The federal Environmental Protection Agency says West Virginia isn't accurately keeping track of how many of the state's streams are polluted, and has added an additional 346 streams - totaling around 1,600 miles - to its impaired list.

Measuring water quality is required by the federal Clean Water Act to help determine how safe waterways are for aquatic life, swimming, recreation and consumption.

In a recent webinar, John Wirts, a retired biologist with the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection's Watershed Assessment Program, said the classification opens doors to resources for cleanup.

"And there's a lot of advantages to being called impaired. You're more eligible to receive money to restore streams," he said. "Some people might think it's bad to be called impaired but there's lots of benefits to, to being deemed impaired, just opens up lots of opportunity for us to fix those problems."

Waterways identified include segments of the Tug Fork, Elk River, Little Kanawha River and North and South Fork branches of the Potomac Rivers, among others.

Wirts noted that the outdated methods the state has been using, including the percentile of reference sites to set the impairment threshold, are part of the issue.

"Many states use a much higher percentile, but both DEP and EPA felt it was appropriate for West Virginia to use a low-end threshold because of the quality of our reference sites," he said. "We do have more minimally impacted streams than most surrounding states."

According to the Pew Charitable Trusts, drinking water from clean, healthy rivers and streams requires less filtration than water from polluted sources, and provides a critical home for wildlife and biodiversity.


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There are nearly 150,000 miles of rivers and streams in South Dakota, but new data show many of those don't meet state standards for safe water quality.

According to the state's 2024 surface water quality report, nearly 80% of waters studied don't meet the quality requirements for their intended uses, including recreation and aquatic life. The primary contaminants are E. Coli and Total Suspended Solids, which make rivers run brown. The report says some of the culprits are river bank erosion, runoff from large farm operations and sewage overflows.

Travis Entenman, managing director with Friends of the Big Sioux River, said those can pose human health risks through drinking water.

"When there's excess nutrients in the water, it takes more cost, energy, equipment, time, money that goes into cleaning our water before we can drink it," he explained.

Much of the contamination comes from nonpoint sources, meaning it accumulates from many small inputs, which are hard to regulate. Instead, the state offers incentives for voluntary action by landowners to prevent runoff, but Entenman said there's more interest in those incentive programs than there is funding available.

Entenman expects that to change as the Natural Resources Conservation Service, which provides technical assistance to landowners, gets funding from the Inflation Reduction Act. Projects that can improve water quality include riparian buffers, waste management systems for livestock operators and alternative practices for row-crop growers. Entenman hopes to see many people get involved.

"When a river or lake becomes impaired, it's kind of like a death by a thousand cuts," he added. "So, if you're doing the right thing, but your upstream neighbor isn't, it's not going to solve the larger issue."


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The Blackwater River, which flows more than 30 miles through West Virginia's Allegheny Mountains, ranks among the top 10 most endangered rivers in the nation, according to a new report.

The river is threatened by a proposed four-lane highway construction project which would cross all of its headwater streams.

Judy Rodd, executive director of the group Friends of Blackwater, said Corridor H would involve building a bridge in an area honeycombed with old mines and explains the construction could compromise decades-old work to actively treat the water in the North Fork of the Blackwater impacted by acid mine drainage.

She is worried the highway could be a major environmental setback for the region.

"We expect in the next year to really clean up this river and bring back a trout fishery that used to be there," Rodd explained. "However, if they start building this bridge, they could be opening up old coal mines, old tunnels, which are filled with acid pollution."

Rodd noted a draft environmental impact review of the proposed project, required under federal rules, is expected to be released in the coming months.

Small businesses and the local outdoor recreation economy depend on the scenic views and wilderness surrounding the towns of Thomas and Davis. Rodd argued a four-lane highway, with accompanying construction, light and noise pollution, would drastically alter the landscape.

"It's tranquil, it's dramatic," Rodd observed. "You got bald eagles soaring overhead, you got rushing water, you got fishermen in the Blackwater Falls State Park area."

Olivia Miller, program director for the Highlands Conservancy, said the highway could be rerouted to avoid the Blackwater Falls area, and pointed to an online petition which will allow concerned residents to voice their support for a Northern route to the Federal Highway Administration.

"Right now, we are asking folks to go to the American Rivers website and fill out the action alert to send a letter to highway officials," Miller stressed.

The Blackwater River is home to the endangered Cheat Mountain salamander, eastern brook trout and many other native species.

A new, high-tech wastewater treatment incinerator, used in only a few states, is on the wish list for one Michigan city.

Former state Representative - now Mayor of Warren - Lori Stone is asking her former colleagues in the Environment, Great Lakes and Energy Subcommittee for up to $100 million to upgrade her city's wastewater treatment system.

Warren's current plant was built in 1957 and serves over 137,000 residents. The new incinerator would oxidize organic matter contained in the sludge.

Warren Wastewater Treatment Plant Director Donna Dordeski said the old system is failing.

"One of the hearths of the furnace collapsed and failed, and we couldn't use it any longer until repairs had been completed," said Dordeski. "So, from the beginning - and all the waiting, getting the contractors and repairs completed - it took four months."

Dordeski said they're approaching the final steps of getting permits for the project. And they're still seeking funds, at the state and federal levels - including infrastructure grants that may be available.

The city has around 500 miles of sanitary sewer pipes to ensure its wastewater is treated and disposed of properly. Dordeski said when the current system breaks down, it affects local residents. Trucks have to pick up and carry sludge back and forth through their neighborhoods to nearby landfills.

"That's a 24-hour operation," said Dordeski. "We usually have several trucks. Its a continuous process, five days a week, where we process the sludge and those trucks have to be nearby, available, be loaded, exchanged for a new one. So, that's what has to happen when our incinerator is not operational."

Michigan has 95 wastewater treatment plants.

Warren's mayor believes if the new incinerator is approved, the city will have the opportunity to be the proving ground as a pilot program for this technology.




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