New “dead zone” report calls for greater protection of wetlands and streams

Citation

(2009), "New “dead zone” report calls for greater protection of wetlands and streams", Management of Environmental Quality, Vol. 20 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/meq.2009.08320bab.003

New “dead zone” report calls for greater protection of wetlands and streams

Article Type: News From: Management of Environmental Quality: An International Journal, Volume 20, Issue 2

Wetlands and streams in the Mississippi River Basin are at increased risk of pollution and destruction, according to a new report released by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). Many of these bodies of water were historically covered under the Clean Water Act, but a series of misguided Supreme Court decisions have left them facing increased threats from pollutants including those that cause “dead zones.”

Each summer, enormous quantities of nitrogen and phosphorus flow down the Mississippi River into the Gulf of Mexico. These pollutants contribute to the formation of a “dead zone” in the Gulf, an area where the bottom layer of water is so oxygen-depleted that most aquatic life cannot survive. Typically, the Gulf “dead zone” stretches west from where the Mississippi River enters the Gulf towards Texas, making it the largest in the U.S. and the second largest in the world. In 2007, it grew, covering an area roughly the size of New Jersey.

According to the report, “Missing Protection: Polluting the Mississippi River Basin’s Small Streams and Wetlands,”countless streams, rivers, lakes and other waterways are in danger of pollution and destruction. Two recent Supreme Court rulings, along with policy directives from the Environmental Protection Agency and the US Army Corps of Engineers, have raised questions about whether the Clean Water Act’s protections extend to a host of “non-navigable” and “isolated” waterways. This loophole is particularly troubling in relation to the problem of nutrient pollution in the Mississippi.