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April 16, 1993 ISS~~~~\~~",,~> ,','. r? "cl.... ~~~\.' 'Ci!I'(;;jb ..,. >~! /. /,., , /-: C/ l' \\Y;' THE WEEKLY NEWSLETfER OF THE WESTERN STATES WATER COUNCIL . 001iJ03 WESTERN ~STATES WATER Creekview Plaza, Suite A-201/942 East 7145 So. 1 Midvale, Utah 84047/ (801) 561-5300 1 FAX (801) 255-%42 editor - Tony Willardson typist - Carrie Curvin ENVlRONMENTIWATER QUAUTY Texas . Texas Governor Ann Richards has announced a series of public recognition environmental awards. Winners, which were selected by a committee from over 900 entries, included the EI Paso Retired Seniors Volunteer Program (RSVP), a national pilot for wellhead protection, RSVP conducted door-to-door interviews and reviewed local tax records to identify 138 private drinking water wells in EI Paso, together with 2000 potential pollution sources. This ground water protection program has been used as a model by many other states and communities. A high school parent volunteer was recognized as an individual award winner for designing 'Classroom on the Creek.' An EPA grant was used to stage a workshop for 25 teachers and 1 00 students from throughout the Little River Watershed and to underwrite a water quality testing program involving 60 students. Planning is underway for an event that could include dozens of schools in a day of water quality monitoring. The Governor also honored several cities and industries that met criteria to attain, respectively, the designations 'Clean Cities 2000' and 'Clean Industries 2000.' ' UTlGATlON~NERGY Washinaton v. Public Utilitv Dist. No. 1 of Jefferson Countv/FederaI Power Act . The Washington Supreme Court has affirmed a state district court opinion holding that the Federal Power Act (FPA) does not preempt the Washington Department of Ecology from including minimum streamflow conditions in a Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 401 certilicate issued by the state in . chairman~ Dave Kennedy executive director - Craig Bell conjunction with a hydropower project licensed by the Federal Energy Regulatpry Commisllion (FERC), State of Washinaton v. PublicUtilitv Dist. No; 1 of Jefferson County. No. 58272'6 (Apr. 1, 1993). The City of Tacoma and the Jefferson County Public Utility Disirict No. 1 planned to build' ahydrQelectric facility on the Dosewallips River. The applicants were required to obtain a certilicate from the Washington Department of Ecology under CWA Section 401 before beginning construction. Such a certificate sets forth 'effluent...and other limitations...necessary to assure that the applicant...will comply with any applicable effluent...or other limitalions,...standard of per1ormance,...or prohibition, effluent standard, or pretreatment standard..., and with any other appropri<;tte ,requirement of state law....' Ecology granted the certificate,' 'but. conditioned it upon maintenance of a minimum streamflow in an affected portion of the river to benefit the Dosewallips fishery. The applicants argued that federal law preempted Ecology from establishing the streamflow requirement, and that in any event Ecology was outside its authority because its suggested streamflow was calculated to enhance, rather than simply preserve, the fishery. The court found that the CWA authorized Ecology to include baseflow requirements in the Section 401 certilicate to ensure compliance with Washington'S water quality standards. The applicant argued that the standards, and therefore the scope of the Section 401 certificate, should be limited to control of pollution discharges, and could not include streamflow levels. Ecology maintained that the Section 401 certification was an appropriate method of carrying out a provision of state law which provides that 'perennial rivers and streams...shall be retained with baseflow necessary to provide for preservation of wildlife, fish, scenic, aesthetic, and other environmental values and navigational values.' The court agreed that the