EPA Reaffirms LA River Protections!

July 8, 2010 | Clean Water, Protecting Rivers, Blue Trails

Steve Rothert
California Regional Director

Yesterday, on the banks of the Los Angeles River, U.S. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson officially declared the entire length a "navigable water", a designation crucial to applying Clean Water Act protections throughout its watershed. (see today’s LA Times story).

As shown in this great video Rock the Boat, the Los Angeles office of the Army Corps of Engineers has prevented public access to the Los Angeles River, and tried to declare it “non-navigable”, which would have removed the protections the Clean Water Act provides.  But thanks to George Wolfe of LA River Expeditions, and former Army Corps of Engineers employee and whistleblower Heather Wylie and other local river heroes such as Friends of the LA River, the Los Angeles River will continue its long journey back to health with the help of the Clean Water Act.

Perhaps this can be a first step toward creating a Blue Trail on the river. Blue Trails are dedicated stretches of river that promote boating, fishing and other recreation. American Rivers is calling for the creation of blue trails nationwide, as part of the Obama administration's new America's Great Outdoors initiative, which will hold a Public Listening Session TODAY, July 8th, at Occidental College in Los Angeles.  Attend this meeting and tell President Obama’s representatives you love the LA River and want to make it a resource all Angelinos can enjoy! Here's a great radio story from Public News Service on Blue Trails and America's Great Outdoors.

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