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news and events: in
the news 10/18/2002, ATHENS, Ga. - The Clean Water Network has named Judy Meyer, research professor in the University of Georgia Institute of Ecology, 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. The Clean Water Network is an alliance of over 1000 organizations working together to protect, enforce and strengthen the Clean Water Act. Other individuals recognized as Clean Water Act heroes include Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Pete Seeger, and Representative Sherwood Boehlert. Since joining the University of Georgia faculty in 1977, Dr. Meyer's research has focused on nutrient pollution in rivers, on ecological process that maintain water quality, and on the effect of disturbance and management on river ecosystems. In 2000, Dr. Meyer helped form the River Basin Center. The Center conducts both scientific and policy research, provides crucial information to decision makers on technical policy issues, and educates undergraduate and graduate students on water issues. Her work with aquatic ecosystems helps to further research knowledge, while her work with citizen groups gives those groups the scientific resources they need to make a difference. She further bridges the gap between science and policy as an advisor to U.S. EPA on ecological processes and to the Georgia state legislative committee tasked with the difficulties of statewide water planning. "One great thing about the policy side of my work is that the activist groups I work with have inspired me. They have helped direct my research to areas that are on the frontlines," says Dr. Meyer. 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. Dr. Meyer's research has demonstrated the loss of headwater streams in Georgia and how this loss reduces the health of aquatic systems downstream. Several colleagues mention with admiration how many of Dr. Meyer's associates go on to be active in policy debates as well as their research. One of those associates, Skelly Holmbeck-Pelham, policy director for the Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, says "Students know Dr. Meyer primarily for her extraordinary teaching skills and dedication to her students. Environmental advocates extol her willingness to dive into policy issues. Yet her fellow scientists most respect her tremendous research and publishing accomplishments. She can really cross all the boundaries." "Judy Meyer is highly respected among her academic and scientist peers, and is also extremely effective on water policy and advocacy efforts, a rare combination," says Betty Otto of American Rivers. "She is as dedicated to protecting water resources as she is to studying them." "People sometimes think you have to give up your life to do this work," says Dr. Meyer "You don't. I have two kids and have been married for thirty years. We're just normal people who really care about the environment." "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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