October 8 is the deadline to adopt a mile of New England’s shoreline and we’re counting on you to make a difference.

Even if you never heard the term “nutrient pollution” before, you may have seen its devastating effects on the New England waters that you treasure. Slimy algae blooms and fish kills are two of the more visible consequences of too much nitrogen and phosphorus in the water. And the effects you can’t see are the most troubling: massive areas under the glistening waters of our fragile bays and lakes where no living thing can survive. This man-made problem is a solvable one and the key to our success is you!

By adopting a mile (or more!) of shoreline, you are giving CLF the ability to rescue our most precious waters. Please symbolically adopt a mile today:

Adopt 1 mile of Narragansett Bay for just $10

Adopt 1 mile of Cape Cod’s Coastline for just $10

Adopt 1 mile of Lake Champlain’s Shore for just $10

Adopt 1 mile of the Great Bay Estuary for just $10

Adopt 1 mile of Maine’s Coastline for just $10

Like you, I am frustrated by the dramatic and entirely avoidable scourge of nutrient pollution that is wreaking havoc on our most precious waters throughout the region, including Lake Champlain, the Great Bay Estuary, Cape Cod, Maine’s Coast and Rhode Island’s Narragansett Bay.

This week, CLF made big news by seeking stricter controls on nitrogen pollution (a form of pollution caused by inadequately treated wastewater) in the massive Millbury, MA wastewater treatment facility know as the Upper Blackstone Water Pollution Abatement District. Each day, this facility discharges more than 50 million gallons of nitrogen-laden water into the Blackstone River, which flows south through Massachusetts and eventually into Rhode Island’s Narragansett Bay.

The impacts of the nitrogen pollution in Narragansett Bay have been devastating. We’ve seen toxic algae blooms, widespread loss of eel grass meadows–critical habitat for fish and other marine life–and even massive fish kills. Rhode Island’s Department of Environmental Management estimates that one of the larger kills in recent memory left approximately one million dead fish on the state’s shores.

It doesn’t have to be this way–and fortunately, the problem of nutrient pollution is solvable. But the fight to tighten pollution controls at the Upper Blackstone and across the region won’t be easy, and that’s why we need you on board. Today, before midnight, you can make a difference by adopting a mile of shoreline for just $10.

Your donation will help push our clean water advocacy forward, not just in Rhode Island, but across the region. Just last month, CLF filed suit against the EPA for not fulfilling its duties under the Clean Water Act to permit and regulate the wastewater discharges on Cape Cod. In NH, as a direct result of CLF’s advocacy, the Great Bay Estuary has been officially designated as “impaired” under the Clean Water Act, affording it greater, much-needed protection from continued nitrogen pollution and the 20 wastewater plants in the area. Our advocates are on the ground taking the forceful legal action required to tackle this growing problem.

You may have never heard the term nutrient pollution before. But by adopting a mile of shoreline and making a difference in our clean water advocacy, let’s hope you never hear it again.

Sincerely,
John Kassel
President
Conservation Law Foundation

P.S. Today is the day. With only a few days left to act, please make a difference by adopting a mile of shoreline for $10 before midnight on October 8.

Dear CLF Supporter,

New England’s waters are in crisis. Nutrient pollution is a huge problem for our region; inadequately-treated wastewater, fertilizer-laden runoff from industrial farms, roadways, and sprawl development are fueling deadly algae blooms in some of our most cherished waters—like Lake Champlain, Long Island Sound, Cape Cod’s bay and estuaries, and the Great Bay, located between New Hampshire and Maine. These algae blooms suffocate and kill fish, shellfish and other aquatic life, creating vast “dead zones.”

Nutrient pollution is bad news. But there is a silver lining to this scummy, man-made problem: It’s solvable. For years, CLF has been working to reverse nutrient pollution in waters throughout New England. And there’s even more good news; today, you have the opportunity to make a REAL impact on nutrient pollution by symbolically adopting a mile of shoreline for $10:

Adopting a mile of shoreline may seem like a drop in the bucket, but it gives CLF and our advocates the resources we need to tackle and solve this problem; it is the very underpinning of our most crucial clean water work.

When you adopt a mile of shoreline for $10, you will fund:

• Lake Champlain LakeKeeper Program: CLF’s LakeKeeper, affiliated with the Waterkeeper Alliance, is the eyes and ears of Lake Champlain, dedicated to protecting this irreplaceable natural treasure. Part watchdog, part scientist and part public advocate, the LakeKeeper engages citizens, businesses and state and local authorities in doing their part to keep Lake Champlain clean.
• Clean Water Enforcement: All over New England, violation of water quality regulations is rampant, resulting in severely degraded waterways. Due to a combination of lax government oversight and insufficient resources, clean water can no longer be taken for granted. This is especially true in low-income communities, which bear a disproportionate burden of water pollution. CLF is putting feet on the ground to hold polluters accountable, wherever they are, for compliance with clean water laws in an effort to restore vital water quality to all New Englanders.
• Nutrient Pollution Advocacy: Nutrient pollution is a relatively recent, man-made scourge—an insidious by-product of industrial agriculture and wastewater treatment operations—that is threatening New England’s great salt and freshwater bodies. It is also entirely solvable. CLF is tirelessly pursuing up-to-date, science-based limits on how much nitrogen and phosphorus can be discharged without sacrificing water quality and stricter controls at the source to keep the pollutants out of our waterways.

Nutrient pollution is a solvable problem and CLF is securing important victories all across our region. In Vermont, as a result of CLF’s advocacy, the city of South Burlington voluntarily cut in half the nutrient pollution that could be discharged into Lake Champlain from its sewage treatment plant. In Massachusetts, the EPA introduced controls for nitrogen in the 2008 permit for the Upper Blackstone Water Pollution Abatement District, over the objections of the district. The permit was recently upheld despite continued pressure from the district. The bottom line: Nutrient pollution, with your support, is a problem that we can solve!

Unfortunately, the clock is ticking. Literally. We are quickly approaching the point of no return for some of our region’s more fragile waterways. We need you to act now, before our October 8 deadline, to reverse nutrient pollution in New England. It takes just $10.

Today, you can make a real difference in New England’s nutrient pollution crisis by adopting one mile (or more!) of shoreline. We’re counting on you.

Sincerely,

Chris Kilian

P.S. Please click the “like” button below to share this important message with your friends on Facebook!