You’re Invited to MountainTrue’s Annual Gathering on October 21!
Join us online – we still want to see you, even if it’s only your head, neck and shoulders!
Each year, MountainTrue hosts a gathering of our members to recognize and honor outstanding volunteers, vote on new board members, and reflect on a year of hard work and – hopefully – some big wins! This October 21st, while we cannot gather in person, we hope you’ll join us online to celebrate another year of protecting the places we share.
With Each Other Even If We Can’t Hug Each Other: MountainTrue’s 2020 Virtual Annual Gathering October 21, 6-7 pm RSVP through the form below to get the link to join.
If you are having any trouble accessing the meeting, please contact Adam Bowers at 828-680-0738 or at adam@mountaintrue.org
MountainTrue, like most environmental organizations, has a membership, board, and staff that are largely white. Efforts to diversify, while challenging for any traditional environmental group, are particularly challenging for us given that our mountain region is 89% white. This, however, cannot be an excuse for non-action. It just means we need to work harder to diversify our staff, board and membership and to focus our programs in ways that will particularly benefit people of color and help redress systemic racism.
While we have taken steps to diversify and add new areas of focus to our program work, we have not done enough. We are just now coming to understand and accept how we, as individuals and as an organization, have benefitted from systemic racism – our staff is largely made up of privileged White people and our funding comes from foundations, businesses, and individuals that have accumulated wealth within a system of discrimination and, sometimes, at the direct expense of people of color. Likewise, understanding the role we should play in breaking that system and instead advancing equity has been a slow journey. What appears below is an attempt to illustrate that journey, at least in part, while also recognizing we can and need to do more. We invite our members and supporters to join us in our journey.
Where We’ve Been:
Mayor Bellamy and children of Klondyke helped the Asheville Design Center break grown on a new playground in October of 2012.
In terms of diversifying our program work, we have primarily worked on urban issues that are relevant to Asheville’s African American community, including the following:
In the 1990s and the early 2000s, and then again since 2008, we have been a leading voice for expanding transit in Asheville.
Since 2009, we have partnered with the Burton Street Community on I-26 advocacy, acting as the fiscal agent for their annual Agricultural Fair, and in developing a community plan in conjunction with the Asheville Design Center.
Work with the Burton Street Community led directly to us working with the Shiloh Community for several years to implement aspects of their community plan, particularly their goals related to sidewalks and transit.
Our I-26 advocacy has also engaged the Hillcrest community in discussions about designs that would be more beneficial to them.
We support a bacteria monitoring site in the creek that runs through the Shiloh neighborhood.
The Asheville Design Center has a long history of working with communities of color and has continued that tradition since joining us in 2017. Relevant past projects include: East of the Riverway planning, The Block Report, a playground installation at Hall Fletcher Elementary, playground design and construction at Pisgah View and Klondyke Apartments, installation of the Triangle Park Mural, design and construction of the YWCA Outdoor Classroom and Burton Outdoor Classroom.
ADC has undertaken an assessment of land owned by the City of Asheville that could be used for affordable housing.
Our energy advocacy and involvement in the Energy Innovation Task Force led to funding to weatherize 400 low-income homes, many of which belonged to people of color.
We co-host the Building Our City speaker series, which has featured the work of POC professionals like Debra Campbell (Asheville City Manager), Mitch Silver (NYC Parks Commissioner), and Michelle Mapp (CEO of SC Community Loan Fund), while addressing issues of affordable housing, equitable development and healthy community design.
We have not engaged in any significant work focused on or done in partnership with the Latinx community, save for a bit of work with the Emma community related to I-26 in 2009-2010.
Internally, MountainTrue has also taken a number of steps to expand our understanding and embrace new steps on equity:
In the recent past, we had three people of color on staff and as AmeriCorps members. We have also hosted several African American interns.
We have been part of Everybody’s Environment since its inception in 2014 and, as a result, we are more intentional about where we advertise open positions.
We adopted a diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policy.
We require and pay for our staff to attend either Building Bridges or the Racial Equity Institute, and staff are encouraged to attend both.
Two of our staff have attended two national Facing Race Conferences.
We allow our staff to count as paid time, time spent volunteering with organizations focused on equity.
We set aside a small amount of funding to sponsor events or programs led by organizations of color.
On the board, we began intentional efforts perhaps ten years ago to diversify. For the last six years at least, we have had one to five board members of color. We currently have five women of color serving on the board (out of 15 board members), including three who serve on the executive committee. We have devoted two board retreats in the last five years to DEI trainings, participated in a Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation Racial Equity Training for board and staff members, and we encourage our board members to attend either Building Bridges or the Racial Equity Institute. One of our board members manages a group called Pathways to Parks that is aimed at getting people of color into the outdoors, and we look forward to working more closely with them going forward.
Going Forward:
For the last two years, we have asked the staff to be more intentional about addressing equity in their program work. This has not been as successful as we would like, and we continue to try to be more specific. We are also struggling to include equity issues in our long term goal-setting. Some ideas for more immediate actions that have come forward recently from the board are:
Create a page on our website that addresses equity.
Move to action on equity issues.
Move our members to action on equity issues.
Make the connection between our work and equity to help our members understand.
Allocate more money to groups led by BIPOC, including those aimed at recreation.
Support the Racial Equity Institute.
Raise voices of color in MountainTrue U.
Develop relationships with HBCUs for intern and employee recruitment.
Host a regular radio show on WRES about people of color in the environment and/or write a regular column in the Urban News.
Try again to share our power in Raleigh with groups led by BIPOC.
Add racial equity, health to our legislative agenda.
Create an easy to use fish consumption and fishing access guide for people who fish for sustenance rather than just recreation.
Most of the region’s African American population is in Asheville, while the Latinx population is concentrated in a handful of counties across the region. For this reason, our equity work will look different in different parts of the region as we seek to meet the needs of specific communities.
Again, we acknowledge that we are beneficiaries of systemic racism and that our success as an organization rests on that fact. We commit to use our power and privilege as an influential organization to fight systemic racism and break down the walls of division in all the ways we can.
Dear MountainTrue members – a letter on race and equity
Dear MountainTrue Members and Supporters
Julie Mayfield & Bob Wagner
Like many organizations, we have begun taking a hard look at the role MountainTrue should play in the new national dialogue on race and equity. To be clear, equity has been a focus for us for several years now, mostly in terms of training and awareness for our board and staff, but the death of George Floyd and the ensuing outcry for racial justice has pushed us to ask what else we can and should do.
You might ask, why should MountainTrue do anything? We are an environmental advocacy organization, not a social or racial justice organization, right? Sure, it would make sense for us to work on environmental issues that impact communities of color, but why should we go beyond that? Shouldn’t we let other groups that are focused on racial issues fight this fight?
These are good and understandable questions. And we have answers to them – answers that we will be rolling out to you over the next few months. For now, the short answer to those questions is this: the fight for racial justice and equity is not separate from the fight for a clean and healthy environment. Indeed, racial discrimination and the environment have been linked for decades through the disproportionate placement of polluting industries, highways, and other harmful developments in and through communities of color; through urban renewal that destroyed black communities, often for city parks and green space; through the de facto exclusion of people of color from our national parks and forests because they don’t feel safe; through the willingness of regulators to overlook harm to communities of color that they would never accept for white communities (think Flint, Michigan). And these are only a few examples.
We have come to understand that, as a successful, influential organization, we have a role to play in dismantling the institutional and structural systems in our country that perpetuate racism and discrimination. We can no longer ignore the fact that our work exists within a much larger, complex system that sees some people as less important and expendable. Fighting for a clean environment and truly healthy communities demands that we no longer accept that framework, and fighting that framework means addressing racial discrimination outside of the narrow confines of traditional environmental advocacy.
Critical to the work of dismantling systemic racism is first understanding how each of us individually and how MountainTrue as an organization have benefitted from systemic racism – our staff is largely made up of privileged, well-educated, white people and our funding comes from foundations, businesses, and individuals that have accumulated wealth within a system of discrimination and, sometimes, at the direct expense of people of color. That is not to say these are bad people or businesses or foundations. They, like all of us, exist within a system of discrimination that has been created over centuries. It is long past time for that system to end, and our job now is to understand exactly the role we should play in breaking that system and advancing equity.
We invite you to join us in this journey. As mentioned above, we will be publishing a series of articles that discuss environmentalism and environmental advocacy in the context of race. We will also be scheduling virtual, small group discussions with us and our staff for those who want to dive in more and ask questions. We realize this will be a new conversation for many of you, and, while it may be uncomfortable, we hope you will remain open and engage with us on this critical topic.
MT Raleigh Report: General Assembly Convenes For Two-Day Session & Preparing To Vote
Sep. 1, 2020
Members of the General Assembly return to Raleigh tomorrow for yet another short – very short – two-day session. While Governor Cooper released an ambitious package of budget priorities including pandemic response proposals and bond measures last week, lawmakers are not expected to take up much of those plans. Instead, look for the legislature to focus on a more limited expenditure of some portion of the state’s still-unspent federal COVID-19 relief funds, including a bump in unemployment benefits and new investments in rural broadband to support the rise of online schooling.
For our part, MountainTrue has joined a coalition of environmental and economic justice organizations in calling for lawmakers and Governor Cooper to support substantial new assistance for North Carolinians facing utility shutoffs as a result of the pandemic. The Governor recently announced $175 million in funding “to support rental and utility payments and prevent evictions for those with a demonstrated need.” Unfortunately, more than one million North Carolina residential utility accounts now owe at least $226 million in unpaid utility bills as of July 31st – far exceeding the portion of the $175 million that is likely to be allocated specifically for utility bill assistance. Without additional assistance, thousands of North Carolinians will lose access to clean water and electricity as the weather grows colder.
With the election just around the corner, the General Assembly will likely complete its work this week and adjourn, officially ending its 2019-2020 term. But that doesn’t mean lawmakers are necessarily done for the year. There is already speculation that if Congress approves additional pandemic-related legislation this fall, Governor Cooper will call the General Assembly back into session before the new year. If Congress does not act, a return to Raleigh may also be required to appropriate the remainder of the state’s federal aid. Under current rules, North Carolina must spend all federal COVID-19 relief funding by the end of December or return it to the federal government.
Vote For The Environment & Voter Registration Information
The fate of environmental issues in North Carolina will be heavily impacted by the upcoming election. As such, we highly encourage all of our supporters to register to vote, create a voting plan and research the environmental positions of the candidates on your sample ballot as soon as possible.
The deadline to update your voter registration online or by mail is October 9. Online voter registration is now available and free through the NC Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) here. You can also download a registration form for yourself or a near relative here to fill out and mail to your local Board of Elections, or pick up a form directly from your local Board of Elections office. Or, you can register to vote and vote at the same time if you vote in person during Early Voting, which will occur between October 15 and October 31.
If you’re registered or unsure if your registration is current, you can check your voter registration status, find your polling place and see your sample ballot using the NC voter lookup tool here.
As always, thank you for your support of our work in Raleigh to stand up for Western North Carolina’s environment. Stay tuned for more updates from us on activities in the legislature in the coming months.
Broad Riverkeeper David Caldwell Identifies Harmful Algal Bloom in Moss Lake
We don’t know if the algal blooms are recurring, but there was a confirmed harmful algal bloom in Moss Lake earlier this summer.
Your Broad Riverkeeper, David Caldwell, goes out each week to test recreational waters in the Broad River Watershed for bacterial pollution. While sampling at Moss Lake on June 3, David noticed that the water was very green and cloudy, so he also tested the water with a YSI meter that measures temperature, dissolved oxygen, conductivity, pH and turbidity (a measure of cloudiness). “I got really high dissolved oxygen and pH readings, so I did some research and found that this could be an indicator of an algal bloom.”
Pictured: Moss Lake during the algal bloom (left) compared to normal water conditions (right).
Algal blooms, which form due to an excess of nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus, can release toxins that are linked to human illnesses and have even been shown to cause death in livestock and dogs.
The following Monday, David received a call from a Moss Lake resident who had noticed many dead fish in the water. David notified the NC Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and they sent a staff member out on June 10 to take water samples in and above the lake. The report came back confirming an algal bloom, and it was named a Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) because of the presence of cyanobacteria that “may produce cyanotoxins.” A second report confirmed the presence of a cyanotoxin called microcystins, which can cause illness in humans and animals that come into contact with water affected by a bloom. The concentration of the toxin was only 0.4 micrograms per Liter (ug/L) – well under the EPA’s recommended safe level for microcystins of 8 ug/L. Keep in mind, however, that the samples were taken by DEQ seven days after the algae were first noticed, so much of the algae had died off by then. In talking to that same resident after these reports came out, David also learned that he had noticed similar conditions at least twice since then, and once with a very foul odor.
As algal blooms become more and more common due to rising temperatures and an increase of nutrients in our waters, Riverkeepers across the state believe more study and analysis of algal blooms in Moss Lake and elsewhere must be done. We would like for the residents at Moss Lake to take more of a lead in identifying and reporting possible algal blooms. If the water turns really green, they should contact DEQ immediately. The “life cycle” of algal blooms can be really quick –as short as a couple of days – so quick reporting is important.
Some of the residents around the lake do not want the bad publicity that would come with raising awareness to this potentially dangerous problem. However, if we don’t first acknowledge that there may be a problem, then there will be little effort towards determining the root causes of the issue and improving the water quality in Moss Lake and other water bodies. “I would ask the Moss Lake area residents this,” David says. “What do you want your lake to look like in 10 to 20 years? What will you do to help realize that vision?”
To learn more about algal blooms, visit the NCDEQ page here or the FAQ page from the NC Division of Water Resources here.
Millions of people across North Carolina take to our beaches, rivers, and lakes to cool off, swim, paddle, and fish, but most are unaware that nearly 16 million gallons of untreated sewage have spilled into our waterways during a two and a half month period (May 17 to July 30, 2020) according to data collected by North Carolina’s Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ).
North Carolina desperately needs to update its public spill notification system. Current state law requires operators of wastewater collection and treatment systems to notify DEQ of spills of over 1,000 gallons into surface waters and to send a press release to local media within 24 hours. For spills of over 15,000 gallons, operators are required to place a notice in the newspapers of counties impacted by the spill within 10 days (NCGS 143-215.1C). Spills of other pollutants have similar reporting requirements to DEQ.
North Carolina should not be depending on ads in print newspapers to get the word out about dangerous spills. Newspapers are not mandated to run the press releases, and many local newspapers are only published in print on a weekly or bi-weekly basis, which is not frequent enough to warn river users of water quality problems in a timely manner.
The public has the right to know about major pollution spills that impact our waterways as soon as possible, and through the technology the public uses today.
Join NC’s riverkeepers in calling for a better, more modern system that would:
Publish spill data to an online database and interactive map and on agency social media channels.
Send email and text alerts to interested parties.
Allow the public to sign up to receive these alerts for the watersheds they are interested in.
Make improvements to our state laws by increasing fines for polluters dumping sewage in our waterways.
16 Million Gallons of Sewage Flowed into NC Waterways This Summer With Little Notification To Paddlers, Swimmers and Beachgoers
North Carolina’s Riverkeepers are calling on state regulators to modernize its public notification system.
North Carolina — Millions of people across North Carolina take to our beaches, rivers and lakes to cool off, swim, paddle, and fish, but most are unaware that nearly 16 million gallons of untreated sewage has spilled into our waterways during a two and a half month period (May 17 to July 30) according to data collected by North Carolina’s Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ).
Call on NCDEQ to Update North Carolina's Spill Notification System
The sewage enters waterways from overflowing manholes and pump stations and leaking sewer pipes, but the public is left largely unaware due to antiquated public notification requirements. North Carolina state law requires operators of wastewater collection and treatment systems to notify DEQ of spills of over 1,000 gallons into surface waters and to send a press release to local media within 24 hours. For spills of over 15,000 gallons, operators are required to place a notice in the newspapers of counties impacted by the spill within 10 days (NCGS 143-215.1C). Spills of other pollutants have similar reporting requirements to DEQ.
“We’re living in the year 2020, and the state of North Carolina is still depending on ads in print newspapers to get the word out about dangerous spills,” says French Broad Riverkeeper Hartwell Carson. “Sending press releases to local papers is not much better. Many local newspapers are only published in print on a weekly or bi-weekly basis, which is not frequent enough to warn river users of water quality problems in a timely manner — if they’re published at all.”
North Carolina Riverkeepers have launched an advocacy campaign at ILoveRivers.org to clean up North Carolina’s waterways and to update the state’s public notification system. “We’re asking the state to adopt a more modern approach, where DEQ would publish spill data to an online database and map as well as on the agency’s social media channels and through email and text alerts to interested parties,” explains Emily Sutton, the Haw Riverkeeper. “People should be able to opt in to receive email and text alerts for their watersheds. We also encourage DEQ to provide water quality notifications on their social media platforms. An improved notification system would help ensure that this critical information gets to the people that most need to know when the river is unsafe.”
E. coli bacteria levels in many North Carolina waterways frequently spike well above the EPA’s safe standard for recreation after rain events. E. coli and other forms of pollution are caused by agriculture and urban stormwater runoff, failing septic systems and overflowing sewer infrastructure. These issues are exacerbated by the effects of climate change, as more frequent and heavier rain events create more storm runoff and overwhelm outdated sewer systems.
Matt Starr, the Upper Neuse Riverkeeper explains that “notification is just the first step, but what we really need are improvements in our state laws that increase fines when sewage is dumped in our waterways. We can’t keep treating our waterways as a sewage disposal system if we ever hope to meet the goals of the Clean Water Act to have all waters be fishable and swimmable.”
Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) Region
Gallons of Sewage Spilled into Waterways
Asheville
3,214,626
Winston-Salem
3,260,987
Raleigh
2,800,681
Washington
2,616,516
Fayetteville
2,087,348
Mooresville
1,620,989
Wilmington
380,102
TOTAL
15,981,249
Chart represents DEQ regions and the amount of gallons of sewage that reached waterways between May 17, 2020 and July 30, 2020.
MountainTrue Pollution Tip Leads to Enforcement Action Against Tryon International Equestrian Center
On July 27, MountainTrue followed up on a public complaint of sediment flowing into White Oak Creek from the Tryon International Equestrian Center (TEIC). Video showed a significant discharge of muddy water flowing off the site into the creek — a tributary of the Green River. MountainTrue’s Green Riverkeeper Gray Jernigan then reported the issue to the NC Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Water Resources (DWR).
Two days later, on July 29, DWR sent an inspector to the equestrian center where they witnessed site contractors flushing sediment into the center’s stormwater drainage system, and failures in their stormwater management system. In all, DWR cited Tryon International Equestrian Center with four water quality violations that must be “abated immediately and properly resolved.” These violations, failure to resolve them quickly and remediate damage to the environment could result in civil penalties up to $25,000 per day for each violation.
“Tryon International Equestrian Center has been a repeat violator of water quality.” explains Gray Jernigan. “They were first cited in 2014, and it only got worse as they rushed to build new facilities ahead of the World Equestrian Games in 2018. They took shortcuts and chose not to employ standard best management and construction practices to keep sediment on site, and the problems persist.”
The Green Riverkeeper shared the video of the illegal discharge on its Instagram account where it sparked a public outcry, and elicited a response from Sharon Decker, President of Tryon Equestrian Partners, the owners and operators of the center. Decker assured the public that “we share the same concerns you do about the environment, water quality and strong stewardship.”
The Equestrian Center has received numerous violations from the NC Department of Environmental Quality over the years dating back to 2014, amassing tens of thousands of dollars in fines.
“They’ve made assurances to the community to clean up their act, but their efforts have fallen well short of what is expected of someone who professes to care about the environment,” says Gray. “I’ve offered to meet with them to discuss steps they can take to undo the damage done and protect our public waters, and I look forward to having a conversation with the leadership at TIEC.”
Media contacts: Gray Jernigan, Green Riverkeeper C:828-423-0578 E: gray@mountaintrue.org
Karim Olaechea, MountainTrue Communications Director C:415-535-9004
MountainTrue staff and board members with our 2018 Volunteer of the Year winner Mike Hopping (center).
Our 2020 Annual Gathering will be held virtually this year on Wednesday, October 21st. Although we can’t gather in person due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we still look forward to honoring MountainTrue members who are dedicated to protecting the places we share. We encourage you to nominate worthy individuals for one of our annual awards. Complete this form to submit a nomination by August 25.
Creation Care Alliance Conducts Eco-Grief Circle Pilot Project
This summer MountainTrue’s Creation Care Alliance (CCA) program held its first Eco-Grief Circle, a pilot project resulting from a growing awareness that many members of the CCA community struggle with significant anxiety and other challenges due to the climate crisis. After hearing story after story of these (and other) kinds of grief, people within the Creation Care Alliance network – two counselors, two pastors and a chaplain – developed this six-week experience to support community members and allow a space to honestly discuss grief and suffering amidst the ecological and social challenges of our time. To learn more about the pilot program, read this blog post by CCA’s Director Scott Hardin-Nieri here.
CCA is launching two more Eco-Grief Circles in mid-September, and is currently finalizing the curriculum and receiving inquiries from a variety of interested people and faith communities. We will have limited space available in these initial classes, but let us know if you are interested in participating in the future by emailing scott@creationcarealliance.org.
Equity Reading: People of Color and Low-Income Communities More Likely to Live in Less Nature-Rich Areas
In this article, Alejandra Borunda explores the new data revealing that people of color and low-income people are disproportionately likely to live in neighborhoods with less access to natural spaces, resulting in physical and mental health disparities. She also looks at historical factors that have led to this inequity and talks with Luis Villa, the Executive Director of Latinos Outdoors.
“Nature: It’s not just a nice-to-have amenity,” [Villa] says. “It’s a vital aspect of creating a healthy community. If we want to deal with, to reckon with systemic racism and the health disparities that come from that, well, nature, broadly defined, has to be a part of that.” Read more.
ICYMI – Raleigh Report Live: End of Session Edition
Get the skinny on how our legislators are protecting our environment (or not), featuring MountainTrue Lobbyist Rob Lamme, Co-Director Julie Mayfield and Southern Regional Director Gray Jernigan. Watch the video here.
Green Riverkeeper Co-Authors Op-Ed In Support Of NC E. coli Standard
North Carolina is one of only seven states to still use fecal coliform to measure bacteria pollution. In this column, MountainTrue’s Green Riverkeeper Gray Jernigan and the Waterkeeper Alliance’s Will Hendrick make the case that it’s time for North Carolina to get in line with the best available science and EPA guidelines by adopting E. coli as our new state standard. Read more.
MountainTrue Helps Lead Effort To Protect Electric Co-op Customers From Utility Shutoffs
The Governor’s moratorium on utility shutoffs for North Carolina customers came to an end on July 30, meaning that shutoffs for customers who can’t afford to pay their utility debts can begin as soon as September. Also on July 30, the North Carolina Utilities Commission ordered an extension of the shutoff moratorium and a requirement for a 12-month payback plan for customers with utility debt, but this only applies to the customers of regulated utilities like Duke Energy. Electric co-op customers, who disproportionately live in rural counties with high poverty rates in WNC, are left out of these protections.
MountainTrue is an advocate for equitable and affordable access to energy. For communities to be healthy, all people must have access to electricity and water – especially in the heat of summer, and when the pandemic requires frequent handwashing to keep us all safe. That’s why we are working to make sure electric co-op customers have access to the same debt payment options as customers of regulated utilities like Duke. We have already stepped in to report a co-op with an illegal utility shutoff policy, which had originally planned to begin shutoffs on August 4. Our outreach has successfully changed this policy and put it in line with the Governor’s order.
If you are a member of an electric co-op and facing the threat of your utilities being turned off, please feel free to reach out to us for the latest on this advocacy by contacting MountainTrue’s Energy Organizer Eliza Stokes at eliza@mountaintrue.org.
Make Your Voice Heard on Long-Term Transportation Planning in Our Region
This month there are two major opportunities to make your voice heard on the future of transportation in our region: The Hellbender Regional Trail and French Broad River MTP 2045 Plan.
Do you want to see widespread, interconnected trails in Western North Carolina? That’s what’s on deck with the Hellbender Regional Trail, a collaborative plan to connect the various local bike, pedestrian and greenway plans of different counties to create an expansive trail network spanning Haywood, Henderson, Madison, Buncombe and Transylvania Counties. The draft map of the Hellbender Regional Trail is now available here, and public comments on it will be accepted until August 21. Email mpo@landofsky.org to make your public comment.
The MTP 2045 Plan is open for public comments on community priorities to determine what types of transportation projects will be funded in our region over the next 25 years. Funding for different transportation projects will be justified based on the community priorities with the most comments, so it’s important to make your comment on what you want the future of getting around our region to look like. Speak up for sustainable, equitable transportation options like public transit, electric vehicle infrastructure, bike and pedestrian access and more here by August 31. The draft version of the plan is available here, and there will be a virtual presentation and Q&A about it on August 18. You can also mail mpo@landofsky.org with any additional comments.
Central Regional News
For Buncombe, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell and Yancey counties
Action Alert: Call On Asheville City Council To Do Their Part To Clean Up The French Broad River
None of our bacteria monitoring sites in the City of Asheville have passed the EPA’s safe limit for E. Coli on average this summer.
The French Broad River is dirty and only getting worse. In 2019, more than half of the sites that we tested (53%) failed to meet the EPA’s E. coli standard for safe recreation. This year the results are even worse, with 69% of sites failing. Of the sites within Asheville, none pass the EPA’s safe limit on average. Our testing site with the worst average results is Nasty Branch, which receives over half of downtown Asheville’s stormwater and flows through the historically African-American Southside neighborhood before discharging into the French Broad River in the River Arts District. Tell Asheville City Council that it’s time to do their part to clean up the French Broad River. Take Action.
Buncombe County Approves 47 New Solar Projects
This past month had great news for solar energy in Buncombe County, with 47 new public solar projects approved! On July 21, the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners approved 40 new solar panel installations at county government-owned buildings, Asheville City and Buncombe County Public Schools and A-B Tech Community College. Then on July 28, City Council approved seven new solar sites for city properties. These efforts amount to the single largest public sector solar effort in all of North Carolina.
The panels will be installed by MB Haynes, an employee-owned company based in Buncombe County, and will create about 7 MW of new solar energy – the equivalent of powering approximately 800 homes entirely with solar energy each year. They are also set to save County and City governments a significant amount of money each year by reducing energy costs.
These proposals were approved due to overwhelming public input support before the final votes, as well as when the projects were announced last fall. Thank you to all of our supporters who made their voices heard to help achieve this outcome! We’re excited to build on this momentum to create even more public solar projects in our community. Read more about this victory for solar and the related cost savings here.
High Country Regional News
For Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Burke, Caldwell, Watauga and Wilkes counties
Water Quality Administrator Hannah Woodburn Identifies Major Source of Pollution into the Watauga River
Thanks to the diligent investigation of our Water Quality Administrator Hannah Woodburn, we were finally able to track the source of pollution for a long failing Swim Guide site. The source was an out-of-compliance Wastewater Treatment plant illegally discharging 20 times the EPA limit. The Health Department and NCDEQ have been notified, and we are awaiting enforcement.
Southern Regional News
For Cleveland, Henderson, Polk, Rutherford and Transylvania counties
MountainTrue Pollution Tip Leads to Enforcement Action Against Tryon International Equestrian Center
Our Green Riverkeeper recently responded to a resident complaint of more muddy runoff of sediment from the Tryon International Equestrian Center (TIEC). The illegal discharge was flowing into White Oak Creek, a tributary of the Green River in Polk County, and was reported to NC Department of Environmental Quality for investigation. We are now working to get a meeting with the President of the Equestrian Center to discuss their past and ongoing impacts on water quality, and measures that need to be implemented to protect clean water. We will continue to hold this egregious polluter accountable, and thank all of our supporters that report pollution issues to us. We couldn’t do it without you! Read more.
Lake Adger Public Access Dredging Project Moving Forward
After years of advocacy around this effort, NC Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) has submitted a permit application to the US Army Corps of Engineers to dredge the public access channel at Lake Adger. This project is necessary because the public access channel has become nearly impassible to boat traffic due to the accumulating sediment delta. NCWRC proposes to use the dredge spoils to construct engineered wetlands on the existing sediment delta – a delta that has been forming since 1925, when the Green River was dammed to create Lake Adger.
MountainTrue’s Green Riverkeeper has advocated for and supports this important project to protect public access to Lake Adger. Thanks to all of our supporters who submitted public comments to make this project as successful as possible and ensure that water quality is protected during and after the project.
Stand Up Against the Asphalt Plant Proposed for East Flat Rock!
SE Asphalt wants to build an industrial asphalt plant at the intersection of Spartanburg Highway (US-176) and US-25, across the street from a low-income mobile home park and surrounded by hundreds of single family homes, small farms and the Green River Game Lands. The site drains directly to Laurel Creek, which flows into the Green River. The developer has applied for conditional rezoning for 6.5 acres to a conditional district to construct the new asphalt plant.
MountainTrue’s Green Riverkeeper and hundreds of local residents have organized as Friends of East Flat Rock oppose this rezoning and the construction of the new asphalt plant. The application will be heard by the Henderson County Planning Board on August 20 before going to the County Commissioners. Take action!
Take Part In Our First Broad River Fishing Tournament
We’re excited to announce our first-ever Broad River Fishing Tournament! While we had planned earlier this year to host a single-day and in-person event, due to the pandemic we are shifting the structure to a 10-day opportunity to participate in a safe and socially distanced way. Go out on your own (or with your very small and safe group) to your favorite location on the Broad River. You can fish one day or all week long! Register for free.
Western Regional News
For Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Jackson, Macon and Swain counties in NC, and Towns and Union counties in GA
MountainTrue Monitors Butternut Creek, Lake Nottely During Landfill Leachate Treatment
The former Hiwassee River Watershed Coalition – now part of MountainTrue – has been monitoring water quality conditions in Butternut Creek and the Lake Nottely Watershed on a monthly basis since 2001. Staff and volunteers take samples of basic water chemistry parameters to alert us to potential pollution problems that need more detailed follow-up. We also sample E. coli, an indicator of pathogens that present a risk to human health. In the summer, when recreation is at its peak, we increase our testing frequency to weekly for select sites.
Since Butternut Creek flows through a public park and into Lake Nottely, we have several monitoring locations, including above and below the City of Blairsville’s wastewater treatment plant. So far, no negative water quality impacts have been detected related to Blairsville’s controversial decision to start accepting landfill leachate for treatment at the plant.
Forest Service’s “Haystack Project” Underway In Nantahala River Headwaters
Last month I joined MountainTrue’s Public Lands Field Biologist, Josh Kelly, in the headwaters of the Nantahala River to look at some timber harvest sites that are part of the US Forest Service’s ongoing “Haystack Project.” We saw no water quality violations at the sites we observed. We are still investigating reports of muddy waters in the Nantahala River above the lake, but have been unable to locate the source. If you have any information about a potential pollution source in this area of Macon County, please email me at callie@mountaintrue.org.
Streams Draining Cullowhee Muddying The Whole Tuckasegee River
If you live in Jackson County, we’re not telling you anything you don’t already know, and if you’re a member of the Watershed Association of the Tuckasegee River (WATR), you probably know even more about which streams are the muddiest! MountainTrue is assisting WATR’s Executive Director Ken Brown in trying to get the mud flows stopped! More on this partnership in future newsletters.
Save The Date For The Lake Chatuge Shoreline Cleanup On November 7
While we’re still not sure of the actual logistics of this year’s Lake Chatuge Shoreline Cleanup, we plan to hold it in some form or fashion on the first Saturday in November! Georgia Rivers Alive has published guidelines for safely holding cleanups during COVID-19 and will be providing volunteers with neck buffs, which are made of a lightweight material that can also be worn as a face-covering. (We also have quite a few t-shirts leftover from last year’s very cold cleanup event for those who may want to take one home.)
We’ll make some decisions about how to hold this event safely in late September, but for now, please save the date!
Events Calendar
August 13, 6-7PM: Virtual Green Drinks with Tony Dunn Tomorrow’s Green Drinks will feature Tony Dunn, a former US Forest Service Fire Behavior Analyst and a survivor of Camp Fire. Tony will outline how climate change contributed to the Camp Fire and how climate-driven disasters disproportionately impact vulnerable communities and their ability to recover.
August 22, 10AM-12PM: Snorkeling on the Watauga Take the plunge to explore the unique ecosystems of the Watauga River by snorkeling with us! River snorkeling allows you an unparalleled viewpoint to explore all the nooks and crannies of the Watauga. If we’re lucky, we might even catch a glimpse of a Hellbender.
August 22: Virtual Beer Series Cleanup With Wicked Weed Brewing Join MountainTrue, the French Broad Riverkeeper, Wicked Weed Brewing and 98.1 The River for another Riverkeeper Beer Series cleanup. Clean up the French Broad River and your local creek, roadway, or neighborhood.
August 28, 8PM-11:30PM: Moonlight Paddle on the Broad River Join a trip led by our Broad Riverkeeper David Caldwell to do some flat water paddling by the light of the moon. As we go, David will share some of the history of the Broad River and his work to protect it.
August 29 – September 7: Broad River Fishing Tournament We’re excited to announce the first-ever Broad River Fishing Tournament! This is a for-fun and “bragging rights” only tournament, with awards for “Broad’s Best Angler”, biggest catfish, most unusual fish and more. Registration is free and donations support the Broad Riverkeeper program.
September 26, 9AM-12PM: E-bike Tour of Downtown Asheville Ride along on our electric bike tour of Asheville led by Chris Joyell, Director of the Asheville Design Center. As we pass through downtown, the Southside and the River Arts District, Chris will share his extensive knowledge about Asheville’s urban core, including stories of how redlining has shaped our city and the highlights (and lowlights) of Asheville’s bike infrastructure.
Asheville, NC — At their July 21 meeting, the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to greenlight a proposal for 40 new solar panel installations at county-owned buildings, Asheville City and Buncombe County public schools and A-B Tech Community College. Together, the 40 new solar sites will create approximately 6.7 MW of new solar energy each year – the equivalent of powering 767 homes entirely with solar energy.
The vote was celebrated by local residents, many of whom submitted public comments to voice their support for the solar projects and had advocated for Buncombe County to pass a resolution for 100% renewable energy in 2017. After that resolution passed, many community members had been frustrated with the lack of concrete progress on this commitment.
“I was thrilled and frankly relieved when I heard that it passed,” said Josh Draper, a rising senior at TC Roberson High School. “Until today our longstanding county resolution, like so many others, was just a vague, distant goal with no practical solution in sight. Now, instead of waiting idly by for the most urgently needed change, we can be productive and set an example for neighboring communities to follow.”
Buncombe County and the City of Asheville released a joint request for proposals, or rfp, for solar panels at feasible sites on their properties in the fall of 2019. The County and City invited other entities to join the bidding process with the hope of increasing the impact of the rfp on carbon emissions and reducing the overall cost. High school students spoke out in favor of this concept at Buncombe County and Asheville City school board meetings last October, leading both school boards to vote to join the solar exploration.
“This is the right thing to do for our children’s health and future,” said Beatrice Nathan, Co-Chair of the local chapter of Mom’s Out Front. “I hope the County Commission sees the value in taking steps toward a world with better air quality and reduced greenhouse gas emissions.”
While the City of Asheville was part of the joint solar rfp, it will fund its solar projects separately. As for the County and schools, the 40 projects will be funded by a $10.3 million bond taken out by the County and paid over the course of 15 years. Between the solar rebate from Duke Energy, utility savings and positive cash flow from selling excess solar energy, the solar projects are expected to be revenue positive every single year – often by millions of dollars.
“This shows that solar energy isn’t a luxury item or another headache to add on to a financial downturn,” says Eliza Stokes, renewable energy organizer at MountainTrue. “Instead, solar can be a buoy that helps keep our local economy afloat and creates resilience for the times ahead.”
The company selected to install the solar panels is MB Haynes, an employee-owned company based in Asheville. Before the vote, several Commissioners spoke to hiring a local company as a key aspect of their support.
“The idea of doing something bigger, trying to do it together, none of us really knew how it would turn out,” said Chairman Brownie Newman at the Commission meeting. “I really appreciate the schools being willing to go through this process with us, and I think it’s gonna achieve a lot more good for our community…The one challenge I would leave with us is that as exciting as this is, when we look at the need to move to renewable energy we’re still not moving fast enough. This is just the first of many such efforts we’re gonna need to take on to be a leader.”
Projected Financial Benefits Of 40 Solar Projects (Source: Buncombe County)
MountainTrue staff and board members with our 2018 Volunteer of the Year winner Mike Hopping (center).
Do you want to see widespread, interconnected trails in Western North Carolina? That’s what’s on deck with the Hellbender Regional Trail, a collaborative plan to connect the various local bike, pedestrian and greenway plans of different counties to create an expansive trail network spanning Haywood, Henderson, Madison, Buncombe and Transylvania Counties. The draft map of the Hellbender Regional Trail is now available 
None of our bacteria monitoring sites in the City of Asheville have passed the EPA’s safe limit for E. Coli on average this summer.
