Don Elder Named a National Clean Water Act Hero

One of thirty Clean Water Act heroes to celebrate Act’s 30th anniversary

Portland, OR - Today the Clean Water Network named Don Elder one of thirty National Clean Water Act Heroes as part of the celebration of the Clean Water Act’s 30th anniversary. This award honors individuals who have made powerful contributions to the protection and restoration of America’s rivers, lakes, wetlands, and coastal waters.

Don Elder was selected for his work with two organizations: Alabama’s Cahaba River Society and River Network, a national organization that supports the efforts of state and local river conservation organizations. At the Society, between 1985 and 1994, he led successful efforts to strengthen Alabama’s general water quality standards to meet the requirements of the Clean Water Act; to apply those standards more properly and consistently to the Cahaba, Alabama’s longest remaining free-flowing river; and to develop stronger water quality classifications for the Cahaba and several other outstanding Alabama waters. At River Network, where he has worked since 1996, he established a program to provide information, training and assistance for people working at the state and local levels for proper implementation of the Clean Water Act.

“The Clean Water Act doesn’t implement itself,” Mr. Elder said on the Act’s 30th anniversary. “It’s one of our most important environmental laws, but it only works when citizens pay attention and get involved at the state and local levels. That’s because the Act depends on state agencies for interpretation and implementation—and because state agencies depend on the public for information and support. State agencies also need watchdogs. When they don’t do all they should as fast as they should, the Act gives citizens clear ways to step in and make the our nation’s clean water protection system work.

The 30th anniversary of the Act provides an opportunity to reflect on how far we’ve come and how far we have yet to go to achieve our goal of clean and safe water. In many ways, the Act truly did turn the tide on water pollution. We drastically reduced the percentage of American waters deemed unsafe for fishing and swimming, invested billions in sewage treatment plants and other technologies, and cut the rate of wetland loss dramatically.

And yet despite great strides, more than 40 percent of our nation’s rivers, lakes, and coastal waters are still not clean. A new report shows that in a recent 15-month period, nearly 30 percent of the nation’s industrial plants and sewage treatment facilities were violating their permits. Wetlands—so crucial for habitat, flood control and pollution reduction—continue to be lost at an alarming rate.

"Don Elder’s work shows the power of real people taking action to protect and restore the rivers, lakes and coastal waters they love," says Betsy Otto, co-chair of the Clean Water Network and Senior Director of Watershed Programs at American Rivers. "What lessons can we learn from these heroes? That people working at every level—from Congress to their own community—can make a difference. Every local river and wetland is worth taking a stand for; in fact it is exactly that kind of dedication that is necessary. The Clean Water Act provides the tools; these folks provide the elbow grease."

"Thirty years after its passage, we need the Clean Water Act more than ever. And it needs us," says Nancy Stoner, co-chair of the Clean Water Network and a Senior Attorney at the Natural Resources Defense Council. "The Bush administration is proposing regulatory rollbacks that will speed wetlands destruction, weaken the Act’s watershed cleanup program, and remove federal protection altogether from many of our waterways. We need to keep the promise of the Act, not gut it."

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About the award: In celebration of the Act and the people behind it, this award honors individuals nominated for their work by their neighbors and peers. While no awards program could possibly recognize the thousands of individuals who have fought for our right to clean water, the selections of the award committee represent the broad scope of geography, background, strategy and scale of heroes and their work. The groups conferring the Thirty Heroes for Thirty Years of the Clean Water Act awards are nonpartisan, and the awards do not reflect endorsement of any candidate or party. For press materials related to the award – including individual biographies for each of the thirty heroes, visit www.cwn.org.

About the Clean Water Network: The Clean Water Network is an alliance of over 1,000 organizations working together to protect, enforce, and strengthen the Clean Water Act. The Network has offices in Washington, D.C., Florida, and Idaho. For more information, visit our web site at www.cwn.org.