Kathleen intends to keep up this successful effort in the next years as a regular part of the sustainability initiative and the Community Service Programs. She joined the Board of Directors of the Boone Watershed Partnership in 2013, and received its Higher Education Aquatic Stewardship award in August at the BWP’s Annual Awards ceremony at Winged Deer Park. We are very fortunate to
have Kathleen on the Board, and as a contributor to Boone Watershed Partnership projects.
The Boone Watershed News
Page 3
Fracking: What We Know and What We Don't
Know
There are many concerns expressed about the oil and naturalgas recovery process known as fracking. Fracking is the shorthand term used to describe hydraulic fracturing, which is the
injection of water, sand and chemicals (fracking fluids) under
high pressure into wells to fracture the surrounding rock and
release the trapped oil and gas.
Fracking is a good example of a hard to solve clash between
two important environmental concerns. Limiting or banning
fracking will reduce U.S. energy and economic independence.
There are also potentially adverse environmental health outcomes from banning or limiting fracking; natural gas is a cleaner safer energy source than coal and other fossil fuels the U.S.
currently relies on for energy and transportation. If the U.S.
continues to allow fracking this will reduce the use of more
polluting energy sources and the country is closer to achieving
the desired energy and economic independence. However,
this risks contamination of groundwater and air with potential
carcinogens that may be used in the fracking fluids and alteration of the groundwater hydrology around the fracking site.
Unfortunately, addressing concerns about fracking is not easy
because little is known about the environmental and health
implications. There are very few studies about the potential
health hazards posed by fracking. The few studies that have
been done are small and limited and do not adequately address the risks from fracking. The most often cited risk is the
potential for groundwater and air contamination by the chemicals in the fracking fluids. To make things more complicated;
the formulations for the various fracking fluids are not available. The fluid manufacturers and the oil and gas industry have
the formulations protected as proprietary information. Based
on the limited ground and air monitoring near fracking sites,
researchers have suggested that some of these chemicals are
hydrocarbons such as benzene, which is a human carcinogen.
The oil and gas industry cite the fact that fracking has been
used for decades as evidence that it is safe. The problem with
this statement is there are no data and published or publicly
available studies to support this claim. Because of the lack of
data and the potential concerns, many physicians, environmental scientists and policy makers have called for a moratorium on new fracking sites until the studies can be done to determine the environmental and human health risks. The often
cited criticism of this is that the time needed to do these studies
will be decades if not longer, and this delay will put our economic and energy independence at risk. This is partially correct;
many of the diseases caused by the chemicals that experts suspect are in fracking fluids cause chronic diseases, including cancer that have a long latency period between exposure and occurrence of the disease. So the epidemiological studies to determine if fracking is leading to these disease outcomes would take
many years to complete. To counter this, those calling for a
moratorium ask if we can afford to continue without understanding the environmental and public health risks. It is possible
to begin addressing the concerns earlier; monitoring data at the
fracking sites and exposure sites can be collected sooner maybe
within one to two years after starting. The monitoring data
could be used to evaluate the risks.
When Deborah Wilkinson asked me to write something on
fracking she mentioned that a common question she has heard
is "does fracking influence the presence of E. coli in the local
surface and groundwater?". The answer is that we don't know
for the same reason that we don't know if the fracking fluids
pose a human health risk, there are no studies investigating this
question. However, it is very unlikely that fracking would be the
source of E. coli, but any changes in the hydrology caused by
fracking in an area where the water is already contaminated
with E. coli could influence the movement of E. coli into the
ground and surface water and could change the potential for
human exposure. But until studies are completed and data are
done, the influence of fracking on E. coli and other waterborne
pathogens is not known.
The concern expressed by the public and the experts is a valid
concern and the public has the right to know the answer to the
questions about the risks associated with fracking. Choices
about environmental and public health protection vs. economic
concerns are never easy, however without fully understanding
the implications a productive debate to establish sound policy is
not possible.
Contributed by Dr. Phil Scheuerman
For more information on “fracking” check out
EPA's Study of Hydraulic Fracturing and Its Potential Impact on Drinking Water Resources
http://www2.epa.gov/hfstudy
IN THE NEWS: Washington County Tennessee recently received the Tennessee Valley Authority gold rating
in the new Valley Sustainable Communities program. This program focuses on use of sustainable practices
to promote Economic Development. BWP, as a partner with Johnson City, contributed information for developing the WACO resource inventory, the application and feedback to TVA during the assessment phase.
The Boone Watershed News
Page 4
Fracking in Tennessee
First, I hope you don’t mind all of my innuendo related to all
of this frack’n fracking. But, just remember that most times
what you don’t know can hurt you “in your end, though”.
So, what is it--hydraulicl fracturing, or hydrofracking? Simply
put, it is a drilling process that uses high-pressure injections
of fluids into underground shale formations to unleash natural gas or shale oil pockets. In addition to the straightforward substrata disturbance, it also can result in the discharge of millions of gallons of chemicals and toxins into the
ground and groundwater.
So, why should the citizens of NE Tennessee be worried?
Two words, “Chattanooga Shale”. The Chattanooga Shale
covers a vast area in Middle & East Tennessee, Southern
Kentucky, Northern Alabama, and Northeast Georgia. The
U.S. Department of the Interior has issued initial drafts allowing for hydrofracking on “public lands” which takes in
most of the Chattanooga Shale.
Kim Hayden, executive director of Tennessee Conservation
Voters, said in a press release that H.R. 98 (a TN legislative
bill that is supposed to protect us) sponsored by Rep. Jeanne
Richardson is an important first step to adopting protective
regulations.
"Common-sense regulations will allow for the protection of
our groundwater and drinking water supplies as well as for
the protection and management of our natural gas deposits," Hayden said. The problem seems to be, though, that
most of what has to be reported by those doing the hydrofracking is done “after the fact”.
Again, According to this press release, the practice is in
widespread use across the country, and in Tennessee, the
Chattanooga Shale, which underlies much of the state, has
already been identified as a source of natural gas which can
be extracted in this manner. In fact the University of Tennessee-Knoxville has received approval to complete drilling in
the Cumberland Forest for the purposes of researching the process
and science of hydrofracking (whoops, hold the presses- this
month, Sept., it seems that none of the drillers are willing to sign a
contract with the University (maybe too much transparency,
uhmmm?).
Hydrogeologist Mark Quarles (he is the owner of Global Environmental, LLC., and is a public advocacy geologist and environmental
consultant with over 20 years of experience in hydrogeologic investigations and water quality assessments) submitted official
comments to the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation on the pending regulation.
"Two-thirds of the land area of Tennessee is targeted for natural
gas development, according to the Tennessee Oil and Gas Association," Quarles said in his comments. "Oil and gas companies have
quietly been acquiring gas leases to make Tennessee the next gas
frontier."
"As an example, from 2007 to June 2008, Atlas Energy (recently
bought by Chevron) acquired 105,000 net acres in East Tennessee
alone and expects to drill up to 500 horizontal wells (according to
an industry press release). As of mid-2008, Consol Energy had acquired leases of almost 235,000 acres above the Chattanooga
Shale formation (according to an industry press release)," he said.
Look at the U.S. Forest Service map below that was part of a Service project called “Forest to Faucets”. The nice intense blue areas
indicate sites that have the highest index levels of surface drinking
water and critical watersheds. It’s absolutely, fracking amazing
how well the blue tends to line up really well with the Chattanooga
Shale!!!
So, here’s my thought on the big picture here—if we really want to
create energy independence in this country which is the leading
(Source: Map from
fs.fed.us- Forests to
Faucets project)
rationale for allowing this controversial method then why don’t we
concentrate on reducing our reliance on oil and gas in the first
place. Not, just find more and use it up. Really concentrating on
the use of our abundant renewable resources is a much more sustainable option without the possibility of catastrophically polluting
our water sources or even increasing the incidence of earthquakes.
An article in a recent edition of Chemical and Engineering News
(July 15, 2013, pg. 8) points to research findings that, while not
completely clear, show a correlation with hydrofracking and seismic activity. That might really shake you up so do a little noodling
around and see what you think.
Contributed by Rick Wimberly
The Boone Watershed News
Page 5
BWP Out and About the Community
ETSU Community
Service
Plunge,
Aug. 23,
2013
BWP at the Jonesborough Farmers Market— Kathleen
Moore, Rick Wimberly and Bill Francisco plug the benefits of Rain Barrels.
17th Annual
Aquatic
Awards
Ceremony at
Winged
Deer
Park, Saturday
August 3.
2013.
Recipients Beth Bartchy-Smith, Marvin Cornett, Aimee Govett,
Russ Harrison, Kathleen Moore and Brennan Frazier
with their awards.
Progress is being
made with the
Sinking Creek
Wetlands en-
hancement
project.
Designer/Engineer
Greg Babbit
oversees the
work in August, 2013
Page 6
The Boone Watershed News
BOONE WATERSHED PARTNERSHIP ANNOUNCES RECIPIENTS OF ITS AQUATIC STEWARDSHIP AWARDS
Boone Watershed Partnership met at Meridith Pavilion Saturday, August 3 th for their annual awards picnic. At this time, the six
recipients of the 2013 awards were recognized for the project work that they do in the community to benefit the environment of
the aquatic ecosystem, to enhance and protect the aquatic ecosystem over the long term and to educate and raise public awareness of the value of improving and keeping our water resources clean.
Each year the Board of the Boone Watershed Partnership recognizes local citizens who have made significant contributions to the
water quality in the Boone Watershed that encompasses Washington, Carter and Sullivan counties in Tennessee as well as Washington County, VA.
This year’s recipients are Dr. Aimee Govett, Associate Professor in Curriculum and Instruction, ETSU College of Education; Jeff Keeling, Washington County Economic Development Council; Russ Harrison, Boone Lake Association; Marvin Cornett, Cornett Services
Group, Inc.; Beth Bartchy-Smith, Cherokee Elementary School; and ETSU Sustainability Department.
Two Higher Education Awards were presented to recognize leaders who are role models for and promoters of conservation and
water quality awareness at ETSU. An individual award went to Dr. Aimee Govett for her ongoing effort to educate and engage her
service learning students about how their behaviors can negatively impact water quality resulting from litter and contamination
from storm water runoff into creeks, particularly Brush Creek, part of the ETSU community. The second went to the Sustainability
Department of ETSU whose staff (Director Kathleen Moore, Brennan Frazier, Cheyenne Peavler and Nathan Kahre) encourages and
promotes the development and implementation of sustainable practices, policies, and educational opportunities for all members
of the university community. The two groups adopted Brush Creek extending from the VA to Kelly Foods to clean it up and improve the water quality. Over 450 volunteer hours yielded removal of approximately 4 tons of litter (tires, brush/tree debris and
construction waste) from the creek and banks.
Beth Smith, the recipient of the K-12 Aquatic Stewardship Award, is an art teacher at Cherokee Elementary School in Johnson City.
Four years ago, she created a class to focus on raising awareness of E. coli bacteria and its presence in Sinking Creek. She developed a presentation including the use of poster art to inspire her 4 th & 5th grade students to learn and teach others. Hundreds of
students from Cherokee Elementary now have an understanding of where E. coli bacteria can be found, how contamination may be
prevented and the importance of water quality. The environmental poster art that is created by each class and is displayed publicly
then teaches others in the community.
The recipient of the Civic Volunteer Aquatic Stewardship Award was presented to Jeff Keeling who is recognized for his unselfish
commitment to improving water quality and promoting community awareness through his actions from picking up litter along the
paths he travels to participating in environmental projects sponsored by local groups such as the Brush Creek cleanups, the Jacob
Francisco Memorial Century Bike Ride & Awareness Walk and the enhancement of the Sinking Creek wetlands. In addition, Jeff’s
documentation of these events through his videography ensures that these projects are communicated to a larger audience and
strengthens the outreach of local efforts.
Russ Harrison was also presented with a Civic Volunteer Aquatic Stewardship Award. Boone Lake Association is one of the oldest
established environmental groups in the state of Tennessee that was created solely for the purpose of keeping Boone Lake clean
and healthy. As president of Boone Lake Association, Russ has shown an enduring, exceptional dedication to the lake. He is not
only involved in maintaining on-going lake protection activities, such as water quality testing for E. coli, the comprehensive yearround debris collection program, and the annual lake clean-up event, he also initiates special projects where he sees an important
need. He spearheaded the huge log and trash removal at the Stickley Bridge on Beaver Creek in December 2011. The log jam and
associated trash had reached the height of the bridge in spots. He coordinated the Knob Creek Cove clean-up in August 2012. The
cove was literally filled with trash, and a huge clean-up effort collected more trash in 1 day than is collected on the whole lake on
the annual clean-up event. For Russ, every day is clean-up day at Boone Lake. He is exceptionally dedicated to water quality and
works actively to involve others in this commitment.
The awardee for Industry/Business Aquatic Stewardship Award is Marvin Cornett. Marvin first became involved with the Boone
Watershed Partnership in 2010 as a professional plumber who provided a number of services under the Sinking Creek Restoration
Project. Specific services provided were septic tank/drain field repair, residential and commercial sewer connection, and installation of private lift stations, if needed, to carry wastewater up to the sewer. Marvin stood out, showing the utmost dedication and
heart in fulfilling the commitments of performing the work. As the project progressed, Marvin continued to exhibit enthusiasm,
and often worked at risk to achieve goals. Marvin demonstrated through the entire project that he believed that the work being
done was important, as was his role. Marvin went above and beyond the scope of his work by listening and embracing the project,
(Continued on page 7)
The Boone Watershed News
Page 7
(Continued from page 2)
(Continued from page 6)
problems affecting their property and the quality of water in
the creek. These problems may include steep or “cut” banks
where the creek is washing away property, areas where livestock access the creek or where livestock lack a permanent
water source. Landowners along Beaver Creek may qualify for
assistance which includes funds and technical support to alleviate the problem.
not only from the standpoint of a businessman, but from
someone who believes this work actually helps improve water
quality. This work potentially has a very positive impact on
possible reduction of contaminants to Sinking Creek from underperforming septic tanks improving water quality.
A public meeting for the Beaver Creek Restoration Project was
hosted by Boone Watershed Partnership on September 11, at
Ewell Easley Municipal Annex, 104 8th Street, Bristol, TN, at 7
p.m. BWP President, Gary Barrigar, provided details about the
project.
The engineering firm, Brushy Fork Environmental Consulting,
Inc., which BWP engaged to assist with project designs, showed
examples of BMP’s at the meeting.
Gary Barrigar, President of Boone Watershed Partnership said,
“This annual event recognizes local people, businesses and
organizations that have acted as good stewards in regards to
local water issues. We take our responsibilities to conserve
and protect our generous water supply seriously and want to
publicly recognize those who have contributed toward that
mission. We also want to encourage others to embrace water
issues that directly affect all of us.”
Join BWP TODAY!
Gap Creek Stream Restoration Project – E. Coli
A proposal for 319 funding was submitted for Gap Creek to
address nonpoint sources of E. coli. Gap Creek is now listed on
the latest (2010) 303(d) list . This proposal will eliminate failing
septic tanks along the creek in Elizabethton and has been tentatively approved, pending a review by the TDA of a TDEC report on the septic system in trailer park selected for the work.
These project are funded, in part, under an agreement with the
State of Tennessee and will utilize an EPA (319) grant through
the Tennessee Department of Agriculture.
REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE MONTHLY TO DO
LIST
- and become a part of an organization that is making a
difference to the communities in which we live. You can
now become a member, renew your membership or
make a donation directly on line from the BWP website
via PayPal.
www.boonewatershed.com .
If this method doesn’t appeal to you, you may continue
to print and fill out a form found on the website and
mail it along with your check.
October- switch to electronic billing where you can--if
just 1 in 5 households switched it would save 151 million pounds of paper/yr.
November- repackage your packaging--you might be
surprised what that fancy little box could be made into
and there are tons of ideas on the WWW.
December- give a natural gift, something from nature-how about a small round log with a few 1.5 inch
holes drilled in it and a hanging chain; combine with a
nice recipe for suet and the birds will love it.
Individual
$15.00
Family
$25.00
Student
$10.00
Supporting Member
$30+
Organization
$150.00
Municipal
$500.00
If you are currently a member, don’t let your membership slide, renew today. Help us sustain our organization
and ensure that clean water resources are available in
our community for the next seven generations.
Learn how you can become involved in helping keep our streams clean.
Scan the QR to the right and go to our website
http://boonewatershed.com/
And Join us on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Boone-Watershed-Partnership-Inc/133272473350069?ref=ts
The Boone Watershed News
Page 8
Upcoming Meetings/Activities
To volunteer or for more details contact Gary Barrigar at [email protected]
BWP BOD Meeting
2-4 pm, Sept.
18
Johnson City TDEC Office
The Fine Arts Gallery of the Johnson City Area
Arts Council
Exhibition of photographer Jeffrey Stoners "Exploring The Roan" featuring the
Baatany goats and other images from the
Roan Mountain Highlands
September 4th 30th
* Brush Creek Cleanups—BWP, ETSU, JC
Sept 21, Oct 26,
Nov 23
- showing of the film No Impact Man starring Colin Beavan and his family on a grand
experiment to live one year with as little
impact on the environment as possible.
7 pm,
October 8
Martha Culp Auditorium in Culp Student Center
*Annual Todd Burleson Memorial Roan
Mountain Clean Up
9 am-12,Sept. 28
Community Park in Roan Mountain
Shady Valley Cranberry Festival
Oct. 11-12
Shady Valley, TN
BWP General Meeting—Gabby Lynch
from Nature Conservancy will talk about
the Doe Mountain Recreation project
6-7 pm Oct.
15
Winged Deer Park Headquarters—Meeting
Room
The Tennessee American Water Resources Association (TNAWRA)
23rd Tennessee Water Resources Symposium (TWRS).
http://tnawra.er.usgs.gov/2013/RegAg.pdf
November 4-6,
2013
Montgomery Bell State Park,
BWP BOD Meeting
2-4 pm, Nov. 20
Johnson City TDEC Office
300 East Main Street, Suite 102; Johnson City,
TN
8:30 am meeting place TBA
* Volunteers needed to help with
“Water does not resist. Water flows. When you plunge your hand into it, all you feel is a caress. Water is not a solid
wall, it will not stop you. But water always goes where it wants to go, and nothing in the end can stand against it. Water is patient. Dripping water wears away a stone. Remember that, my child. Remember you are half water. If you can't
go through an obstacle, go around it. Water does.” ― Margaret Atwood, The Penelopiad