The Jefferson Exchange: The cavalry, or the contaminator? The debate over tankers dropping fire retardant
FSEEE Executive Director Andy Stahl recently spoke about aerial fire retardant on Jefferson Public Radio in an extended interview with Geoffrey Riley, host of The Jefferson Exchange, a news show produced at Southern Oregon University in Ashland.
During the 22-minute interview, Andy described the problems with fire retardant being dumped into waterways and discussed FSEEE’s recent lawsuit, in which the judge ruled that the Forest Service must acquire a water-pollution permit under the Clean Water Act.
Andy mentioned the hundreds of times that the Forest Service has violated the Clean Water Act by dumping retardant into streams and killing fish. The permit, issued by the EPA, will regulate Forest Service’s fire-retardant water pollution to ensure that “water quality is protected … so that the water is still fishable and swimmable, and treatable for domestic consumption.”
