2007 Dan Wilkinson WRAL Conservation Communication Award
North Carolina Wildlife Federation Governor's Achievement Award for the 2006 Conservation Organization of the Year -- "This is the highest honor given to an organization committed to conservation in North Carolina."
Achievements
The Neuse Riverkeeper Foundation has a long history of providing constant vigilance and a strong voice for the protection of the Neuse River. In 2006, the City of Raleigh attempted to reclassify a section of the Neuse River, essentially downgrading water quality protections for 10,000 acres just below Falls Dam in the Richland Creek/Upper Neuse River watershed. The grassroots opposition to this plan led by the Neuse Riverkeeper Foundation resulted in a favorable ruling by the Environmental Management Commission which required the city to implement more stringent storm water controls for all new development, with wider 100-foot buffers along the main stem of the river as well as all perennial streams. NRF was instrumental in working with the development community to implement perhaps the best stormwater ordinance in the state (using Low Impact Development Practices and volume control), which will help control polluted runoff—fertilizers, oil, gas and pet waste—from further degrading the Neuse River. This is a positive step for controlling pollution impacts from the anticipated 500,000 people who will move to Wake County over the next 20 years and will serve as a model ordinance for other communities in NC. The Neuse Riverkeeper Foundation Volunteer Air Force has documented hundreds of Clean Water Act violations on industrial hog farms in North Carolina. The documentation of illegal spraying of raw waste helped bring national attention to the unethical practices of the hog industry, resulting in important legal actions and reforms.In January 2006, with the help of Waterkeeper Alliance, the Neuse Riverkeeper Foundation reached a settlement agreement with Smithfield Foods, changing waste disposal practices on 275 NC hog farms. In 2005, the Neuse Riverkeeper Foundation developed an educational project called “Junior Riverkeepers” in conjunction with Craven County Schools and the NC State University’s Applied Aquatics Lab to conduct water quality monitoring and training for all Craven County eighth grade students and science teachers. 2,053 students have participatedin the program in just two years. This program will resume in the Spring of 2009 under its new name, Neuse RiverKids. In 2004, the Neuse Riverkeepers defeated the largest pollution trade ever proposed for US waters bypreventing the Town of Butner from discharging up to 61,130 lbs/yr of additional nitrogen into Falls Lake.NRF helped generate more than 1,000 public comments opposing the plan and turned out more than 200 people at two public hearings. More importantly, a pollution reduction strategy is now being developed for Falls Lake, rather than discharging additional pollutants into one of the most important drinking water reservoirs in NC.
In 2000 and 2003, NRF challenged 25 sewage discharge permits of repeat violators to enforce compliance with the Clean Water Act, leading to additional provisions (pollution controls) in 22 of the 25 permits challenged. There are now TEN discharge pipes that are no longer discharging effluent to the river or whose direct discharge will soon be eliminated, due to the direct actions of the NRF. In March 2006, NRF obtained a commitment from Raleigh to eliminate sludge and chemical discharges from Raleigh’s Water Treatment Plant to Falls Lake—a drinking water supply for over 400,000 Wake County citizens. In 2002, NRF uncovered 20 violations at Raleigh’s sewage treatment plant—the largest discharger to the Neuse River. According to Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker, “it was the Riverkeeper who alerted us to extensive problems which existed at our waste treatment plant, problems which had not been brought to our attention by then plant management.” Since 2003, Raleigh has invested more than $40 million in sewage plant upgrades and provided free drinking water to 32 families as a result of wells contamination from the over application of sludge by Raleigh Public Utilities. NRF actively recruited constituents to attend Clean Water Lobby Day at the General Assembly over the last three years.NRF Riverkeepers frequently provide NC environmental lobbyists with technical water quality information from local districts which are relevant to NC legislators.Also, NRF Riverkeepers annually attend American River’s Clean Water Lobby Days in Washington DC, providing local constituent representation on numerous clean water issues to supplement efforts of national groups Our annual Neuse River Spring Clean-up, which spans nearly 80 river miles from Falls Dam to below Smithfield (including sections of Crabtree Creek), has to date encouraged over 1,200 citizens to take a more active role in cleaning up the Neuse River.More than 85,000 pounds of trash has been removed from the Neuse River in the last six years alone.It has become the largest single-river clean-up event in the state.