On March 29, 2021, Dr. Jacqueline Echols, Board President of the South River Watershed Alliance, presented a webinar on Environmental Justice under 303(d) and TMDL programs and the Clean Water Act as a whole.
The South River flows through two heavily developed municipalities, the City of Atlanta and DeKalb County. For decades, it has been on Georgia’s 303(d) list of unhealthy waters due to fecal coliform bacteria and PCBs from combined sewer overflows and stormwater runoff. Despite TMDL plans in place since 2002 to restore water quality, the river still does not meet the state’s lowest water quality standards. Communities of color bear the brunt of this ongoing pollution. For example, a federal Clean Water Act consent decree only includes a deadline to eliminate sewage pollution in the predominantly white sections of DeKalb County and has no deadline for eliminating sewage pollution in two-thirds of DeKalb County where most African Americans reside.
This webinar is part of NEIWPCC's National 303(d)/TMDL Webinar Series: [ Ссылка ]
